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...

I was trapped in extremely heavy freeway traffic yesterday and that was very unusual for a Sunday—even in Orange County. Creeping along inch-by-inch, I the only thing I could think about was the delay’s CAUSE. I wanted to get past the choke point IMMEDIATELY! Even as those thoughts were forming in my mind, God was warning me to avoid treating my trials like this freeway jam on the sun-splattered 405...

It’s true! Early in my faith walk I was in a state of panic over what “might happen.” Over what was “around the corner.” Over what trouble “was next.” It was a horrible way to live and it nearly destroyed my walk with God. Our culture has taught us that fear and worry, just like stress, are part of the package we get in life. We are told to endure the constant pressure of life’s uncertainty and to...

We’re living in a dizzying world of technological wonder and pervasive social media power that deludes us into thinking we can control EVERYTHING on our own if we “purchase an APP” to navigate the ebbing tides of life. Just one debilitating consequence of this warped approach is believing the lie that no adversary can disrupt our arrival at the destinations we manufacture and pursue without God’s...

It was early in my faith walk when God used Peter to help me show hopelessness the exit door. “But even if you should suffer for doing what is right, how happy you are! Do not be afraid of anyone, and do not worry.” 1 Peter 3:14 GNT    I learned that Peter is making it crystal clear that Christians have a secure and abundant future with God for eternity. And he is stressing that we are not...