Reading Time: 3 minutesLord, I need your guidance. Where should I live? What should be my life’s work/career? Who should I marry? How many children should we have? Who should I hire? Should I take the job in North Carolina or the one in Minnesota? The Bible doesn’t specifically address these questions, but God wants to give us answers to these questions. How do we place ourselves in a position that gives us a better chance of receiving answers from God when we seek him?
Reading Time: 2 minutesTrump-anxiety. “Clintonitis.” Are these real conditions? Psychologists and massage therapists believe they are real. Consequently, they are seeing more and more of their clients stressing over the rise of Donald Trump and the potential of Clinton being elected. People are fearful, nervous, and panicky about the possibility of Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton becoming president of the United States, and I don’t blame them.
Radical Generosity (Grand Rapids : Discovery House , 2016)
I write because I want to awaken people to full life with Christ. God has given me this opportunity by writing devotionals for Our Daily Bread Ministries. I am grateful to be on a team of amazing authors and editors. It is strictly by God’s grace. I am doubly excited about the release of my new book, Radical Generosity.
Through interesting stories and relevant Scripture, I encourage people to experience a deeper love for Jesus. My prayer is, this compilation of Our Daily Bread and Our Daily Journey devotional readings will inspire you to live with Spirit-empowered abandon. So go ahead . . . trust God wholeheartedly. Pour blessings into others. Live a life of radical generosity!
Radical Generosity is available on Kindle at Amazon.
Reading Time: 3 minutesWho should I vote for? In the previous post, I attempted to establish that a follower of Jesus has the privilege and responsibility to carry out his/her civic responsibility to vote. But, are there specific biblical principles that should govern our thinking in voting for specific political candidates? I believe the Bible gives us some guidelines that should govern our thinking when evaluating political candidates.
Reading Time: 2 minutesVote! We know we should, but is there a biblical way to do it? It’s election season. Presidential candidates are looking for our votes. They are jet-setting from city to city, shaking hands, kissing babies, slinging mud, giving passionate speeches in churches, and trying to win our vote. As I think about the upcoming election, I have a few questions: How should followers of Jesus think about voting? Is there a biblical way to vote? How do I participate in a process that seems to elect people who are diametrically opposed to my Christian values? What should Christians do?
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhen was the last time you prayed a dangerous prayer? For me, I have not prayed a dangerous prayer in a while because I’m too comfortable. But, I follow a radical Radical Rabbi, named Jesus, but I hang the Do Not Disturb sign on the door of my life because I like my privacy. I like my comfort. I like safety. I like the existing conditions or state of affairs. I don’t like my status quo living being interrupted by big dreams, deep waters of radical obedience, the rough seas of suffering, and the deep waters and dark nights of uncertain adventures. Also, I wonder if some of these obstacles keep me from praying dangerous prayers. So, as I was reading the other day, I ran across a prayer that quaked my comfortable world. Written by Sir Frances Drake (explorer and naval pioneer during the Elizabethan era), this is one of the most dangerous and disturbing prayers I have ever read. I want to share it with you, in hopes, it will bother you as much as it did me.
Reading Time: 2 minutesAs a parent, I make my children angry more than I care to admit. If you are honest, you do too. So, a couple of weeks ago, I disobeyed Ephesians 6:4, a clear command in Scripture – I provoked one of my children to anger. This incident got me to thinking about other ways parents provoke their kids to anger.
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe most difficult person to lead is me. According to Dee Hock, author of The Art of Chaordic Leadership, leaders should spend 50% of the time leading themselves. Leading yourself is so crucial to personal success in every area of your life. Here is a list of Scripture consistent self-leadership categories and questions that my former ministry coach, Dave Kraft, sent to me. If you want to experience success in every area of your life and leadership and be better than you were yesterday, then engage these game-changing self-leadership questions.
Reading Time: 3 minutesAs long as I have been a follower of Jesus, I should be more committed to praying than I am. Simply put, I wish I was better at praying. The truth is, sometimes, my prayer life sucks. I would imagine if you are anything like me, yours does too. I know we don’t want our prayer life to suck. So, what should do about it?
Reading Time: 2 minutesHow do you respond when the odds are against you? How do you muster the enough strength to keep going when everyone around you is saying you should give up? How do we get through difficult times? No matter how many obstacles are placed before us, we have a responsibility to keep trying and persevering. If we keep pushing through quitting points, we might be surprised as to what’s on the other side of perseverance.