Most believers claim that their faith is ACTIVATED and evident in how they live. But a large percentage of Christians on the planet are moving their faith car on but a fraction of the power God makes available. Indeed, there is a GAP between their salvation gift and living their life.    Imagine what those lives would look like if they closed that gap, even a little. And just imagine if...

Seeking to be content in God’s eyes is a deliberate move to rearrange our priorities and change our source of security from what we have to what God promises. My focus on materialism as a young CEO chasing success was driven by an overriding desire to live the “good life.” But I quickly learned that my cravings would never be satisfied.    Coveting “things” messes up our need to be content....

I lived for many years with a self-destructive “NEGATIVITY FORCE” roiling in my head and creating a barrier between me and God. The noisy and painful narrative that invaded my mind took the form of thoughts like: This can never and will never change. I’m the victim and it is their fault. Eventually, they will reject me. As the NEGATIVITY FORCE gained velocity with every revolution, it became...

Pain is a multi-layered, correcting force that sounds the warning alarm when something is wrong. Earlier in my faith walk I tried to avoid it at all costs. I learned later that God allows pain and wants to use it for good. When we spend time is pain’s furnace and find God to be real and true, we are instantly equipped for ministry. But not “just” equipped. We also take on a responsibility in the pain...

I’m not proud of it, of course, but it’s true nonetheless. I had accepted Christ, but did not have a relationship with God. When I heard people proclaim that Jesus is the light of the world, it simply did not register.    That’s why for 22 years I walked past hundreds and hundreds of doors God had opened for me to enter and illuminate his magnificence for others to see.    And...

  I was mesmerized over the past couple of weeks watching Olympic ski jumpers soar off a skyscraper ramp like rockets into the damp South Korean air. It made me wonder how they must have felt during their first visit to a ski jump event. Watching humans fly down a frozen mountainside must have surely produced fear and trepidation.    I learned with a couple of keystrokes that they are terrified...

Where our mind goes, our actions will soon follow. If we want to live out of Godly purpose, we must diligently guard our thoughts and be transformed by the renewal of our mind.    How can God use us if our life is driven by conforming to the world we live in?    A renewed mind transcends avoidance of worldly behaviors because we can “do the right thing” and not be transformed....

One of the most powerful and compellingly clear verses in God’s Word leaves no room for misinterpretation about what Jesus was telling us to do… “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34    The old self runs away from money.  The old self runs away from this world’s pleasures. The old self avoids disgrace, discomfort, dishonor,...

We can’t grab onto to something new and better—God’s peace, joy and a life of purpose—until we let go of the strongholds we have been clinging to. We need a SPIRITUAL REBOOT! Easier said than done, right? Of course.    It’s like the members of a circus trapeze team who refuse to let go because they do not fully trust their partner.    It’s the SAME thing for...

Keeping our options open with God to avoid making “uncomfortable” spiritual commitments will NOT make us “free.” The god of OPEN CHOICE is a saboteur who promises us that keeping our options open will lead to everything we want. But in the end we wind up at the doorstep of the OPEN CHOICE false god with nothing.    This is the moment of truth where we choose–or decline—to follow God,...