Over the past several months, I have often found myself needing to pray this prayer: “Lord, please help me today to live my life by faith and not by fear.” I need to pray this prayer because I am tempted to let fear call the shots more often than I care to admit. Have you ever stopped to consider how common it is for you to make choices because you’re afraid? Perhaps you speed to work because you’...  Read More

Of all the Christians I know, I have never heard a single one argue against the importance of prayer in the lives of God’s people. In fact, it is normal to hear brothers and sisters speak about their dissatisfaction with the frequency and fervency of their prayers because they understand just how crucial prayer is for their spiritual health. That thinking resonates in my own heart as well. But I w...  Read More

My oldest son recently took his driver’s test. Spending a year driving with his learner’s permit, he had worked hard to prepare, and several people were praying for him as the day approached. As you can imagine, with all his investment, we were eager for a report when he returned. As soon as my wife saw him, she asked him how it went, expecting him to give her an assessment of his performance. But...  Read More

Do you recall that scene in John 21 where Jesus restores Peter to ministry? Peter had denied Jesus three times, and so, Jesus gives him three opportunities to declare that he loves Him. It is a beautiful picture of the mercy that Jesus came to give to all of us who, like Peter, are guilty of denying Christ in many ways. After such kindness shown to Peter, what would you expect his response to be? ...  Read More

In his modern-day classic, Knowing God, J. I. Packer begins the book with a lengthy quote from Charles Spurgeon on the benefits of contemplating God. Over the years since the first time I read this book, the last bit of this quote has stuck with me as a needed reminder: “I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of t...  Read More

I recently jogged a 5K with my family. I know for a lot of guys, that’s merely a warm up, but I’m not one of those guys. From about the halfway point onward, I was struggling, and it was difficult to think about anything else other than the pain radiating from my left knee and my right ankle. We jogged through a park thick with beautiful trees on a delightfully brisk morning in mid-March, but my t...  Read More

Many of us have grown up in our faith being challenged by the lives of those we consider spiritual giants: Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, George Whitefield, William Wilberforce, Amy Carmichael, and David Brainerd. As we hear their stories and read their biographies, they seem tireless in their efforts of faith to demonstrate the character of God and obey the Great Commission. And then there’s the apost...  Read More

When I was a boy, I remember times when I would walk into the room to find my mom watching another sad movie. These movies usually included the death of a main character as a major plot point with a lot of strong emotions on display as the characters sought to respond to their tragic circumstances. I’m sure you can imagine that, as a kid, I didn’t stay in the room very long when I saw what was on ...  Read More

If you have engaged in the habit of Scripture memory, then most of your attention has probably been on working through one or two verses at a time from a variety of places in God’s Word. One week you may be working on Ephesians 2:8-9, and the next has you focusing on Proverbs 3:5-6. Not only are most of the Scripture memory systems set up this way, but this approach is helpful for those moments wh...  Read More

Years ago, when I was a younger man in ministry, I first heard Martin Luther’s famous quote on prayer: “I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”¹ Since then, I have heard some version of this statement numerous times… and if I’m being honest, it has led to a sense of guilt at my own prayer life. Perhaps, like me, you have felt the heaviness of shame at hearin...  Read More

“You do not have to fight this ba2le. Posi6on yourselves, stand s6ll, and see the salva6on of the Lord. He  is with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Tomorrow, go out to face them, for the  Lord is with you.”~ 2 Chronicles 20:17 CSBKing Jehoshaphat sought the Lord. When his reign is introduced in 2 Chronicles 17, this is one of the  first things we are told—he did not seek...  Read More

“For from him and through him and to him are all things.”~ Romans 11:36This small verse and its three tiny phrases have powerful implications for all of life, including our work. Each phrase is a lens, a perspective we can use to better understand “all things.” When we look at our work through each of these lenses, we will be encouraged, empowered, and oriented in all our efforts.From himGod’s sov...  Read More