Do We Spend More Time Praying to Bring People into Heaven or Keep Them Out? A friend raised this question in a conversation with me this week. Sounds like a silly thing to ask, right? As Christians, of course we pray for the salvation of unbelievers. We want...
The Power, Responsibility, and Blessing of Abiding What comes to mind when you hear the word vine? We might think of a vine as an ivy that clings to bricks or concrete. We may picture a twining vine, such as wisteria, that climbs by encircling a pole in a...
Living Rent-Free Who or what is living rent-free in your head? I recently read a news article about the growing trend of trespassers occupying vacant homes whose owners are away for extended periods. If the trespassers stay long enough, they may be able to...
Is Salvation an Insurance Policy? Life can throw us curveballs. Unexpected events. Crises. Natural disasters. Broken pipes. Once-in-a-hundred-year storms. And we do our best to hedge our exposure. Which leads us to insurance policies. Home, renters’, flood, and...
What Habits Are You Locked Into? “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Jesus said this to His disciples when they failed to stay awake while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to His arrest. Fast forward two thousand years. All too often my...
An Impossible Standard? Has God set us up for failure? It might feel that way when we read some of the commands in the Bible. Some standards seem impossible to attain. Love your enemies. Do good to those who persecute you. Take up your cross. Don’t be anxious for...
What Kind of Friends Do You Have? How many friends do you have? Not the hundreds or even thousands you may have on social media, but real friends you could call on for help if you’re in a jam? July 30 is International Friend Day. So in light of International...
Are You “Wildflower Dating” or “Snowmanning” God? As I talk to singles today, I often wish for a slang dictionary to keep up with their descriptions of our contemporary dating culture. Regardless of age, terms such as pocketing, cookie-jarring, ghosting,...
Blessings in Disguise Ever hear about a guy named Jabez? He was all the rage 25 years ago, or at least his prayer was all the rage. I’ve been praying a tweaked version of that prayer for years. And it centers around redefined blessings. Jabez and his now-famous...
Giving a Piece of My Brokenness “Different people need a different piece of your brokenness.”* I read this quote from country music singer Jo Dee Messina several times as the meaning and message sank into my spirit. A piece of my brokenness. Brokenness is not...
Do We Spend More Time Praying to Bring People into Heaven or Keep Them Out? A friend raised this question in a...
The Power, Responsibility, and Blessing of Abiding What comes to mind when you hear the word vine? We might...
Living Rent-Free Who or what is living rent-free in your head? I recently read a news article about the growing...