Christian Life

Is God Judging Us or Disciplining Us? - Part 1

To Embrace All of Christ, Steer Clear of Quashing Him and Cherry-Picking His Teachings

To Embrace All of Christ, Steer Clear of Quashing Him and Cherry-Picking His Teachings

During young adulthood, Mark, who was uninterested in Christ, worked as a laborer painting houses. He often worked alongside another young man, who was a strong believer in Christ.

Is God Judging Us or Disciplining Us? - Part 2

Is God Judging Us or Disciplining Us? - Part 2

In part 1, we discussed the first of two erroneous ideas many Christ-followers have: I must pay for certain sins in spite of what the Bible says to the contrary. In part 2, we will look at the opposite side of the spectrum, where many do not fully understand the full weightiness of their sins, and in return make an equally dangerous mistake.

Is God Judging Us or Disciplining Us? - Part 1

Is God Judging Us or Disciplining Us? - Part 1

Do you remember the old village stocks? They were wooden structures positioned in the village square. Many had a hole through which the head was placed, and two holes for the left and right hands. Some had holes for the feet.

Does Your Self-Image Match God’s Image of You?

Does Your Self-Image Match God’s Image of You?

For those who follow Christ, believing in “God’s image” of us means we stand on this truth: God sees us as those He loves, accepts, and values. In fact, this is why He sent Christ to die for us—to demonstrate His unconditional love, to enable absolute acceptance forever, and to reveal thereby our intrinsic worth to Him.

Embracing Optimistic Realism: Finding Middle Ground Between Naive Optimism and Cynical Pessimism

Embracing Optimistic Realism: Finding Middle Ground Between Naive Optimism and Cynical Pessimism

Have you ever met someone so optimistic that you considered them more naive than realistic? Because they believe everything to be hunky dory, they blind themselves to the red flags leading to bad decisions and painful consequences.

Does Your Self-Image Match God’s Image of You?

Embracing Optimistic Realism: Finding Middle Ground Between Naive Optimism and Cynical Pessimism

The Marriage Mindset

Do you believe that if you have natural talents and passions in a specific area then your development of that gifting and pursuits of that interest should be a piece of cake? Or, do you believe that even though you have God-given abilities and deep-seated curiosities, you must exert time and effort because it won’t all be easy street? For example, Michael Phelps and LeBron James had within their DNA, traits the rest of us envy. Are these superstars world renowned because what they did was a piece of cake for them, as a result of their God-given abilities? Or, though genetically they might be considered freaks of nature, did they work hard at developing their talents?

The Marriage Mindset

Why Would Someone Not Want to Communicate That Which Is True?

Why Would Someone Not Want to Communicate That Which Is True?

In my book Before You Hit Send I quote a woman who said, "You know that little thing in the back of your brain that tells you not to say something before you say it? Well, I don't have that little thing.” I suppose all of us wonder occasionally if we lack that little thing in the back of our brains. We know that we are to think before we speak, but we end up saying something that we should not say.

He is Resurrected!

I once stayed in the home of Bernhard Langer, two-time winner of the Masters, one of the PGA Tour’s four major tournaments. As a result of the positive effect my Love and Respect ministry had on their marriage, he and his wife, Vikki, asked me to spend several days at their home, and during that time, he shared his personal story with me. In 1985 when he won the Masters for the first time at Augusta, Georgia, the announcers ushered him into the infamous cabin where one of them asked him, “Did you look at the leaderboard?” Bernhard replied, “I was trying not to look, but I saw it for the first time at the ninth; and I thought, ‘Jesus Christ, I am playing well, and I am four shots behind!’”

He is Resurrected!

How To Discover God's Will For Your Life

How To Discover God's Will For Your Life

Since some variation of the words “the will of God” or the “Father’s will” occur more than twenty times in the New Testament, it is fair to assume “the will of God” exists and can be known. The apostle Paul commands us to “understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17). Jesus uses the expression when He addresses God with the words, “Your will be done” in what has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:10). Yes, God has a will that we must discover and do from the heart.