Spiritual Heroes and Practical Obedience Have you heard the story about a man who escapes his boring life by fantasizing about being a hero? If you’re familiar with books and movies such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty or Don Quixote, you know what I mean....
Are You Feeling Pressured? Is anyone besides me a bit tired of hearing how pressure turns coal into diamonds? How we should welcome pressure because God uses it to refine us into “jewels”? Every time I hear this illustration, my first thought is that coal is...
Ask and You Will Receive . . . Wisdom! Wisdom seems to be in short supply these days, whether among political and corporate leaders or among the average people you meet on the street. People say and do things that often make us scratch our heads. He did what?...
How Do You Handle Interruptions? Interruptions used to be the exception. Or at least, that’s the way it seemed. Today, not so much. Today, interruptions seem to be the rule instead of the exception. How do you handle it when your day doesn’t go as planned? I’d...
Bearing Each Other’s Burdens Without Enabling The season of giving has begun. Giving thanks. Giving gifts. And giving time and energy. Some say giving shouldn’t be limited to a range of dates on the calendar. The spirit of giving should last all year long....
Are You Mastered or a Masterpiece? Did you know my bio is recorded in the Bible? Yup! Paul described me to a T when he wrote in Romans 7:15-19, “I do not understand what I do . . . For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I...
How Desensitized Are You? As I write this, my phone is dinging. Breaking news: “At least 12 dead after massive landslide overtakes village in Ecuador.” Yesterday’s headline: “38 killed in fire in Mexico migrant detention camp.” Two days ago, breaking news...
Called, Loved, and Kept There’s a lot of talk in Christian circles about being “called,” and rightly so. The Bible tells us: We’re called to a holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9) Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14) God works all things together for God...
Life-Changing Advice I’ll never forget Betty. Betty was an older woman I knew from church when I was a young newlywed. She was a retired nurse, married with adult children. Her father-in-law lived with them because he could no longer live independently due to...
A Different Kind of Exercise I’m naturally drawn to exercise. Stretches and jumps. Weightlifting, squats, and running. Um . . . actually not the kind of stretching, jumping, weightlifting, squats, or running that might have occurred to you. I’m actually the...
Fight Spiritual Battles by Standing When we think about physical battles, we often think of two opposing...
Can We Really Control Our Thoughts? The brief thought leaves as quickly as it came. By the time I realize what...
The Danger of Shortcuts As the new year stretches before us, once again I’m looking for shortcuts to make life...