How Not To Be A Discouragement To Others Sometimes I get discouraged. How about you? When I get discouraged, sometimes, I become a discouragement to others around me. It is one thing to be discouraged. It is an entirely different thing to be a discouragement to others. But I find that my discouragement often times spills over into the lives of others and my discouragement becomes their discouragement. I lose sight of what matters, and I become... Read more
IS LAUREN DAIGLE AND HER MUSIC CHRISTIAN? As a pastor, I am most confused by Lauren Daigle and her music. Is she a Christian artist or is she not? She started off as a Christian artist and wrote beautiful songs that brought and bring glory to Jesus. You Say is one of my most favorite Christian songs. Then she declared herself not a Christian artist and says she is not sure what God thinks about... Read more
A KIND HEART FOR OUR ENEMIES It is not a sin to have enemies. Jesus had enemies. But it is a sin not to extend kindness to our enemies. Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” King David, a man after God’s own heart, had enemies too. He was a warrior for God and yet he had a softer side to him. David tries to show compassion to his adversaries. Some are willing to receive it,... Read more
COURAGEOUSLY RESTORING OTHERS If you have ever tried to restore someone back to God like Jeremiah did with the nation of Israel, you know it is no easy task, but it is a noble and high calling from our Savior Jesus Christ. God wants people to be restored to Himself. He does not want to judge and destroy them. He wants to reclaim and restore them for His glory and their good. God says in... Read more
COURAGEOUS SHEPHERDS FOR GOD It seems like we have little grace today for pastors in America who aren’t physically fit or chiseled like a body builder, but we practically stand up and applaud pastors who borderline brag about how emotionally unfit their lives, marriages, and relationships are. When did this change? Where are we headed? Jeremiah lived in a day when the holiness of God no longer mattered. They had turned the lights out on caring about whether... Read more
“LOVE” MAY BE THE DOWNFALL OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH “Love” may be the downfall of the American Church. What? I thought Jesus said in John 13:35, “They will know you are my disciples by your love for one another.” He did. We live in a day and age when the word “love” means one thing in church and a different thing in the Bible. For us today the growing trend in the church is... Read more
What does the Bible have to say about Homosexuality being a sin? Compromising God’s Word or Condemning homosexuals…could there be a third option? What does the Bible have to say about homosexuality? The spring of 2004 was full and weighty when I was invited with a group of local pastors to a pastors’ breakfast at Focus on the Family. The head of a pro-gay activist group was coming to town and demanded a meeting with Dr. Dobson, the founder of... Read more
EUGENE PETERSON, THE MESSAGE BIBLE, AND HOMOSEXUALITY I had the pleasure of meeting Eugene and Jan Peterson in the later years of their lives at The Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs, the headquarters for the Navigators. I was invited by my friend Don Pape, who at the time was the Senior Acquisitions Editor for NavPress. I, along with about forty or so other Christians leaders from across the United States, got to hear from Eugene and Jan, ask them... Read more
This season has given us all time to relive the story of our lives and especially the relationships of our lives that are broken. It caused us to take relational inventory. If you are anything like me, this created some incredible tension and anxiety inside of you regarding the lackluster of some of the relationships of your life. Maybe you leaned in trying to make it better. Maybe you leaned out not knowing how to make it better. Maybe... Read more
COURAGEOUS INTERCESSION FOR THE UNREPENTANT God want us to be heartbroken over the sin of others in our lives who claim His name but refuse to repent. He calls us to intercede on their behalf. He calls us to stand in the gap and do for them what they are not even willing to do for themselves. One of the most loving things you can ever do for an unrepentant person is to pray for their... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In