I have never met or heard of anyone who leverages the power of visualization better than Pastor Rick Warren. He has no filter or governor on his vision engine. There are no restrictions on that car’s carburetor and his vision gas pedal is always pressed through the floor.    Rick’s visualization prowess has produced two very important results over 30 years of ministry: It maximizes the...

Earlier in my faith walk, I DEFINITELY was playing it safe. No prayer. No action. No commitment. That makes me sad now. But it makes me thankful, too, because God taught me how playing it safe minimizes his love for us and thwarts his ability to perform the supernatural in our life.    It gets worse if we play it safe.    Playing it safe also buries the talents God gave us. The...

I woke up this morning with a deep sense of peace as the new day emerged from a charcoal sky. I ambled into my quiet time with an extra bounce and a simple thought: “God’s Protection Promise.”    I can’t really say how or why that line slid into my consciousness, but it did, so I embraced its power to thwart the worry and doubt that would surely greet me this day. (Make sure you read all...

I know from years of experience that being busy sounds great until you realize what comes with it. Always being frenetically occupied is what many people aspire to, until you wake up shaking and sweating in the night worrying about keeping your life’s deck of cards from tumbling into a heap.    It sounds great until you have to live through the anger and yelling that spews forth from the...

Have you heard negative thoughts whispered in your ear?    I have.    They come from Satan, aka the “Voice Villain,” who spews negative and destructive messages in my head that wreak havoc with my ability to live out God’s purpose for my life.    BUT HERE’S THE TRUTH: Despite our best planning, tests and trials are inevitable in the life of all believers. They crash into...

NEWS FLASH—If you are feeling like that…you are in a very large group!    Man, did it ever take me a long time to get this right in my head and realize that life is a journey of joy in the here and now. Every minute. Every day. Always.    I can understand that at a surface level. Heck, I’m writing about it right now and I even teach it to my kids. But it is, nonetheless, common...

NEWS FLASH—If you are feeling like that…you are in a very large group! Man, did it ever take me a long time to get this right in my head and realize that life is a journey of joy in the here and now. Every minute. Every day. Always. I can understand that at a surface level. Heck, I’m writing about it right now and I even teach it to my kids. But it is, nonetheless, common for me to feel like I’m running...

Sometimes it feels like my life is nothing more than enduring one test after another. One day it’s family. The next finances. Then something about an uncertain future. And that’s just three days! Sounds familiar, right?    Of course, but I’ve learned that enduring is not something to avoid. Life is all about ENDURANCE! This is not heaven. It’s earth and our ability to endure will be tested.    “Consider...

It took a while, but over nearly 40 years of walking with Christ I have learned that what we once thought was the forbidden ground of our weaknesses, sins, and secrets is actually the activator of our SPIRITUAL CONFIDENCE and the gateway to God’s inner sanctuary!    It’s true.    God knows EVERYTHING and yet he still wants us to come to him wide open and offer every part of our...

I spent many years living without the confidence needed to activate my faith, utilize my God-given gifts, and live out my purpose for Christ and his Kingdom.    It pains me now to reflect on those circumstances, but that is not the point God wants me to embrace. The point and key takeaway is how that learning must prompt me to tell others about the imperative to build their life on Jesus...