It was early in my faith walk and telling others about Jesus was the last thing on my “to-do list” as a striving aspirant to success and wealth. And then God tossed this in my path: It was early in my faith walk and telling others about Jesus was the last thing on my “to-do list” as a striving aspirant to success and wealth. But that’s why God tossed this in my path:    “Be wise in...

It takes real guts and Christ-like character to admit when we’ve made a mistake. And it takes even more effort to avoid making the same mistake again. But that is exactly what God wants us to do on both counts. Extracting the learning from the mistake and making sure it doesn’t happen again is not automatic. That’s why I go through the following three steps with God after evaluating what triggered...

The very essence of a believer’s life is having the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. Take a look at how Paul puts it: “But you do not live as your human nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to—if, in fact, God’s Spirit lives in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” Romans 8:9    The more God’s Word transforms our life, the more...

It was early in my faith walk and I was full of hubris and false confidence that I could vanquish any burden that came my way. And I was wrong. Here’s the story… If there is one thing we can count on…we will be treated unjustly in almost every one of the roles we play in life. And the BURDENS that result will not be limited to a season here and a season there. They will be visiting our life forever.    You...

We have unwittingly become “contributors on assignment” for the FAKE NEWS CHANNEL. And it is streaming 24/7 across the cinema of our mind and coursing through the chambers of our beating heart. It all starts when we inadvertently give birth to the problem by comparing ourselves to a plasticized and idealized view of others. Talk about fake news! The world is wrong. It’s that simple.    So...

The Galatian believers had “come to know God” and be “known by God” through the preached Word and the Holy Spirit’s transformative power. But even though they had been set free in Christ, they were about to be enslaved again, this time by the Law. Same bondage. Different jailers. That frightening possibility made the Apostle Paul wonder if his ministry and God’s transformative work in the region...

Our faith walk is not about “superficial glory.” It’s about “transparent authenticity.” And Paul drives this home while preaching for us in Thessalonica. “…We always speak as God wants us to, because he has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the Good News. We do not try to please people, but to please God, who tests our motives.” 1 Thessalonians 2:4 GNT    Pleasing men and pleasing God...

I had coffee at Starbucks yesterday with one of my dearest friends and his lovely wife to discuss life and the fact that we had all been taken advantage of recently by people we had trusted. It was very painful and a “spiritual challenge” to keep our anger from boiling over. Throughout the chat we kept asking God to help us say no to anger and yes to him for the wisdom and patience we needed to meet...

I know, it sounds crazy. But that was exactly what I thought early in my faith walk. And then God cleared it all up when I read 1 Thessalonians… “So, in all our trouble and suffering we have been encouraged about you, friends. It was your faith that encouraged us, because now we really live if you stand firm in your life in union with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 3:7-8 GNT    Timothy’s report...

We live in a world that is careening away from anything and everything HOLY. A world with an unhealthy focus on self that is antithetical to being HOLY. A world that plots at every turn against a Christian’s desire to be HOLY in God’s eyes. Yes, living a holy life in Christ is one tough job. But it is worth forging ahead toward sanctification, anyway. That was the aspirational goal Paul gave the Thessalonians…    “May...