Becoming spiritually mature used to be on my BUCKET LIST. Honest! Here’s the very short version of that story.    The beginning of my spiritual journey started in the Membership Class 101 at Saddleback Church in the 1990s. All I really wanted was the church membership card so I could tell people at cocktail parties I was a member! It’s true.    Trying to put God first seemed a...

We have allowed life to take away our “room to breathe.” Devices. TV. Appointments. More devices. More TV. More appointments. And ALWAYS a list of to-do items on our ever-expanding to-do list.    All of that has left many of us with no room to breathe. No room to reflect on life and our purpose in it. No room for God.    You are no doubt thinking that what’s coming next from a...

I want to share what’s on my heart with you today.    Right now, I am facing one of the most intense uncertainties of my entire life as I move 100% into ministry in 2017 and cut ties with the business part of my career. And it’s scary.    All of that got me praying and thinking…a lot. These three things surfaced as my reaction to this daunting challenge: Blow up all thoughts of...

I used to look at life and everything about it as a race that had to be won at all costs. Just win, baby. Finish first. Win. Succeed. Cash in and prosper. Be the winner.    What a joke.    Thankfully, God revealed to me that life is not an endurance run where we get awarded a prize for finishing first. Life is a journey of joy in the here and now. Every minute. Every day. Always....

Earlier in my faith walk, I would constantly face rushes of hopelessness that engulfed my soul and very being. Depressed. Sad. Depleted.    Hopeless.    During those storm trials I would be desperate for relief and try frantically to “pull a rabbit out of my hat” and make it “go away.”    It was sheer nonsense, to be sure, but that was my world at the time. I was trying...

When fear and worry settle in for a very long stay, the most common reaction is to analyze the facts. Studying all of the information makes us feel better, and there is nothing wrong with doing that. The problem is that we don’t give them over to God first.    In that scenario, we’ve taken charge as boss by trying to make decisions as if we ordering lunch.    We are saying to him,...

How do we know whether to turn left or right when life tosses a difficult decision our way? Do we get all the facts and “reason it out”? Do we think about the implications and consequences of the options? Do we “phone a friend” and ask for their opinion and direction? Of course! We do all of that and more because it’s the prudent thing to do.    But there is much more to our left or right...

Peace and joy in Christ are not automatic when we are saved, and we can’t manufacture it through our own efforts. Earlier in my faith walk, I tried with all my might to do it that way and, of course, failed miserably.    Over time I learned that God’s peace can only come out of an intimate relationship with Christ where he lives in our hearts and rules in our lives every day. Most of us...

We seek police protection from crime and the violence in our midst. We seek medical protection from health problems and fire department protection from the threat of fire. We seek protection in relationships, at work, and in play. We are constantly seeking protection, and of course that is a prudent thing to do.    But why are we reluctant at times to ask God for his protection?   ...

The express elevator is right there, promising to zoom us to our destination on the 50th floor in a matter of seconds. As we stand in the lobby, our inner voice asks, “Stairs or Elevator?” And we quickly think, “Stairs? Are you kidding me!?”    That is how it typically plays out in our mind. But if you connect the metaphor with our Christian life, sometimes taking the stairs is the only...