“I encourage anyone seeking to follow the Lord’s leading to relax and be patient, and let God develop your sense of His voice and direction more as the years go on. As long as you abide in Him and stay rooted in His Word, I believe you’ll find a greater sense of assurance of God’s... Continue Reading

For us creatures made in His image, we are meant to share in God’s glory, and to share this glory with one another. We are meant to be like David and his mighty men—not pursuing glory for its own sake, but pursuing good and mighty works, which God has prepared for us.   When we... Continue Reading

If our emotions give us a window into internal ‘reality,’ maturity involves cultivating affections that line up with external reality, with the new creation that’s blooming in this land of the dying.   This is a large topic that, as is the nature of blogs, I’m going to think out loud around the edge of.... Continue Reading

The Father’s over-arching purpose, or goal, in His Son’s redemptive work…is the heading up of all things in Christ…making His Son to be the “first-born over all creation,” giving Him supreme authority and power over a whole new universe, with the assured result that manifold and precious blessings will fall upon all of the redeemed... Continue Reading

Discipline consistently, and you will know peace and happiness. “Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart” (Proverbs 29:17). You will be happy if you like your kids, and you will like your kids if you discipline them away from what makes them obnoxious.   The cane... Continue Reading

Through what seemed like a painful chain of events, the young woman who had been forced into marriage with a divorced pagan king became a mighty instrument in the hands of God.   Hadassah was a young woman who lived in the ancient, bustling city of Susa—located in modern-day southwestern Iran—around 480 BC. Her mother... Continue Reading

If you look back, you’ll probably see that the Spirit has encouraged and strengthened you many times in your life. He’ll do it again and again, until He brings you home.   As you look back on times of affliction, do you remember being suddenly, inexplicably encouraged to persevere? This is what the Holy Spirit... Continue Reading

Remember that every funeral is a loss for someone and a sacred moment entrusted to you. You are caring for souls at their most fragile moment and commending a believer to the promises of God. Few acts in ministry are heavier. Few feel more holy.   In almost seven years as a lead pastor, I... Continue Reading

The Holy Spirit is not waiting for you to develop a dramatic spiritual crisis before He does His deepest work. He is at work right now…and He is patient, and He is extraordinarily thorough, and the question pressing against every self-aware, spiritually serious person reading these words is simply this: are you paying attention to... Continue Reading

There has only ever been one God. And He has loved you with an everlasting love, and given Himself to you as your cheleq [portion], the slice of the field that is yours forever, and that no thief can carry off, and no market can devalue, and no fire can burn, and no grave can... Continue Reading