In the first months of my new life, I crashed into 2 Corinthians 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. I asked Scott Manley, the Young Life…
Love Over Judgement: Love Is Super-Sized
There are different ways to love people. Jesus was the expert at them all, and none was His equal. Loving people requires a keen understanding of what their needs are at what time — the psychology of humanity laced with spiritual understanding only the Holy Spirit can truly provide. I have played the piano most…
Are They God’s Desires Or Mine?
How do I distinguish between my desires and God’s? How do I tap in to my true heart’s desires — the ones that lead me to His best for me? Once the Holy Spirit is dwelling within your heart, you have more than mere human intuition and know-how to help you make decisions. As the…
Being Unoffendable: The Ridiculous Idea
Okay. So this may sound like the dumbest thing you’ve ever read, but here goes: You can choose to be “unoffendable.” I actually heard a guy say this at a business meeting. That is striking to me for a few reasons: (1) I’d never, ever thought about that before; (2) I remember something from…
Brokenness: Taking Off the Mask
I had just moved in with my aunt and uncle while attending community college, and I was sitting on their couch about midday, ugly-face crying. If you’ve done the same, you know what I’m talking about. It’s where a cry session turns the corner and becomes a full-blown weep. I was really struggling at that…
Journal, Pray, Reflect, and Connect with God
Editor’s note: Have you heard about The Weekly Prayer Project? It’s part book, part journal with a challenge to spend 52 weeks in prayer and daily Bible meditation. It’s a fantastic way to connect with God, pray, reflect, and journal our prayer journeys. The topics in The Weekly Prayer Project are centered around 7 different…
Grabbing the Lifeline of Hope
We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God… — Hebrews 6:18-19 The Message I am haunted by this passage. The promised hope.…
I AM in the Storm with You
The stormiest season of my life occurred when I was twelve years of age. I was old enough for baseball, football, and bike riding. I was old enough to have a crush on a girl, own a bottle of English Leather cologne, and know the difference between a verb and an adverb. But I was…
Praying for a Job
Praying for a Job I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My loving eye on you. — Psalm 32:8 I can’t tell you how many parents, when they heard I was working on this book, let me know they had a story to share. I…
Recovering Transitions
Your soul is the vessel God fills, yet there is no room for Him to fill if your soul is wrung out, twisted, haggard, fried. Put another way, your hands cannot receive a gift while they are still tightly clenched. That is the condition we are trying to recover from and avoid further commerce with.…