Then said Evangelist, 'If this by thy condition, why standest thou still?' He answered, 'Because I know not where to go.' -Pilgrim's Progress Been There, Done That, Thank God Thirty one years ago I asked for help, and I got it. Continue Reading
April 24, 2015
Reparative Therapy: What it Is, What it Isn’t, Why it Matters (Part One of a Five Part Series)
April 21, 2015
The Default Principle
When you discover an intense experience, it becomes yours. You adopt it, mentally and permanently. And once it’s adopted, it stays in your memory as a part of your experiential history. Continue Reading
April 15, 2015
Digested But Untested
“Believers think of themselves as individuals first, Americans second, and Christians third. Until that prioritization is rearranged, the Church will continue to lose influence, and biblical principles will represent simply one more option among the numerous worldviews that Americans may choose from." - George Barna “Prove all things; hold fast what is good.” - I Thessalonians 5: 21 Ask a roomful of believers if they’re all on the same page, and they’re likely to say yes. Ask them to then read aloud from the page they’re on individually, Continue Reading
April 6, 2015
When ‘My Bad’ Really Is Bad
“Keep in mind that when sin is viewed superficially, it is dealt with superficially.” -Erwin W. Lutzer When something gets me really mad, or really scared, I do something about it. When something seems technically wrong but excusable, I shrug it off. So what I deal with seriously, combining decision and action, tells you a lot about what really matters to me and what doesn’t. Continue Reading
April 1, 2015
The Confident Heart
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. (I John 3:20-21) John says, in the verse quoted above, that if my heart does not condemn me, then I have confidence towards God. Sounds nice. But how can my heart not condemn me? Continue Reading
March 9, 2015
Saved and Strugglin’
Being virtuous is no feat once temptation ceases. - Arnold Glasow When I asked God to remove my temptations, He answered by allowing more of them to come, and in stronger forms, and more often. I said, “Thanks a lot” and I could swear I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Anytime, Kid.” But He also did a major, life-changing work in me. He empowered me to deal with temptation, rather than remove it, and I got stronger and humbler in the process. Stronger because my resistance abilities grew; humbler because my reliance on Him becomes clearer than Continue Reading
January 21, 2015
Walking Wisely
Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. -Psalms 1: 1-2 What we listen to has a lot to do with where we are. We’re sheep, after all, and that’s what sheep do: they listen, then they follow. You and I don’t have much to say about our “sheep status” as listeners and followers. Even those of us who lead are in turn being led by something, because that’s our nature. But we can and do choose which voices we’ll tune into, and that choice will Continue Reading
January 16, 2015
Dropping the S-Bomb
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” - Proverbs 27:6 37 years ago I was hugely backslidden. Since I’d been in full time ministry before my fall, quite a few people had known me and were, I’m sure, perplexed and angry at my rebellion. Some of them contacted me, in person or by mail, trying to reason with me and persuade me to turn back, and I cannot describe how weird and miserable that felt. Continue Reading
December 29, 2014
Unbridled
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. -Psalms 32:9 If we belong to Him, then one way or another, we’ll be led by Him. How? Well, that’s largely up to us. Continue Reading
December 24, 2014
When Darkness Lost
"And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." -John 1:5 Like St. Jude, I’m a sucker for lost causes. I’ve been one myself, and I’ve known plenty of others. Some of us sprang from circumstances we had no control over; many of us created our own mess. Either way, our lives looked shabby, the future looked bleak, then God looked down. Continue Reading
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