Category Archives: Uncategorized

“Why do you call me good?…Only God is truly good.” (Mark 10:18 NLT) One of the most helpful insights the Lord has given me is the realization that I’m capable of anything – ANYTHING – given the right set of circumstances. The murderer, rapist, human trafficker, child molester, you name whatever is the vilest “crime”Continue reading “Just How Good Are You?”

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.” (1 Peter 5:8a NLT) One of the definitions of “subtle” in Webster’s dictionary is: “working insidiously; not easily detected.”  Sounds like satan to me. The Apostle Peter warns: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion,Continue reading “The Subtlety of Sin”

“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one…” (John 17:21a NLT) Perhaps you’ve heard the expression: “The quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” My wife “shines” on many fronts. She’s beautiful, smart, deeply loves her family and is committed to the Lord and HisContinue reading “Oneness in Christ and Why It’s So Vital”

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. (1 Peter 1:6 NLT) Based on what I mentioned in yesterday’s Post, what’s my “take-away,” the “profit” of my faith-building pain? One very valuable benefit of that painful season was that it taught meContinue reading “The Profit of Pain”

“so that the world will believe you sent me.” (John 17:21b NLT) One of the many things I love (prefer) about Hope Church is the diversity. To me it’s a picture of the New Testament Church. The first century Church saw people from all walks of life – Jews and non-Jews (gentiles), slave and free,Continue reading “A Picture of Oneness”

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.” (Ephesians 3:18 NLT) When my then sixteen-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia, can you imagine my first response? Unbelief (I couldn’t believe what my ears were hearing), followed shortly thereafterContinue reading “How Faith is Built”

“Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40 NLT) The Summer following my college graduation, my wife and I did an internship at the church she had attended growing up. We stayed with her parents, so our expenses were minimal, and we were excited the church was paying us $75 aContinue reading “Faith and Fear in the Storms of Life”

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.” (John 14:15-16 NLT) After my divorce, to say I struggled would be an understatement. But among the most glaring evidences of my struggle was my lack of finances. Nearly everyContinue reading “The Friend I Didn’t Know I Had”

“But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.” (2 Corinthians 11:3 NLT) The “deceiver,” as satan is sometimes referred in the Bible, is no respecter of persons and, like David Copperfield (see yesterday’s post), will createContinue reading “Overcoming Disillusionment”

“But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14 NLT) Have you ever been to Las Vegas? What enters your mind when you think of that city? Glitter? Glamour? Gambling? Though Vegas itself held very little appeal to us, my wife and I now live there becauseContinue reading “Disillusioned or Deceived?”