Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth. – Psalm 86:11a ESV Recently, we experienced a major storm, one filled with lightning and thunder, and significant rainfall. The storm started while my wife and I were at a church meeting and continued for several hours. As we opened the doors to leave, we knew we would get very wet on […]
Even though it is tempting, we can avoid the bait of pointless contention.
Living the Christian life requires a constant effort to discern God’s will and to put that direction into action. Discovering God’s will for our lives, our families, our faith communities, and the world is not always easy. Situations are often complicated and the right course of action is not always clear. How do we discern God’s direction? What tools are there to help us in […]
We all have them, seasons we would rather avoid, that cause us to lose focus and drain our joy. Still, rough patches are a part of being alive. They make up the texture of our lives and going through them can make us stronger in the process. The past year was such a season in our lives. Unexpected challenges arose in a steady stream, sometimes […]
There is nothing quite like knowing you are on your way! There is a sense of excitement and joy that comes from each new beginning in our lives. We feel things begin to tremble as we begin to launch and we know that we are underway, something amazing is about to begin. The anticipation is tangible. Even facing some fear and the unknowns, we know […]
Identifying the sources of negative spiritual gravity in our lives is the first step to breaking free. When we see what is holding us back, those things begin to lose some power in the light of that exposure, but knowing gravity exists will not give us the power to overcome its pull. We need to take active steps to move upward. Here are five steps […]
Busyness is not a sign of success, effectiveness, or importance, yet many live their lives as if it is. Busyness is a sign that our schedules are too full, and we are missing the opportunity to be fully present in the moment, focused on our true priorities. Of course, there are times, maybe even seasons, where circumstances require us to live with heavy agendas, but […]
One of keys to going deeper in our faith is a commitment to press into God. The concept of pressing in is often hard to fully understand and can sound like just another piece of Christian jargon. Once understood, however, it becomes a powerful tool in creating a robust Christian life. So, what exactly does it mean to press into God? Is it reading more […]
Last week was our denomination’s Annual Conference. It is always great to see friends, experience great teaching and worship, and do the business of the church. In preparation for the event, each of us receives a journal with all of the necessary information, including all of the action items for our time of business, details of the budget, and general information about our time together. […]
This morning, I am preaching from a couple of verses from the prophet Habakkuk. This is the first sermon in a New Year’s series on vision. For many of us, Habakkuk is not the first place we turn in the Bible, but his words are a powerful challenge at the beginning of 2015. “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a […]