Early in my faith walk, I faced a constant rush of hopelessness that engulfed my soul and made me depressed and depleted. Hopeless, really. Christians getting trapped in this kind of ISOLATION CELL is more common that most people realize. The tougher life gets, the more we want to retreat and isolate. In fact, isolation is often the default and first response to tests and trials. And with that sense...

God wants to blow up any thought we have that our faith walk, however righteous, is enough to save us. He wants us to think: “It had nothing to do with me.” The apostle Paul puts it in play for us… “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior was revealed, he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy...

This morning I read an article on the website BeliefNet–The 10 Biggest Issues Christian Americans Are Facing Today—that is full of discouraging facts and trends that are gaining momentum in the wrong direction. Here are just a few of the observations about believers who are: Drifting away God’s Word Puffing themselves up with pride Displaying a startling lack of honesty Relying on moral relativism...

There is little doubt that the planet is being turned upside down by algorithms that are reshaping life on planet earth. How we travel, eat, shop, work, recreate, date, bank, learn, and get entertained. And that is the SHORT list! What about religion? Have these powerful algorithms invaded this sacred ground? Of course!    We may be witnessing the birth of Christianity’s newest competitor—at...

There are times when preachers feel foolish preaching to a flock of Christians free-falling in a slipstream of secularized moral relativism. Let’s pop into Corinth for a glimpse of how this all got started: “For God in his wisdom made it impossible for people to know him by means of their own wisdom. Instead, by means of the so-called “foolish” message we preach, God decided to save those who believe.”...

Every gardener knows that seeds must be planted and watered. But they also know that the odds of getting the plant to grow are “iffy” at best. Even with the best seed and expert cultural care, only God can tease a plant out of its buried womb. But that is just the beginning! The really hard work is about to start with the tedious process of caring for the vulnerable plants. Take a look at how the...

Another day of post-surgery reflection had me thinking about the world’s misguided notion of wisdom and how much debilitating power that has to destroy lives on earth and preclude them from heaven and eternity. “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and set aside the understanding of the scholars.” 1 Corinthians 1:19    The gospel, not human wisdom, is the power and promise of God. This...

Most of us want to be remembered for something of significance beyond accumulating riches and achieving what the world defines as success. That is certainly true for me and I am sure it is true for you, too.  Almost everyone would agree that screaming “I made a lot of money” on our death bed is nonsensical. Who wants to be remembered as someone who didn’t know the difference between earning a...

It’s really quite simple: people who love God’s light are living evidence of their new birth and secure place in eternity; and followers of Christ who hate are doomed to languish in darkness. “If we say that we are in the light, yet hate others, we are in the darkness to this very hour. If we love others, we live in the light, and so there is nothing in us that will cause someone else to sin. But...

We live in a noisy world that goes well beyond the racket created by a cascading cacophony of messages and images raining down on all of us every minute of every day. That’s bad enough on its face, but it also steals our mindshare and creates distraction from the important things in life. But what comes next is the killer punch—all of that noise serves as the ideal background for the enemy to launch...