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Smaller Seeds Bring Bigger Harvests  We all long for more. More love, more joy and more peace. All the good stuff! But, it will take more faith to plant a smaller seed. And, from God’s perspective, the smaller the seed, the bigger the harvest. The Shunammite woman thought she had…

Leave Familiar For Fabulous In the Old Testament, the Israelites camped in the wilderness wherever the cloud over the tabernacle stopped. When the cloud moved, they moved. I have found this to be true in my own spiritual life, The cloud of God‘s presence has directed my life and caused…

After a While You Get Used to It  A friend of a missionary was in a coffee shop in Beirut, Lebanon with three other people who had lived in Beirut a very long time. Without warning, a bomb went off nearby. Frightened, his friend jumped out of his chair. Thankfully,…

Perry Como and the Our Father My father was in politics, and lived mostly in Washington D.C. Consequently, my twin brother and I were sent to a two-month long summer camp for nine years, from ages five to fourteen. Every night, the camp loudspeaker would play the “Our Father” sung…

God Finds Us Fascinating There is no one more delighted about who you are than God. So much so, He thinks about you all the time. Actually, He created you and I, envisioning us spending eternity with Him. And that’s one of the reasons why He made each of us…

Living Present, Fully Awake We are all wired differently. Each of us are given one-of-a-kind temperaments and personalities that are designed by God to connect with Him and others. So, the older I get, the more awake I want to be. Fully present in every conversation. Looking into people’s eyes…

Saying, “I Believe!” The other day I heard myself pray, “God, I want to believe.”      It got my attention. My prayer was weak and unconvincing. Upon further reflection, I realized this type of unbelieving prayer had become a pattern in my life. I was begging God, rather than agreeing with…

Emotional Shock and Awe In our ever-changing, 24-hour news cycle, media saturated world, what used to be experienced as a periodic catastrophic event, now comes across the airwaves as a constant assault on our emotional wellbeing. Many in the next generation never follow the news. They’ve been deluged from birth…

New Snorkel Mask I swim laps for exercise. But as I got older, I found my neck began to hurt more and more while I did. I have used swim goggles over the years, but decided to try a full face snorkel mask to eliminate the continuous turning of my…

The Bride of God’s Dreams The Declaration of Independence states unequivocally, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” The impact of this reality must be explored in order to be fully appreciated. Why…

Reality is My Friend I’ve had lots of friends over the years. Some close, and some not so close. I’ve even made friends of enemies, both real and imagined. But one of the best friends I rarely recognized was a friend called “reality”. In retrospect, I realize that “reality” was…

“Children, Your Father’s Home!” My sister-in-law Kathy tells the story of a relationship she had with a man she was about to marry. It was a few weeks prior to their scheduled wedding. The invitations were printed and about to be mailed. A dinner was planned for her fiancé to…

Working Through Fear We can learn a lot about fear from Alex Honnold, the elite rock climber who scaled the most difficult rock face of all, El Capitan, without ropes. His epic climb was featured in the Oscar winning documentary, “Free Solo.” Alex was asked, “When you’re 2,000 feet above…

When Jesus Disappears Did you ever notice that as soon as you see Jesus, He disappears? God reveals Himself to us in a supernatural way, and before we can wrap our arms around it and fully embrace the experience, He’s gone. In the Book of Luke, the resurrected Jesus appears…

Flexibility Periodically, I receive a directional word from the Lord as to what my greatest need would presently be. Having retired from pastoring last year, and now being a health coach, there are many new experiences and relationships God has opened up. So, I sensed my present need was for…

Life is a Jigsaw Puzzle Are you struggling to see how your life fits? It’s probably because you want to understand it. What if I told you: life was more about acceptance than understanding? It’s more about rhyme than reason. More a jigsaw puzzle of one-of-a-kind pieces, than uniformed Legos….

Be Careful What You’re Chasing Close friends of ours have grandchildren who were recently chasing an animal around the back yard. Their father went out to investigate and found it was a four-foot long rattlesnake. Needless to say, he yelled for them to get back and then proceeded to kill…

Facing Your Fears Until we find our true identity, we won’t be able to face our greatest fears. The patriarch Jacob had been estranged from his brother Esau for decades, ever since Jacob cheated him out of his birthright and blessing. So, the idea of meeting his twin again was…

Hopelessness is a Lie When the Bible says to followers of Jesus, “…you will not grieve like people who have no hope,” (1 Thessalonians 4:13, NLT) does it mean, that we are a little less hopeless than other people? Absolutely not! In the past, without Jesus, my hope was not…

The Least Person in Heaven Did you ever consider how significant it is to be a Christ-follower? Why are we in the New Testament age blessed beyond anyone in a previous age? The amazing words of Jesus put this extraordinary privilege in perspective. Speaking of the great prophet, John the…

Laughing With God Do you laugh with God? I hope you do. It’s so important to laugh with our close friends, and God wants to be our closest. The other day, I had run upstairs to get something, and came all the way down with something completely different. Going back…

Surprising God Would you like to surprise God? It sounds like it might be fun, but, sorry — you can’t. He already knows the past, present, and future simultaneously. And frankly, it’s better for us that He does. Though it means our lives have never surprised Him, it also means…

The Emotional Cost of Framing Pictures   I went to a store to get an important picture framed. It meant a great deal to me and had a lot of emotion behind it. As a store attendant was assisting me, I commented that just looking at the picture made me…

Feeling Bad About Yourself Would you like to have no good reason to feel bad about yourself? Then let Jesus forgive everything you’ve ever done bad. While you’re at it, would you like a good reason to feel good about yourself? Then believe everything God promises to give you if…

Moving the Unmovable, Shaking the Unshakable Nothing in life is static. Everything is fluid…moveable…in motion. Yet, with the right amount of focus, what seems unchangeable can be conformed to God’s perfect will and purpose. At times, it requires pressure to move the seemingly unmovable. The pressure of prayer or the…

Grace and Truth How should we, as Christ-followers, communicate with our culture? We shouldn’t forget, how we share is as important as what we say. Unless truth is spoken in love, it becomes un-hearable, and not truth at all. The Bible says, “…the law was given through Moses; grace and…

Aerial Skiers and Their Training Olympic Aerial Ski Jumpers ski off 10-foot ramps and are propelled 20 feet into the air while performing multiple flips before landing. It is amazing to watch and fascinating to study! But, what stunned me as much as their winter competitions was how they trained…

Being Used by God You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room for God to use you; nor the most talented. I’ve known lots of gifted people who blew up their lives for nothing. I’m always provoked when I think about the life of Solomon: called the…

Google’s Culture of Collaboration A friend worked at Google and described how the company fostered a unique culture of collaboration. They believe the highest paid person in the room does not have all the answers. This creates an unguarded atmosphere, where managers are less concerned about protecting their position, and…

Priceless It seems everything on Earth is either increasing or decreasing in value. A watch that once belonged to Paul Newman recently sold for $17 million. While a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci sold for $266 million. What about in Heaven? What is our value to God? Would it surprise…

Bad Bosses Ever have a “Bad Boss”? When I was a young Christian, I worked for six months in a casino as a dishwasher. Though I had a college degree, it was what God directed me to do. My boss was this six-foot-four, 240-pound, ex-Highway Patrolman, with a foul mouth…

All I Had Left Was a Good Response I once spoke at a large Christian Festival, right before one of the most popular Christian musicians performed. 30,000 people were in attendance and hundreds came forward to receive Jesus. It was marvelous! The next year, they invited me back to do…

Joy is a Conviction In 2 Corinthians 12:10, Paul the Apostle writes, “I am content with weaknesses, hardships, and calamities.” Had Paul’s perspective been so radically transformed, he actually was content in his difficulties and struggles? It’s a truly “unconventional” thought! Paul actually found the cure for a shattered life!…

High Mountain Lakes While hiking around a high mountain lake, a knowledgeable friend told me that high mountain lake water levels remain the same, whether in drought or during elevated water seasons. Wow! That got my attention, as one of my prayers is to walk in the fullness of Christ….

Fistless, Footless and Toothless Are you ready to fight for yourself and others? You need to be. A great evangelist, and ex-major league baseball player said, “I’m against sin. I’ll kick it as long as I’ve got a foot, and I’ll fight it as long as I’ve got a fist….

Inspired or Intimidated We’ve all been around extraordinary people: giants in some dimension; exceeding our abilities; dwarfing our capacity; excelling in a way we never have or ever will. When we’re around them, we always have two options. They can inspire us or intimidate us. I would be lying if…

Second Chances At many points in life, each of us wish we could get a do-over. And no one does do-over’s better than God. God gives each of us 2nd chances, every day; just in case we were blind yesterday, and missed an opportunity to do what was right and…

Who Can I Help Today? Ever been around a “Cup is completely empty kind of person.” I had a roommate in college during my “I’m a hippie, why don’t you feel good about supporting me?” phase. I was crashing in his room, because no one wanted to be around him….

Quick to Label, Slow to Love Far right! Far left! Liberal, conservative, progressive, moderate, straight, gay! We live is a culture that is quick to Label, but slow to Love. Labels that often hurt, and almost always divide. Jesus lived in a similar world: publican, Pharisee, leper, sinner, adulteress, tax…

How Do You See God How we see God will determine who we become, for it demonstrates how we see ourselves, and how we will ultimately act toward others. Is God loving, kind, critical or judgmental? Since we are made in the image and likeness of God, the Bible says,…

Dying to Self Dying to self is a major part of training our souls. Speaking of Jesus, the Bible says, “And being found in human form, he humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8, ESV) In “Human Form” or, as…

Bronze Serpent Did you know that even good things can become idols…things that we begin to look to and trust more than God? In the Old Testament, a plague of snakes was stopped when Moses built a bronze serpent. But, over 800 years, the nation of Israel began to worship…

The Hidden Value of What You Have There was a woman in the Bible who thought all she had was death, debt and destitution. But what she really had was the seed for a miracle. She came desperate to the prophet Elisha after her husband had died, thinking she had…

God’s Leftovers Do we really believe that God “…is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think…?” That’s His promise to us in the Book of Ephesians, chapter 3. When Jesus fed 5,000 men, plus women and children, He did it with five loaves and…

Everybody Loves Something Everyone loves something! We can’t help ourselves. That’s how we’re wired. Hermits love solitude. Misers love money. Addicts love their addictions. Pundits love opinions. And we can see that what we love speaks directly to who we are. Because “God is love” what we love also determines…

Fighting Fear We all face fears. But the key to facing them is not running from them. Paul the Apostle said, “When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside.” (2 Corinthians…

The Keel In My Life I received an encouragement about the significance of my beautiful wife of forty years. It was affirming the reality that Suzie has been the keel in the hull of my life. A structural keel is a beam around which the hull of a ship is…

Wait For Approval Do you spend too much time waiting for the approval of others? Many of us do. In the Book of Genesis, Jacob’s wife, Leah says, “God has given me good gifts for my husband. Now He Will Honor Me, for I have given him six sons.” Leah…

Dying For Encouragement Do you feel like giving up on life? Before I met Jesus, I went through six months contemplating suicide every day. I once read about a businessman who took his life. He left a note that said: “In 30 years I have never had one word of…

Proud To Have a Son Like You A 17-year old boy in New York City decided to end his life by jumping off a hotel roof. He had been beaten by his father and felt it made no difference to anyone what became of him. A police officer came up…

The Cure For a Broken Heart Do you have a broken heart? There’s a cure. The Bible says, “A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) A joyful heart is the cure for a broken spirit. When our spirit is broken…

Problems With Evolution The theory of Evolution has lots of problems. First: there’s no “new creation” taking place at this time. None! If the Earth evolved, why did it stop? Second: matter is constantly changing, but the trend is always downward – toward deterioration – not upward. Third: lower life…

My Response Do you battle with anger? Proverbs 16:32, says, “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” In every area of life, our response to the unexpected is infinitely more important than what others do…

Honored Do you feel dishonored? Many people feel dishonored by the people closest to them: a parent, a child, a spouse, or just society in general. It seems every day we hear of a person lashing out against someone whom they believe has dishonored them personally, or their nation, race,…

Something Brand New There is a great verse in the Book of Isaiah that encourages me so much, especially in The Message paraphrase Bible: “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see…

Being a Giver Every person who’s a giver is glad when other people are giving. Every person who, at this point, is a “taker” is evaluating, “Will becoming a giver actually change my life for the good?” “Are the promises of God really true?” “Will He really open the windows…

Life’s Frustrations All of us are frustrated at times when things don’t make sense—when life doesn’t add up. At these less than enjoyable moments we express our frustrations to God and anyone who’ll listen. But I’ve come to the conclusion that if I get fed up with life’s complexities I’m…

Life’s Great Irony Do you have father wounds or mother wounds? Though it is unsettling to retrieve the priceless value of past hurts, they are actually the birth pangs of renewed hope. Many of us have an unclaimed lottery ticket from our childhood in the pocket closest to our heart….

Rear View Mirrors Did you ever consider why your rear view mirror is so much smaller than your windshield? It’s because we should be infinitely more concerned with what’s ahead of us than what’s behind us. We may glimpse at the past, but we must fully focus on what’s present…

Grace Isn’t Cheap There is no more marvelous word in the Christian faith than “grace.” It’s what Jesus provided for us when He died in our place. It’s God’s gift to us. God’s unmerited favor! Kindness we don’t deserve, or could ever earn. Grace is the divine assistance given to…