I spent 20+ years earlier in my life living with embers of fear, doubt, and worry ready to catch fire. And they did. The resulting conflagration left much pain and travail in its wake. The consequences were horrific, but God has used all of that for good. In fact, he’s using it right here with you. Here’s the story.    The tendency to doubt and worry resides in all of us to one degree or...

Looking back to when I learned to ride a unicycle as a kid has taught me a powerful lesson as an adult–never grow weary of listening for God, no matter how strong we feel our faith is and how smooth our lives seem to be going.    Even after I mastered the technique (and that took a while), I still needed to fully concentrate when I was pedaling on one wheel. If not, I would fall instantly....

Have you ever ignored that warning as it blinks annoyingly to nab your attention?    I have. Many times, in fact. And each time it happens I think of how easy it is to ignore what God wants to say to us through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, prayer, our circumstances, and other followers of Jesus.    IT’S ALL ABOUT INTENT    We must want to hear what God’s direction is for...

That’s right, the door to God’s grace—his unmerited love to us—is UNLOCKED.    I spent many years fiddling with different keys to open that door, but never even checked the knob to see if it would open! It reminds me of a great story from famous magician Harry Houdini’s life that makes the point perfectly. In one famous stunt gone awry, Houdini panicked when he couldn’t open the last lock...

I confess!    I used to believe with a lower case b. I did.    During this time of my life it was very difficult for me to believe that God would honor his promises and “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).    Everything changed one day listening to my pastor Rick Warren talk about what it meant...

My tendency to feel unworthy as a child of God earlier in my life increased with each new “mistake” I made or bad thought that crossed the cinema of my mind. This negative cycle created and reinforced a damaging self-perception that I could never live a Christ-like life. It was a LIE! Thank God I learned the truth.    Thinking we’re no good for God leads us to start thinking we are no good...

I lived for many years with a self-destructive “NEGATIVITY FORCE” roiling in my head and creating a barrier between me and God. It was HORRIBLE. The noisy and painful narrative that invaded my mind took the form of thoughts like: Nothing counts and nothing ever matters. This can never and will never change. My life’s glass if always half-empty. I’m the victim and it is their fault. Eventually, they...

It all depends on the foundation it strikes. That’s what will determine our response to the earthquakes of life.    In a large earthquake, some buildings are unfazed and suffer no damage, while others are completely destroyed and left in rubble by the same temblor. The degree of damage and destruction is determined not only by the earthquake’s strength and ferocity, but the depth, strength,...

What a disaster! How can I ever be happy again?    That’s the headline and lead paragraph to a story earlier in my life when as a CEO I was the subject of intense criticism.    What did I learn? What did God teach me? How did the experience change and shape my life? Let me tell you that story.    I learned that it is because of tribulation–not its absence–that...

You have played this game before, right?    Of course you have and I have and if they gave medals for playing the “I’m Boss” game, mine would be solid gold.    We actually start playing boss as children, always wanting something and eventually wanting everything. We have all seen and heard kids walk around the house saying, “Mine, mine, mine” and “I want it now!” This me-centered...