Christians have been debating for a long time whether having a GOAL-DRIVEN PLAN is good or bad, right or wrong. On one side…    Those who argue that believers who have goals and plans are WRONG because it demonstrates a lack of trust in God and ignores the need to “wait on God.”    On the other side…    Those who insist that God WANTS us to set goals and establish plans....

Our culture today considers Godly KINDNESS to be synonymous with the world’s definition of being NICE. But that is, simply and soundly, WRONG. Believers who fall for this head fake are sure to compromise their faith. Godly kindness and being nice could not be more different. Biblical kindness supernaturally changes our hearts to express Christ-like love to others even if they don’t deserve that treatment....

After all, being indifferent is showing a lack of interest or concern and looking at things as irrelevant through an apathetic lens, RIGHT? Yes, that is exactly what the dictionary will tell you. But there is an important, life-changing twist to this story…praying for spiritual indifference is ANOTHER MATTER!    Godly indifference is focused solely on being OPEN to God’s Will in a...

Some of us have taken our brokenness too far and allowed it to be justification for avoiding spiritual growth so we can continue our “comfortable-as-a-shoe” life that we label AUTHENTIC. That life is anything but authentic. It is authenticity run amuck.    All of this stems from and revolves around our feeble view of God’s transforming power that keeps us from understanding and embracing...

I am at one of those fork-in-the-road predicaments right now as my life continues to unfold and wend along God’s purpose highway. Of course it’s scary. Of course it’s full of uncertainty. Of course the fear monster keeps trying to steal the scene. Surely I am not alone. Each and every believer is either moving toward or facing the same challenging decision point.    After praying again this...

The epidemic wind of PRETEND CHRISTIANITY is blowing around the world with sweeping and devastating force. People are hiding their doubts and masking their uncertainty in a continuous charade to show everyone they are spiritually mature. That their life is perfect. That they have “got it all together.” Believers chasing this pretend faith have no idea that its polar opposite counterpart–the...

The hurricane that just slammed the Florida panhandle produced devastation, destruction, and death. The heartbreaking images that crawled across our screens were hard to watch but impossible to ignore. But cut into that movie were stories of people ducking into storm shelters to ride out the assault. As I watched this reel click forward frame-by-frame, I quickly thought of the figurative bunkers Christians...

We spend our day looking at windows and drop downs. We post fragments and facades that form a customized but false narrative. We keep our Bible close, but closed. We create this fractured existence by trying to COMPARTMENTALIZE everything. In the process we remove God from his rightful place as our central HUB and spiritual spine.    This dangerous dance has consequences. We lose our intimate...

We love old stuff! Movies and music. Cars and clothes. Books and biographies. Old things are comfortable and safe. The NEW parts of life—from tangible, material things to attitudes and behaviors—are unpredictable and uncertain. Risky and unsettling. Old things and established ways of looking at life—both secular and spiritual—produce feelings of comfort and safety. We then pass them through our reflective...

There are all kinds of tests in life. Blood tests. Driving tests. Pregnancy tests. Hearing tests. Drug Tests. And countless other tests, but you get the idea. Lots of tests.  Heck, life is a test. But the most important test of all is our FAITH TEST!    Early in my faith walk I failed every single one of them. But God would later become my tutor and teach me that as believers we must...