The distinctive mountains that reach for the sky outside my window remind me of God’s character–big, strong, immovable, and majestic.    I often thank him for those mountains and their stunning beauty. But today was different. They were GONE! Well, not gone…just hidden behind a fog-shrouded curtain.    God demonstrated his omnipresent power in that moment with this clear...

For most of my 40 years as a believer, I have looked at the word righteousness as a distant and unachievable notion reserved for “God’s Elite.” Me, righteous? C’mon now.    But the deeper my faith has grown and the closer I have drawn into Christ’s inner sanctuary, it has taken on an entirely new meaning in my life through God’s Word and Light. What follows below is a snapshot of that picture.    Living...

I LOVE RESTORATION SHOWS ON TELEVISION!    Here are just a few of my favorites: Treehouse Masters; American Restoration; Counting Cars; and Flipping Houses. That’s the short list. I’m all in if a story delivers on these three ACTS:    ACT I       Start with something run down or not as it should be.    ACT II     Develop some kind...

It’s now clear to me why God has me writing about the fruits of God’s Spirit this week. I need them this week! Yes, me.    Early in the week I experienced an unexpected rekindling of the most painful experience of my entire life. God urged me to write about, and then embrace, the fruits of his Spirit—specifically that his PEACE is not the absence of turmoil and pain, but the presence of...

Well…last night, really, when I wrote this blog.    It was an unexpected rekindling of the most painful experience of my entire life. That’s not an overstatement…the truth, by a mile.    Here’s the good news from a good God.    After collecting myself, I remembered that fruit-of-the-spirit peace is not dependent on “everything going right.” That it is remaining tranquil...

Today’s blog is written by Jonathan Stagno from Lake Forest, California. Jonathan’s heart is on fire for God who is using him mightily in the area of prayer and intercession. He is a senior advisor to the Love God Fear Nothing Ministry. I know you’ll be blessed by his writing. Follow Jonathan at https://twitter.com/JonathanStagno.  MARK AFFLECK     How To Love Your Enemies       By...

The tests and trials of life will prompt some kind of reaction from us…some kind of response…some kind of behavior. These challenges can be big or small. Long or short. Constant or intermittent.    A medical diagnosis. A financial blow. A spouse drifting away. You get the idea.  It’s life. And it plays out like this for all of us every day.    Even with that reality, we need...

Have you ever wondered why our closest relationships—with a spouse, family member, and close personal friends—are so complicated? So fragile? So vulnerable?    I have, and I suspect you have, too. And it gets me thinking, “How can that be? Where is God in all of this?    The answers to those questions come pretty quick. First, this isn’t heaven. We live on earth right now and it’s...

It is impossible to watch television or cruise the web today without being exposed to the “Fake News” trope that has exploded on the scene and is dominating societal discourse. It’s everywhere, as you know all too well.    It certainly prompts an interesting debate about the temperature of our current political climate, but more important to me—and I think other Christians, too—is how it...

Values are still important, right?    Of course they are.    But they seem to be losing their importance and power today. It’s like there is a temptation to think, “Yeah, I live by Christian values” without any visible evidence in the viewfinder of life.    That kind of thinking is very dangerous because our values, in large part, drive what we do today and determine...