Blog
Several years ago, I wrote a small book titled, Thoughts to Leave Behind. It was a compilation of small essays I wanted to leave behind for my church staff who would assume the leadership role of our church once I transitioned away from pastoring to a ministry of...
“Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character” (Psalm 105:19). The more impactful the fulfillment of a dream will be the more intense the testing of our character will become as God moves us forward toward a time and place of...
Yesterday, I failed at something the Lord has been working on in my life. I felt horrible that I made such a foolish choice, again. I knew better. This morning, as I was reading the Psalms, I came to Psalm 106 which opens by describing the faithful love of God. In the...
In each journey there will be a time when you run out of road. You will come to a place where no detour is provided, no crossroad exists from which to choose a new direction and no visible roadway is available to find your way forward. You are in one of...
There is a roof over your head. This is not like the roof of your physical home, but one constructed by your attempts to cover and protect yourself from the sorrows of life. You have forgotten that you walk under open heavens. The realms above you were...
Your recent interaction with God has caused you to start applauding His goodness. When God’s goodness was poured out on your life in a visible way others joined you in your celebration. Like a polite applause following a natural performance, people gradually...
(*Note to reader: This word came to me this morning at 3:30 a.m. as a 6.1 earthquake took place just south of us in Northern California. These words of encouragement and their timing are not by accident.) As you walk through culture it feels like you have entered a...
In the life of every person there is a lifelong search for the bottom line or what we would call, “the crux of the matter”. This familiar phrase, “the crux of the matter”, is a word that comes from the Latin language meaning “a cross”. The cross being a place of...
You have been asked to enter a relationship with a new circle of friends. This has been like an awkward dance. You are stepping on each other’s toes. The harder you try to perform this relational dance the more you find you are out of step with each...
I had a conversation with a man who let me know he did not agree with me on a particular point of theology. He went on to say that he and his group were like the Bereans in the Book of Acts who searched the scriptures to see if people like me taught the truth....
The book of your life contains more than one chapter. You have been looking at recent events like they are the whole story of your life. They aren’t. These events are only a single chapter in a developing story. There is more to be written about your life....
The curtain that separates the known from the unknown is about to fall. This will not be like the controlled lowering of a curtain at intermission in a stage production. The separating curtain that has blinded so many will literally come off its track and fall...
Clarity and understanding are ready to walk toward you. This has been a confusing season in your life. The emerging clarity and understanding will be like a person walking toward you out of a fog bank. An image of something within the fog will slowly begin...
God wants you live like there are no foregone conclusions to any situation. A foregone conclusion is formed when we begin to believe certain outcomes are inevitable and will continue uninterrupted to a fateful end. God wants you to live knowing the implications of a...
In the mind of some people relational warfare never ends. A truce can be offered and people can quit battling, but some people will try to pick a fight anyway. These people do not know how to live without conflict and they expect a fight in every...