I got FLIPPED OVER yesterday while praying for this ministry. I’m not sure why yesterday’s prayer time was different for me. I pray every day for all of you and ask that God give you the strength and wisdom to follow him with everything in your heart, mind, and soul. But answering that question about why yesterday’s prayer time was different than others does not matter.   We will...

Criticism has been a human condition FOREVER. But today’s nasty descendent has morphed into a form almost unrecognizable from its original mold. It is a product of the social media boom, of course. But that online version of criticism has leaked over into offline life where criticism has become sport. Online or offline, criticism has sank its barbed talons into our mind and heart. As Christians, we...

It seems like every couple of years I need to be reminded that God tells his children to be brave. I wrote about this in 2020, but my focus was on the pandemic wildfire that was spreading unchecked around the world.   What’s different today?   The level of bravery I’m seeing now — and sometimes feeling personally – is occasional. Sporadic. Situational. Intermittent. Conditional.   Most...

FEAR NOT. QUICK! What just went through your mind in response to those two words? Were your thoughts mostly POSITIVE on viewing “Fear Not” as a safe refuge from the world’s uncertainty?   Or did your mind cough up something NEGATIVE that looked at “Fear Not” as an impossibility in your life today?   A quick review of past comments from our global online tribe revealed that about 80% of the...

Yesterday’s celebration of America’s independence was different for me. Of course it was precious family time with incredible aromas spewing forth from my overworked barbeque. But here’s what was gnawing at my psyche and tugging on my soul: The world is quickly running out of PATIENCE like a kid runs out of nickels on his first run to the mini mart.   This inexorable march of IMPATIENCE has...

I see a troubling pattern coming out of comments from our global online tribe–NUMBNESS. It’s not really depression. It’s not really sadness. It’s not really hopelessness. It feels more like: “My faith walk is INACTIVE because I’m NUMB.” I’ve been feeling a little of that lately myself. It’s hard to put a finger on it other than to say we all seem...

There are bad days, really bad days, and occasionally horrible days. Well…I would have to consider yesterday, a sunny day smack dab in the middle of June, horrible because it seemed to feature some kind of challenge from every role I play in my life. Earlier in my faith walk these horrible days would knock me out like a punch from Mike Tyson in his prime. Yesterday was different. It was still...

Fastening the two words SIMPLE and DIFFICULT together presents a whopping contradiction, right? Of course. But scratching through that surface observation reveals a pairing that makes a powerful point for our faith walk. Consider this… SIMPLE The SIMPLE part of this story is acknowledging the pernicious power lurking in the bowels of Satan’s stadium of darkness. Most Christians have little difficulty...

Hey Mark…are you ever SAD for no apparent reason?”    That’s a common question tossed my way by members of our global online tribe. My answer is always the same: “Of course.” But I’ve been waiting for one of those SAD moments that God might use to help others.    That opportunity came YESTERDAY when I roused my weary bones from a very rare restless night of unsettled discomfort. I woke up with a twinge...

I won’t even try to express the pain in my heart and in all Americans after Tuesday’s mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas that extinguished 21 precious souls—two teachers and 19 grade-school kids a couple of days away from summer vacation.   I cannot count the number of comments this ministry has received expressing grief, anger, and confusion. Some of the comments, in one form or another, are tethered...