Blog
The Lord spoke to Moses at a critical and transitional point in his leadership journey. As Moses was complaining to Him, the Lord said, “That’s enough. Speak of it no more” (Deuteronomy 3:26-17). It was no longer about Moses' disdain for the forever complaining...
For the last few years, I've noticed something happening with greater frequency. Thanksgiving has taken on a lesser position of importance in our nation. While visiting the big box stores it seems Thanksgiving has settled into an almost unnoticed place in the store...
While the Lord instructed Moses about how to live in the land, He gave instructions about many areas of life. Regarding one issue, murder, the Lord said what happens when there is no punishment for a murderer’s crime, “murder pollutes the land” (Numbers 35:33). The...
When things are taken from us by death or through a painful circumstance of life, our first response can be to begin looking for a replacement. We want to fill our place of loss with someone or something. We think by filling the void with a replica we can make the...
As a small boy, I remember the day I asked my father why he had so many scars across his stomach and chest. At the time he gave me an age-appropriate answer. A few years later, I asked again and then he gave me the full story. My grandmother owned a business on Turk...
When I was a young cop, I was assigned to a unit with the acronym, OCCIS. The formal name was the Organized Crime and Criminal Information Section. It was a federally funded task force sourced from multiple police agencies in the Silicon Valley of California. We...
The fulfillment of a promise God made to you is about to arrive as a beautifully wrapped gift. You will be astonished to discover the wrapping and presentation of the promise will be as equally beautiful as the gift itself. When I was a kid growing up in the 1950’s...
For a few years as a cop, I was part of an Organized Crime unit. It was very different than working the street in uniform in a marked car. All of us had beards and long hair. We looked like outlaw bikers. One of the things we routinely did was to conduct stakeouts. TV...
One of the great hindrances to becoming a healthy leader is putting yourself in a place where you always have to “produce”. If you are in this kind of environment you need to make a change in your perspective and in some cases, your actual place of ministry. You don’t...
When the sound and content of your voice is in lock step with the groupthink of a political party, a church denomination or a particular segment of society, you will eventually lose your credibility and influence in the Kingdom of God. Real credibility and influence...
For the last few days I have been hearing the phrase, “Hot Combat”. Hot combat is what takes place on the frontlines in an actual shooting war. It is a bloody place where you either live or die. We need to be reminded of the reality of warfare. Not just the...
Today, as Jan and I walked along a sidewalk in historic Jacksonville, Oregon we passed a building built in the 1800’s. I noticed mounds of dark purple grapes on the sidewalk. I reached down and picked up one of the grapes and put it in my mouth. It was very sweet. For...
Yesterday,Ivan Romanand I grabbed some personal time. I love and appreciate Ivan. He is good friend and a man who truly seeks God's heart. We talked about the difference between drawing on a spiritual gift and drawing on the glory of God. The former can feel like...
The Lord said, “You are about to experience a greater measure of freedom. The restricting presence at the border of promise has been decommissioned. You will accelerate through old barriers of fear.” This word came when the Lord recalled the image of the old...
As I began to prepare to speak at a conference on the subject of reformation, the Lord took me to Acts 17. In that section of Scripture, Paul was traveling through the city of Athens, Greece. Athens was known as the city of 10,000 gods. Just to be safe and cover all...