It’s a safe bet that almost every Christian has walked past people in desperate need of our intervention on God’s behalf. Our unconditional love. Our Christ-like comfort. These hurting souls may not show the physical signs of a person writhing in pain, but inside they are on fire. And, sadly, some of them may be near the end of their capacity to hang on by themselves.    This startling reality...

You know this story with its dark and pessimistic theme, right? It comes from the European folk tale about a chicken who believes the world is coming to an end. The story’s “sky is falling” hook is firmly entrenched in the world’s lexicon as the false belief that disaster is imminent. Versions of the story go back more than 25 centuries! The sky-is-falling perspective was how I viewed what was...

It took a long time, but I finally allowed God to convince me that our faith walk is meant to be an orchestral score of notes that are the decisions we need to (must) make…but do not. I try to look at this dynamic as having a DECISIVE MINDSET and predisposition to act. I do not want to force decisions. I want to have a decisive spirit with my radar on 24/7. I want to stay intimately connected to God...

I watched the Grammys last night with a kaleidoscope of emotions ranging from bemusement to fascination to sheer exhilaration. The narrative playing in my mind beneath those emotions was dominated by the superficial pageantry.  But the theme of the night for me was PRAYER.    You’re no doubt wondering (like me) where and why that thought originated. I’m not sure about that, but as each...

Early in my faith walk I wanted an EASY way to fire myself as boss and promote God to be the CEO of my life. I wanted to draw a line through the word SELF. It did not take long to realize that an “easy way” does not exist.    We cannot do it ourselves because dislodging the grip on self is impossible when we are clutching our fears, worries, and temptations.    Relying on...

A believer’s doubt about their faith in Christ has been around since the Apostle Thomas would not accept the resurrection of Jesus. But it’s hard to believe that doubting God was ever at the pervasive level we see today. Fueled by a cascading cacophony emanating from the bowels of a digital factory, doubt has taken a prominent seat in the minds of Christians everywhere.    And the facts...

I watched yesterday’s 53rd Super Bowl with the rest of you and came away “somewhere in the middle” on most of what came across my viewfinder. It was average and mundane. It was an average game (barely). The ads were average (except the brilliant dog-show spot from Mexican Avocados). And the players played average without a historic highlight-reel moment.    When the battle trudged to its...

I spent much of this past weekend trying to manage a cyclone of noise racing through my restive mind. It felt like my head was hosting a birthday party for 5-year-old boys jumping off the wall of an inflated “Bounce House.” It did not take long for me to bring into my viewfinder how a noisy mind quickly breeds fear and worry like mosquitoes replicating exponentially at dusk on an eerily-still pond.    It...

Have you ever had a day where you were crushed when your expectations crashed? Where your idea for how something should go was obliterated? Where your stomach cried out through its piercing ache? That was my yesterday. But it’s ok today because I know that winning the expectation battle is possible with God. Sure it takes courage to call on his strength to push through our unmet expectations and...

I spent much of this past weekend trying to manage a cyclone of noise racing through my restive mind. It felt like my head was hosting a birthday party for 5-year-old boys jumping off the wall of an inflated “Bounce House.” It did not take long for me to bring into my viewfinder how a noisy mind quickly breeds fear and worry like mosquitoes replicating exponentially at dusk on an eerily-still...