Blog
My father was a carpenter. As a small boy, I would watch him hold up a weighted line called the plumbline to see if something was straight or crooked. It is a simple tool consisting of a long cord with a weight called a plumb-bob attached to one end. Something even as...
When the sound of warning is heard, shouldn’t the people be alarmed? That alarm is sounding in our generation and the “listening heart” will hear it. Warnings are welcomed in every facet of society. We have fire alarms and Amber Alerts on our phones. We have...
Across the span of human history and in both covenants, the Lord has always demonstrated His compassion and unfailing love toward His people. He issued both words of hope and words of warning. Those same messages are eternal and remain applicable today. We are...
I set my love on you and chose to demonstrate it to you. I have loved you deeply from your very beginning. As one who picks up an infant and holds you to my cheek, I showed you tender love. I was the one who taught you how to walk. I loved you when you were weak...
All striving that comes from human reasoning will not bring the desired harvest. Our journey must be Spirit-empowered fueled by receptivity. Life in the Spirit starts with receiving and we never stop receiving—season to season, day to day, moment by moment. To produce...
In light of current events, I’ve been pondering just how meaningful it is that Jesus is the Watchman, interceding for us and intervening on our behalf. Though His saving, delivering, and healing work was completed at the Cross, He continues to watch over His word...
It is very humbling to look back at the times I have been shortsighted. I understood just one narrow piece of truth. And my greatest strengths also contained my greatest weaknesses. I also look back with gratitude for how God will turn my immature wisdom and manhood...
When someone suffers a life-altering tragedy—the loss of a spouse, the death of a child, or the deepest kind of rejection and isolation—sometimes, all they need is someone to stand alongside them in silence. The shock of loss and the capacity of the human heart...
A long life can certainly be a blessing. For those who die far earlier than we think they should, the heartache of loss is compounded exponentially. Recently, a young man died in his twenties. He was loved by so many, known for his faith and integrity. He was strong...
There was a man of integrity, who lived in awe and reverence before the Lord. Surrounded by a wall of the Lord’s protection, he and his home and land had prospered greatly. When he experienced catastrophic death and devastation in his family, the scope of his...
Though so many years ago, I’ll never forget walking into a church building looking to fill a big hole in my heart. It had been a time of great upheaval in American society, not unlike some of what we see today. It was also the latter years of the Jesus revolution. And...
What does it look like to live without regret? If we live for any length of time, we grieve over our choices filled with errors, failures, and rebellion. We not only look back with regret, but we feel its weight behind our conscious thoughts. Dealing with our sin...
Remember when we were blind? When we could not fight the powers of darkness? When we were unable to understand the Redeemer’s message? The god of this age had blinded our minds, leaving us in unbelief. But God pierced our darkness. Still, we catch ourselves responding...
True rest does not come while we demand that an outcome match our expectations. We take authority over the chaos created by our murmuring of unbelief. We take hold of gratitude and receive God’s peace, tranquility, and well-being. That is where a heart of rest is...
In a time of Communion with Jan, I saw an image of two doors opening in the Pacific Northwest. From Oregon, one door opened to the north, leading into Washington. The other opened to the south, leading into California. Through these doors, truth and what is right and...