Virtually everyone who has walked planet earth, male or female, young or old, rich or poor, has come to a wall in their individual life. A "wall" is that seemingly impenetrable barrier that prevents us from moving forward with our lives. The wall can be financial or relational or physical (think of your health) or professional. For some it may even be spiritual. The wall is not easily overcome. It is too wide or big to go around; too tall to go over; too foundational to go under. You could retreat from the wall, but it's not going away. You... Continue reading

Who am I? How did I get to this point in life? Why do I do what I do? What am I or what am I doing here? Each and every one of us asks these questions...often. Perhaps not all of the time, but all too often (especially when the times may be confusing or difficult), we stand in front of the bathroom mirror and ask these exact questions. The problem that we then face is (are) the incredibly profound and sometimes exhaustingly difficult to answer. In fact, the answers are almost impossible to answer simply, directly or sometimes even objectively. And yet, these are questions that we yearn to answer or have answered for us. So where should we start? Which question should we seek to answer first? Continue reading

Christmas evokes that type of solitude and reflection. For thousands of years God promised a messiah that would not only save men and women from their sins, but in doing so that act of salvation would restore a broken relationship between Creator and creature. Although once created perfect and in the image and likeness of God, Adam and Eve willfully sinned plunging the world and every man and woman who would come after them into a fractured and hurting world. Continue reading

Today, our nation is besieged literally coast to coast ... wildfires, flooding, severe storms, economic chaos in certain states and cities. Is this the beginning of God's judgment on this nation; on these United State? I don't know. Many of us (because we are Bible believing Christians) have been mocked and criticized as we have prayed and cried out to God for grace and mercy.What I do know is that our God - the God of Bible - is holy, just, and merciful. He is always gracious and loving. Always. Please keep in mind that He is also the Supreme... Continue reading

God is passionate about bringing Glory to Himself. In all that He does, everything seen and unseen, visible and invisible is designed to bring Him glory. Second, God is passionate about His Son, Jesus. God goes to great length to glorify the Son to bring glory to the Father. Third, God is passionate about having a relationship with His creation. Continue reading

Let's face it no one in there right mind likes adversity. Each of us does want smooth sailing and 100% cooperative relationships. But the fact remains that we human beings live in an imperfect or fallen world (although that certainly wasn't the case in the beginning), with imperfect and fallen people. Not only are people the problem, but often times it's Nature in the forms of bad weather, earthquakes, pestilence, etc. We are oftentimes surrounded by and in adversity. And then in our desire to overcome, we fight it. Sometimes we win, sometimes we don't. Adversity (in whatever its form) will remain. Continue reading

To me, Easter or Resurrection Sunday is the most amazing holiday on the calendar. It is the one religious holiday I look forward to all year long. Easter fulfills the promise of Christmas. Easter is the believers guarantee of life itself, even unto eternity. We must not take it for granted. Jesus is crucified thereby satisfying the Father's demand of attrition and sacrifice; it is the final and all sufficient sacrifice for all of eternity past and present to restore the relationship between God and man that had bee broken so many thousands of years earlier by the simple breaking of one rule or command. Ponder that for a moment if you will. All that I'll add is the fact that God is pure and holy and His standard is perfection. Eventually Sunday, or as the Gospel writers put, the first day of the week will come, but then there's Saturday. Continue reading

Our attitude needs to the same as the Shepherds; to be lowly and humble and rejoice in the wonder of God that we see. Our attitude needs to be the same as the Wise men from the East, searching the Scriptures to know God and His Word and how that all works in our lives (family, business or work, social); to be willing to share the truths of Jesus to a world that wants to stamp Him out. Our attitude needs to be the same as Joseph and Mary and be accepting and obedient in whatever circumstance God may lead us into, because if He's going to lead me into something, He will lead me through it while bringing Him much glory. After all, it's about God, not about you or me. Ultimately, our attitude needs to be the same as Jesus. Reread Paul's words above; that passage says it all. We need to move ourselves aside and allow God to fully come, take over and transform our lives. Each one of us was created in the image and likeness of God to be like Him in love and purity and beauty and holiness and kindness and generosity and creativity. Continue reading

All of us are on a journey through life and each journey is different. Although different, our journeys may seem similar as we travel along. It's as if we're walking paths that can see each other and at times these paths parallel or intersect each other. Keep in mind that no two people traverse the exact same course. For the past five or six years I've been on a journey that I honestly have not liked. At all. Nor would I have dreamt it; but God had a much different plan. It has been hard and at more times than... Continue reading

Three days of remembrance; the solemnity of Good Friday, the Saturday of anticipation and the joy of Sunday. Let's spend some time looking at these three days as pictures or at least portions of our lives. Each of us comes upon or is brought upon very difficult aspects of living whether it be financial or professional or relational, we often have to face an "Easter weekend" of that portion of life. And this is where we can come to the understanding that Jesus really did know and could relate to the trials and tribulations we face. Continue reading

I see a circle or cycle that is supposed to sustain itself. The three parts to this Circle of Commitment are Commitment, Standards and Ownership. Each of these aspects is to feed and sustain the other and as we'll discuss, they do a fairly good job in doing just that. Commitment. In all that we do in, there has to be some level of commitment. Depending on the object, our commitment will vary. Continue reading

We are to be God's Image bearers. How are we measuring up? That's what you call a loaded question. Really loaded. Although mankind (both men and women) are created in God's Image by His own hand, we men (sorry ladies, but God created us first then saw that we would need help...) are called to a higher standard. Frankly that's a standard that we have been neglecting almost from the beginning. God called us to be His direct representative, His viceroy if you will, on planet earth. He called and created us to make the earth and everything in it and on it subject to man for the purpose of bringing glory to God, the Creator of all things. Continue reading

Last night (November 29, 2014) I reposted a story from Ferguson, MO, USA, that highlighted a protestor who while out looting and pillaging, accidentally set fire to and burned down his own home. This man who got wrapped up in the emotion rather than separating himself from the mob and is now homeless as a consequence to his actions. Some of us may gloat at this poor guy's actions, misfortunes, whatever you want to call it, but in reality it's a tragic reminder of what can happen when we don't engage our minds and follow only with the heart. I've been told that the Daily Currant is satire (thank you gentlemen), but regardless of the truth or veracity of the story, there's a lot to learn and take away. And frankly, although satire, it's not that far out of the realm of possibility. Continue reading

Every single one of us, young or old, male or female, is saddled with a continuous, never ending conversation going on in our minds. A lot of it is pretty benign. Some of it can be fun. But other parts of this conversation (maybe call it a monologue) can be harmful or even destructive. This monologue, this self-conversation is the "Chatterbox". As we get started, we need a couple of definitions. First, what is the "chatterbox"? Pastor Steven Furtick, author of "Crash the Chatterbox" and Lead Pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, describes the chatterbox as that constant and almost incessant, nearly audible voice in our heads that is talking, talking, talking. Continue reading

Most of us who have been in the presence of a great person sometimes think "boy, I would love to do or be like them. Their life must be awesome! So in touch with God..." and so on and so on. The problem is that few of us realize what it is has cost that person to have progressed to that "next" or higher level. We don't understand the physical, emotional, or even academic demands that the person has. It may look "glorious" and they may look like they have it all together, but we don't know - perhaps don't want to know - the "true cost" of discipleship. Continue reading

Recently a friend of mine recommended that I read the book "Crash the Chatterbox" by Steven Furtick. His recommendation came at a perfect time in my life. I'll go into some the details in the following pages, but suffice to say, I found this tome so compelling, that I brought it to the attention of our men's Saturday morning small group. Continue reading

Unfortunately, many of us believers - or better yet, FOLLOWERS (even the devil, Satan, and his demons believe in Jesus) - struggle with talking openly about the power of a changed life and living in Christ. So that begs this question: am I a believer or a follower of Jesus Christ? A believer is not necessarily a follower, but a follower is a believer. Speaking and proclaiming the Gospel of Christ is a command, not a suggestion. The Gospel is just that, it is "good news". Continue reading

Paul's Epistle to the Galatian church is hard hitting! I'll just let you be teased with that comment now and you'll see why I say that in quick time. Over the years, this book has become one of my favorites. In my opinion, Galatians comes only second to Romans when laying out a solid foundation for our Faith in Christ and for Christianity itself. You'll hear it said that Christianity is not about a religion, but it is about a relationship. This is going to be an interesting study... Going through the book of Galatians is not a simple verse by verse study. Continue reading

Letting_goIn almost every aspect of life, we all have to grow up. The parent can no longer hover around their child wringing their hands and fretting how that child will get along without them. There are various and continuous stages of "release": after nine months of gestation, the baby is born and the umbilical cord cut; the child's first day at school; the dreaded day when your child drives off in your car alone for the first time; high school graduation; marriage. All of these are tremendous steps and hopefully we as parents/teachers have been properly preparing our children to be released so that they can succeed - or possibly fail, but recover - on their own. Continue reading

In 2013, I was given the opportunity to co-teach the senior high school Sunday school with our Youth Pastor Mike Kraft. This young man (almost half my age) is a real blessing to me, the kids and so many others in our church. This young man has a passion for souls in general and young souls in particular. Pastor Mike has helped me come to understand that there is a difference teaching young people (although slight, it is significant) as opposed to adults. Continue reading

Bored"What I am I doing here?" Or better yet, "Why do I waste my time listening to this stuff?" Or how about this one comment/question: "Why can't the pastor be more "relevant" (interesting, exciting, you fill in the word as you see it...)?" From the website "The Resurgence" sponsored by Mars Hill Church, Seattle, WA, USA: The Art of Listening might well be the most the important skill a Christian must develop, because Christianity is at its essence all about the Word of God. In fact, God himself is the Word (John 1:1) and the Word became flesh (John 1:2)—safe to say that if God is the Word then how we use our ears is pretty important. Furthermore, you can only come to faith through hearing (Rom. 10:14) and then you grow mature through hearing (Matt. 13:23). Continue reading

If you want to describe love, the best analogy I can think of is the wind. You can't see the wind itself, but you can feel it (whether it is warm or cold), it touches you. The wind also causes other things like leaves or sail boats to move. In other words, you can see and feel the effects of the wind. Love is similar in that you can't directly see it, but you can experience its effects on yourself and other people. As we've looked at the attributes of love and tried to understand how it works for the purpose of answering the question "how can God be a God of love and allow such evil in the world?", we've been examining Jesus's parable of the Prodigals found in the Gospel according to Luke chapter fifteen. This is a great story of what love is supposed to look like and how we are to use it as a model for our own lives. Continue reading

Everyday tens of millions of people around the world recite those words as part of their prayer time. Those words are prayed in public and in private. For some, those words are part of a rote exercise, but for others that phrase is a heartfelt plea to the Almighty. Unfortunately, we may pray "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done" but in reality our hearts are praying "Thy Kingdom come, MY will be done." We want God's Kingdom to be fully present and operational here on earth, here in our lives. We want God making a difference in our lives and in the lives of our families, friends, loved ones, our businesses, our investments, our giving to the poor, our philanthropies. But the crux of the problem is that we want His will to be done according to our (my) needs and from our (my) perspective. Continue reading

For me, getting up early to help my wife Barbara stuff the turkey and do some final prep was always something to look forward to. Really. We did an occasional football game of the local high school or attended my high school's cross town rival game. We would sip hot chocolate and bump into old school chums and briefly catch up with life. Breakfast would be light with coffee and fresh pumpkin bread that my wife had just baked the night before. Sometimes we would just hang about the house and read and enjoy one another's company before the guests would arrive. Usually, about an hour or so before the meal my daughter Bethany and I would go for a short walk around to the base of the reservoir that is across the street from our home. It was just enough time to allow Barbara to put the finishing touches on dinner... and to get out of her hair and me out of the kitchen as I would be "tasting". Continue reading

The harsh reality is that we live in a fallen world that is rife with sinning sinful people and at least on the surface, appears to be careening out of control into a nuclear oblivion. That picture is a picture of the furthest thing from God's Love. Remember, until we understand how God loves, and then put it into practice, we won't be able to love freely or fully. We won't even be able to love and live as abundantly as He has created us all to be, and therefore, this stressed out world will never be the paradise we believe it should be. That's the problem: we want the world to look a certain way, our way and not necessarily God's way or design - that idea was lost or corrupted a long time ago. The fact remains that God still has his remnant living in the world and almost more importantly, God still loves ALL of mankind because we are created in His image for the purpose of reflecting His glory. In the end, God's Will will be done; He will not be thwarted. But right now, it just doesn't seem that way. Continue reading