The Cure for a Competitive Spirit Comparisons are odious. If we compare ourselves to someone higher on the food chain we feel inadequate. If we gaze at someone who has less..
Leading When You’d Rather Hide Leaders sometimes face intractable opposition. The resistance seems too strong, too entrenched and too organized. Resources seem too limited...
Leap Into God’s Grace Jesus performed amazing miracles. He opened the eyes of the blind, healed lepers, cast out demons, and raised the dead. In each case, Jesus did..
Five Keys to Conflict Management Conflict is unavoidable. If you’ve got two people on a team and they never argue then one of them isn’t needed. Jesus, the greatest leader of..
A Purpose for Human Suffering Why? It’s the question that hits first and lingers longest. Why me? Why now? Why this? Most people don’t even try to answer such questions. How..
You Were Made for This God designed you for commitment just as surely as an engineer designs a ship for the open seas and a plane for the sky. A man or woman lacking..
Do This To Make Good Decisions Values aren’t practices. A practice is an activity or action. A practice that works in one situation may not work in another. Why? because..
One Thought Will Heal Your Mind I used to ruminate on negative thoughts for days, weeks, or longer–like years or decades. Over time they shaped my identity. Or, part of it. And..
Jesus Gave One Commandment Ten Times? Confused and afraid, the disciples left the upper room and stepped onto the narrow Jerusalem street. The frigid air–just like their growing..
The Three Dreams of Joseph In Matthew’s gospel, attention is fixed on Mary, Jesus, the star, the shepherds, the manger, and the magi with their gifts of frankincense, myrrh..
I’ve Got the Boat. Who’s Got the Gas? Jesus often spoke in riddles. For instance, what did he mean when asked the following two questions intended to free us from worry: “Is not..
What Did Jesus Mean? “Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing?” When I open the door for someone at the grocery store, I appreciate a friendly, “Thank you.” Don’t you? I pretty much feel that way about any act..
Jesus Got Angry Four Times James said, “for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20). Why? Because God’s anger is perfectly justified and..
The Night My Life Changed Since I moved to Oregon I’ve enjoyed reminding myself how much I detest the wet, cloudy, miserable winters. Did I say wet? Did I say cloudy? Did..
“Get Behind Me Satan!” Recall the Lord’s wilderness temptation. After the last test, we’re told, “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an..
Did Jesus Cheat? Imitating Jesus may seem as impossible as following Superman in flight. We might shadow Clark Kent up a flight of stairs, but not off a tall..
You Control This in 2021 The New Year stretches beyond eyesight. 366 days (It’s a leap year) 8,784 hours 527,040 minutes 31,622, 400 seconds During that..
Fight For Your True Identity Much in the world denies your identity in Christ. Hardship fights it. Your history denies it. Skeptics question it. Yet, lies form the basis of..
You Can Get Past Fear and Doubt to Faith How would you respond if the miraculous invaded your life? That theoretical question became a reality for Zechariah–the father of John the..
You Are In A Spiritual Battle Throughout the Bible we are urged to fight the enemy, do battle, and wage war. We’ve not been placed in a spiritual Disneyworld and told to “have..
Racism and the Bible If you search for the word “racism” in the Bible you won’t find it. Just go to any online Bible concordance and type racism in the search window..
How Do We Obey THIS Command? Paul commands us to focus our mind, our thoughts, on Christ in heaven, not on this world, because we died with Christ and are hidden with him in..
What did Jesus Mean? “The Eye is the Lamp of the Body” I believe if God “opened our eyes” so we could witness a reality that goes beyond sight, we would see ourselves with Christ in the heavenlies..
The Slowly of God In life God seldom moves suddenly and often moves slowly. Of course, we desire flashes of insight which carry us forward quickly. But we must..
