You are as close to God as you want to be. Just as you are as involved in social media as you want to be. Just as you are as invested in your family as you want to be. I would encourage you to give some thought to using more of today's technology to place more of God's Word in front of you through multiple avenues. More Bible apps. More social media channels that bring spiritual insight. More Bible-based podcasts. Websites that turn your head toward Christ. Even music

I believe I took this image in South Dakota. It pictures what life can be like sometimes for an individual. It's as though you can't move. But you can, as long as you move perfectly in the process. Squeezed in from all directions. Halfway into something you can't back out of. Others depending on you in the process. Perhaps you are a fairly new believer and you're discovering that there are battles to be encountered as you journey forward in your faith. It speaks well

Intentions... They're one of the best friends to have... as long as they don't stick around. If we're not careful we can begin to feel quite well about our intentions. I'm thinking right now of James 1:22 again. "Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." We are also taught not to be ignorant of the schemes (methodia) methods of the devil. He's a professional schemer and he knows how to make you feel good about feeling good about something rather t

Which is more important, the amount of faith you have, or the object of your faith? I would hope you see that it is the object of your faith that is most important. Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Jn. 14:6). He didn't say, "I am 'a' way," as though there were 6 or 8 ways to get to heaven. He told us He is to be the object of our faith. I used to just think that if I believe IN God, that should be

As we come to another 'one another' this week I want us to take an honest look in the mirror and ask a couple of questions. Firstly, is there a possibility that there may be something about our behavior that is consistently irritating to others? We all have a bad day once in a while, but I'm asking if we perhaps have found that we have created some type of behavior that is simply some kind of attention-getter? An overbearing laugh... a continual need to be the center of att

You didn't, did you? Please tell me you didn't. That saying isn't from the Bible. Greg, my 14th best friend made that one up. It is filled with a lot of truth though, isn't it? Every parent needs a truckload of encouragement! What a huge responsibility! What a challenge it is to your emotional equilibrium, huh? And all the questions that keep coming up? I'm not talking about the ones from the kiddos, I'm talking about the ones from within! Yikes! May I throw a few specifi

I had never discipled anyone in my life. I was 21 years old and had been a believer in Christ as my Savior for about 8 years. During those 8 years I never had anyone take the time to disciple me in any way either. In fact, I didn't know such a thing existed. But there I was at a point in my life where I knew it was time to invest in someone else. I had learned just enough to understand the principle of discipleship. So... the burden was in my heart, but I was as ne

Here's a specific to teach your children regarding money and saving. Now there are other principles regarding money that need to be taught as well. The danger of loving money is one. The joy of giving back to the Lord is one. The necessity to work for money. The value of shopping wisely for the best value for your money. This specific is just the basic principle of confronting greed and learning to do without some things. Teach them early on in life that we don't j

Who tickled me till I couldn't catch my breath? Who taught me to show respect to others? Who trained me to think things through from a spiritual perspective? Who showed me how to tie my shoes, when to bite my tongue and why to stand my ground? Who let me learn to try something new and helped me learn to let some things go? Who etched his way into lifelong memories of mine as he brushed my hair and told me I was pretty, and as he held my hand telling me things were going

It is God's specialty! He is the change agent of your life. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come." (2 Cor. 5:17) Becoming a Christ follower doesn't eliminate car payments and earthquakes. It doesn't remove job losses or unwanted medical reports. Just this afternoon I was working on a totally different subject and came across Ps. 112:7 telling us that the righteous "is not afraid of bad news." It's still bad news

Let's see... what part of this isn't clear? So... what specific do I...?

This focus is what contributes to gaining a proper perspective on life. It's not all about you. It really isn't. It's about Him and you have the honor of being His representative. It's only natural for us to give thought about ourselves. (Rom. 12:3) But our ultimate focus is on Christ. He must increase! Friend, I hate to break it to you but someday you're going to pass away, people are going to be sad, some of them are going to go to your funeral, and then they're going

It’s the ultimate indication of transformation in the life of a Christian. Love. It is one of the earliest character qualities the outside world decided to place on the church as Tertullian (around 197 AD) documented that pagans used that phrase as a description of the Christian community. Christ said that others will know you are his disciples if you love one another (Jn. 13). When I took this picture of this turkey I almost wondered why I was taking the time to try and

Have you created a comfort zone that keeps you away from some people? Why? Perhaps it’s time to admit this and remove some barriers. 2 Cor. 2:14 says that “God is making His appeal… through… us.” How are you doing? Has someone’s skin color or someone’s disability or age become an automatic, “No,” from you to God regarding ministry to them? Your smile can go miles for someone else who needs it so badly. Don’t walk away… walk toward. “…through us.” What specific action

Is there? Honestly, is there? I don't think it even comes close. What greater honor? What greater bond? What greater responsibility? What greater demand on a person? Is there anything more engaging, more mentally taxing, more emotionally demanding, more time-consuming, more God-honoring than to be... a mother? I really don't think anything else comes close. And though it's clear that the demands are tremendous, I want to emphasize the honor, please. You are graced by God

Week # Do you find yourself sometimes just feeling like no other person on the planet is fighting the battle you’re fighting? Do you ever feel as though there’s no way you can call yourself a Christian if this temptation keeps coming at you? Have you ever looked at someone else in church on a Sunday or in your small group and wondered… “Do they ever…?” Read James 3:2 again. “We all stumble.” Could it be any more clear? This is not a challenge to just wink at our sin and

Imagine a hot summer day. It’s easily over 100 degrees! You’re outside feelin’ it. Not only are you outside, but if you’re like me… (I’m 5’ 16” tall), you’re closer to the sun than most everyone else outside, so you’re feelin’ it even more! Get the point? Then you hear that old welcome sound of the ice cream truck. Anyone remember those days? And not only does it approach, but the driver gets out and says, “It’s on me… everybody take an ice cream. I gotta get home fast.

My two older brothers and I were swimming in the ocean in Florida. We were in a little inlet where the water wasn't too rough. I was about 5-6 years old. I went under to discover more of the unknown and my oldest brother, several feet away, said when I came up it looked like someone had hit me across the face with a whip. I began crying and felt stinging all across my face. Our dad was stationed in the Air Force at the time and I was taken to the hospital there and we fo