Monthly Archives: January 2016

Posted on

God Will Give You a Do Over

Why the end will only be the beginning.

Many people use the New Year to motivate life change they otherwise would never do. For most, however, the change doesn’t stick. It takes more than the flip of a calendar to flip a life.

God Will Give You a Do Over

(Photo credit: whologwhy via Foter.com / CC BY)

The end of one year immediately marks the beginning of another. The change occurs in one literal second. A similar transition will occur at the end of time.

The Bible begins with God placing the tree of life alongside the tree of the forbidden fruit (Revelation 22:1-5). Thus, the created earth became the stage upon which mankind could fulfill their purpose to rule under God for His glory.

But we blew it, of course. The good news? You get a do over.

Click to continue reading »

Posted on

Stuck on Fantasy Island? Here’s How to Escape

What to do when you feel marooned in life.

When expectations about what life “ought to be” go unmet for extended periods of time, our hearts will want to drift into fantasy. It can happen for several reasons.

Stuck on Fantasy Island

(Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com)

Longstanding bouts with tough circumstances occur, such as:

  • a debilitating illness
  • family issues
  • sexual frustration
  • money problems
  • marital struggles
  • general discontent

We’ll see some other person’s life and imagine that if we had what they have, then we wouldn’t feel the way we do. If we only lived there, not here, then we would be a different person. If my father would only . . . if my spouse would finally . . . if God would simply . . . then all would be well.

This thinking is bunk. Here’s why.

Click to continue reading »

Posted on

The Dead Sea —One Day It Will Live Again

The evaporating sea offers a picture of God’s power to bring life from death.

Piles of driftwood, bleached white, surround the shoreline like bones from a life lived long-ago. It’s the lowest place on earth, the hottest spot in Israel, and nothing visible can live in its waters. The Dead Sea.

Sunrise over Dead Sea

(Photo: Sunrise over Dead Sea. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

With a name like the Dead Sea, this unusual site might lead you to expect a disappointing visit.

Rest assured—anyone who experiences the Dead Sea never forgets its wonder.

Click to continue reading »

I’m excited to speak at the Grace Baptist Church Men’s Retreat on: “The Tools of the Trade”—essentials for being the man God intends you to be.

Date: April 15, 2016—April 16, 2016
Event: Grace Baptist Church Men's Retreat
Topic: "The Tools of the Trade"
Venue: Grace Baptist Church
219-362-8229
Location: 2502 Monroe Street
LaPorte, IN 46350
Public: Public
Posted on

2 Lessons from Mount Hermon we Must Never Forget

Applying Jesus' commands on and below the Mount of Transfiguration

Sometimes the cross we bear can obscure our view of heaven. God knows that. That’s why He gives us encouragement along with the difficult commands He issues.

Caesarea Philippi and Mount Hermon

(Photo: Caesarea Philippi at the foot Mount Hermon. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

At the foot of Israel’s highest peak, Mount Hermon—near Caesarea Philippi—Jesus told His disciples that He would die in Jerusalem and rise again (Matt. 16:21, 24). Shocked that the Messiah would die, the disciples outright rejected Jesus’ words. On the heels of His unthinkable statement, Jesus made another just as fantastic:

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. —Matthew 16:24

The cross exposed the disciples’ expectations of what they thought following Jesus would bring.

What do you expect from following Jesus? The lessons Jesus gave from Mount Hermon are two we must never forget.

Click to continue reading »

Posted on

When Do You Feel Closest to God?

Indoors or outdoors—alone or with others? Tell me when . . .

Recently during the holidays, I asked my daughters a question that popped in my mind. “When do you feel closest to God?” Their answers surprised me.

When Do You Feel Closest to God?

(Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com)

One answered she feels closest to God when someone she shares Christ with accepts Him, or when a prayer is answered in a way only God could answer, or when she is hiking alone on a mountain. Another daughter said she feels closest to God when playing piano, or when in a windy field, or when laughing with friends.

Isn’t it amazing how different we all are?

I feel closest to God at other times.

Click to continue reading »