Unfortunately, this culture has all kinds of prepackaged meditations based on other value structures that dominate the mind: television, mus

Without action, faith and the power of God never combine to thrust your life forward. You will remain stuck without action. It may be fun to

You’ve probably heard the saying, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Prov 23:7) This means that you can become what you think! So, 

When the inner man becomes weak or weary or afflicted with the weakness of the outer man, this can be handled by the inner man. It is unders

The greatest success comes out of our weakness, mistakes, and brokenness. Most of us want to hide out when we have messed up. But one of the

Proverbs 28:9 "He who turns away his ear from listening to the Law, even his prayer is an abomination." This verse is fascinating and revealing on a number of levels. One, for what it states and, second, for the thought connection to the preceding Proverb. he who turns away from listening to the Law The person who is described in this Proverb is the one who no longer respects the goals and boundaries of God. These are most easily summarized in the two great commandments and t

In Psalm 127:1-5, God tells us about the blessed life. It is one built solidly with God by your side. It intertwines your planning and daily tasks with a dependence upon the Lord. And it also looks at the blessing of children and how they are a gift from the Lord. As with everything in life, you have to put in the effort. When you depend upon God and move at His impulse, you'll break through to the blessed life. Let's look at it: Psalm 127:1-5 1Unless the Lord builds the hous

I was talking the other day with a young man who was having trouble in his family. The children were not behaving and were causing all kinds of problems for their parents. I suggested that one of the ways to help his children was to bring order to that relational garden. In my understanding and experience, there are five elements that are needed to bring structure and order to families. They all start with R, so I call them the 5 R's: Relationship, Respect, Rules, Responsib

When I was growing up with my two older sisters, my Mom sewed many of our dresses and enjoyed seeing her daughters looking clean and pretty. She taught us manners and proper English. She loved us well and gained a sense of pride in our good behaviors and appearance. When we excelled, she beamed. When we failed, she was ashamed. In the 50s and 60s, it was probably the norm, albeit a dysfunctional one. In these decades, we call it "co-dependency." Whenever an adult's sense of w

I think we would all like to experience more joy in life. Do you agree? What would God have you do about growing joy in your life so that you can enjoy others and others can enjoy you? I believe that God does it by focusing our gaze; by focusing our attention on the good things. Everybody we meet is an amalgam of good, bad, weaknesses, strengths, negatives, and positives. In order to have joy, we have to narrow our focus on the good, the positives, and the strengths. Think ab

December always ties me in knots. With one massive holiday down, I'm slightly in denial that another looms ahead, this one even more extravagant, more labor-intensive, more crazy, more expensive, and more overwhelming than I'm typically comfortable with. Every time I go out, the frenzied pace and energy can take me from relative calm to high anxiety in minutes. Since for the sake of my family boycotting Christmas is not an option, I wonder, "Is it possible to maintain peace d

Many people have the wrong definition of a successful life, one based upon the world's measurements: piles of money, fame, power, beauty, possessions, and the like. I want to suggest that Jesus gave us a very different definition of success. In Matthew 22:37-39, he said the two greatest commandments are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In two short sentences Jesus tells us that success in life is filling our live

"I am no longer going to hide my faith!" "I want to experience a full relationship with Christ. I'm all in!" "Something changed inside me, and I just had to tell people about it!" Those statements are from people who took a huge step forward to enjoy intimacy and depth in their Christian life. How? They publicly proclaimed their relationship with Christ and moved from the sidelines to the game. They fully identified with Christ and by doing so entered a new level and commitme

The presidential election of 2016 has many of us feeling anxious and fearful about the outcome and our nation. Questions like, "What will happen next?" "Will our country be ok?" "How will things change?" are at the forefront of our minds. Recently, the Lord directed me to Psalm 37. I prayed through this Psalm and let God's ancient words through David minister to me. As you read it, just let the words and thoughts roll over you. Psalm 37:1-7 Do not fret because of evildoers, B

As a pastor, I have run across many people who believe in what I call "Lone Ranger" Christianity. These are folks who don't attend a church, don't belong to a small group, and don't participate in life with other Christians, really. Here's the rub. There is no such thing as a biblical, "Lone Ranger" Christian. If you doubt this, consider first that God at the time of creation created us for companionship with other people (Gen. 2:18). We just aren't meant to be alone. But thi

"I have never experienced anything like this." "I have never felt so close to God and so moved in my soul as when I did this worship exercise." "God came and touched me." "I felt God reveal himself to me in a way that was so personal and so intimate." These are just a few of the responses that came from a group of Christians who were introduced to the spiritual discipline of worship. I remember the first time I was introduced to it and the huge impact it had on me. At 9:00 on

Life is hectic. These days there seems to be little time for much else than working, getting kids through school and activities, running households, and if you're lucky, squeezing in a workout or two. But oftentimes when we only stay inwardly focused, we lose sight of what's going on around us and may even become calloused and hardened toward people and their needs. Volunteering your time, talents, and gifts not only enriches your own soul, but it does a tremendous amount of

Consider what requests you would really like for God to answer in your life. How will He communicate this to you? Are my issues really addressed in the Bible? Many people pray, but they miss the wonders of prayer because they see it way to narrowly, like requests sent to a reluctant fulfillment house, with maybe an answer or not. But I can show you how to have an interaction with God that is different, powerful, and incredibly varied, and will speak to your specific questions

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger...A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger...A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger...A gentle answer turns away wrath..." Learning to repeat scripture is one of the crucial spiritual exercises for Christians who want to grow stronger in their relationship with Christ, and to transform their minds to be more Christ-like. To understand repetition, though, we h

The Holy Spirit is the channel through which the believer hears God speak. When a person becomes a Christian by asking Jesus Christ to become their Lord and Savior, they are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, and empower them (Acts 2:38; 5:32). The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Divine Trinity and clearly is the power and inspiration of the new covenant (Matthew 28:19). When a believer ties into the whispers and promptings of the Holy Spirit, their l