Suddenly, Scripture began to stab at my heart, warning me to make a change … FAST!   Paul wrote some stinging words to a compromising early church, yet I couldn’t help thinking he was talking directly to me:   “Don’t be naïve. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of...

“Be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18   In ALL circumstances, really? How can we be thankful and full of gratitude when our life hits turbulence or even crashes?   That was the question just posed to me by a member of our global online tribe. And when I read it, my first thought was: “I need...

We all want to call the shots in life.   No doubt you’ve experienced the hyper two-year-old who deliberately puts one foot over the line, testing the boundaries set by her weary parents.   Then there’s the teenager who totally shuts you out of his secret online world … and has managed to find a way around the security measures you added to his cell phone.   And, of course, who can...

“Something’s gone wrong,” my friend told me, his face strained and his eyes tired. “Every day I feel guilty because I am not growing spiritually. And to be totally honest, I don’t have a clue what God is like … or what he wants from me. Instead, I play church and act as if I have it all together. But inside, my faith is moldy.”      My friend continued to share his spiritual struggles, explaining...

I got trapped fixating on PERFECTION this morning. So I prayed immediately and asked God for a reminder of what I already knew. Something I had allowed to wander away as today’s sun struggled to find an opening through a darkened sky. I started by remembering that seeking perfection is, and has always been, WRONG. What’s different today is how high the stakes have shot through the roof. Yes, perfection...

I know how to give my attitude toward EXPECTATIONS to God. But when the calendar turned to August this year, it was as if I had forgotten it all. I got KNOCKED DOWN emotionally when things weren’t going as planned. When people weren’t acting like I expected them to act. When my mood wasn’t on the right balance beam.   My reaction? I went straight to God to refresh what I already knew but temporary...

Angry Birds is a Finnish-based video game launched in 2009 that focuses on a flock of angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. It is the most popular video game in history. Since these birds are seemingly everywhere, I turn them into “WORRY BIRDS” to remind me of God’s promise to help us turn our back on worry.   “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or...

I spend most of my life in some form of becoming ready, or being ready. I want to be ready as a man, husband, father, grandfather, CEO, and pastor. But MOST OF ALL, I want to be ready for GOD.     If we are spiritually weak and unprepared to face the challenges of life when they hit our shore, we’re LATE.   We may think we’re prepared for our next challenge. But when it arrives, we...

I got FLIPPED OVER yesterday while praying for this ministry. I’m not sure why yesterday’s prayer time was different for me. I pray every day for all of you and ask that God give you the strength and wisdom to follow him with everything in your heart, mind, and soul. But answering that question about why yesterday’s prayer time was different than others does not matter.   We will...

Criticism has been a human condition FOREVER. But today’s nasty descendent has morphed into a form almost unrecognizable from its original mold. It is a product of the social media boom, of course. But that online version of criticism has leaked over into offline life where criticism has become sport. Online or offline, criticism has sank its barbed talons into our mind and heart. As Christians, we...