I love to express what I feel called to say. Writing helps me to open up my heart and do that. I hope that what I write helps you in some way. I hope it makes you think, encourages you, or inspires you. If it challenges you or if you disagree, I hope you know that I respect your right to have a different point of view.
Awake O sleeper. Let the everliving resurrected Jesus Christ upgrade you from within. (Ephesians 5:14)
Awaken to the presence and power of the risen Jesus unceasingly living and working in and through you. (Philippians 2:12) Awaken to God’s calling on you and on all Christians. (1 Peter 2:9) That calling is to be more and more conformed into Christ’s image until we clearly demonstrate His love, power, and presence to everyone we meet. (1 Corinthians 2:4)
Upgrade your faith Beyond belief To reliance. It’s not enough To acknowledge Who Jesus is. Learn to depend On His presence Throughout each day. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Let the risen Jesus upgrade: * Your attempts at happiness to His joy unspeakable and full of glory, (1 Peter 1:8) * Your anxiety to His peace that passes understanding, (Philippians 4:7) * Your fear to His hope, (Colossians 1:27) * Your bitterness to His love and forgiveness, (Matthew 18:21-22) * Your hard-heartedness to His compassion, (Colossians 3:12) * Your restlessness to His patience, (James 1:5) * Your animosity to His kindness, (Ephesians 4:32) * Your wrongdoing to His goodness, (Psalm 34:8) * Your wavering to His faithfulness, (2 Thessalonians 3:3) * Your harshness to His gentleness, (Matthew 11:29) * Your self-indulgence to His self-control, (1 Thessalonians 5:6-8) * The fruit of your flesh to the fruit of His Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) Now is the time to wake up to Christ’s upgrades!
A smiling farmer holding a heart-shaped basket filled with colorful fresh fruits
Living in this divided and hostile world, I love any concert that causes people to feel truly connected heart-to-heart. Sincere songs that soar from inner humility, brokenness, and tenderness have the power to do that. Let’s move beyond political divides to genuine heart-connection.
Hold on to and connect heart-to-heart with both God and people. Two groups in society have gone one way or the other. The left lets go of God and His commandments as they boldly promote sexual confusion and moral chaos. The right lets go of heart-felt love and kindness toward all people as they promote self-righteousness and religious pride. “Let no one deceive you with empty words.” (Ephesians 5:6)
Refuse to compromise the truth as taught in Scripture but also don’t personally try to enforce it by manipulation or force. Every nation has people who want to obey the living God and people who don’t. The only way to force people to obey God is by coercing them to comply with His moral rules and punishing them if they don’t. That helps enforce some laws and fills up prisons, but it can’t change a human heart or what people do in private. Carried to extremes it creates authoritarianism and self-righteousness.
Both the left and the right need to compromise (not in truth but in enforcement) and find a middle space where we can live and work together in peace without tearing each other to pieces! To do that we could come together and agree to compromise in enforcement but call things what they are. We could agree to replace “empty words” that deceive people and disguise reality with words that are openly and honestly descriptive.
Here are some examples: Instead of using the words “sexual orientation” and “transgender” we could use “sexual confusion.” Instead of “abortion” we could use “pre-natal killing.” Instead of insulting people who disagree with us or calling them “haters” we could respect their right to have a different point of view and to behave differently than we do.
God gives people free will. Governments have created laws to try hold back behaviors that harm people and society. They use law enforcement as an attempt to compel compliance to those laws. However, without absolute, violent totalitarianism laws cannot be fully enforced. (Even then some people can still slip around them.)
When people believe that they can sneak past law enforcement they will often break the law. Just look at how many people speed when there is no trooper around! However, when one is spotted, almost all the cars slow down.
Government law enforcement isn’t perfect. It can very frequently be gotten around through lying, denying, hiding, forging documents, political favors, pardons, cheating, begging, bribing, and many other ways.
So, what can cause us humans to stop hiding behind blaming, accusing without proof, insulting, using deceptive words, and calling people haters? We need inner law enforcement and we have it. It’s called our conscience. Yet it is easy to ignore it, silence it, and leave it sleeping inside of us.
The cure for any culture isn’t the political left or the political right. It is multitudes of citizens with an awakened conscience who will speak the truth in love and overflow with kindness and compassion for the people who disagree with them. We need a wave, a mighty movement, of inner awakening. “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)
Train yourself to demonstrate the presence of Jesus and the power of Scripture. It’s not enough just to verbally defend it.
Dear Jesus, in this world of self-righteousness, resentment, loathing, anger, and violence, please wake up my conscience to ongoing humility, forgiveness, kindness, compassion, mercy, and peace. Empower me to speak the truth in love. Forgive me when I put my trust in political leaders and when I put my country first or my own desires first. Instead help me to always first be inwardly and humbly led by Your presence within me in all that I think, feel, say, and do. Be my absolute Lord, King, Master, and God. Continue to change my heart and my mind until I begin to fully obey Your command to “Love your enemies.” In Your Name I pray. Amen!
Reflect Christ And His light. Take no part In darkness. (Ephesians 5:11)
Let Jesus write Faith on your heart, Not just belief But real relief From all torment And every grief. When you feel like You are the chief Of all sinners, Let Christ give you True reliance On His presence And compliance With His commands. (Hebrews 12:2)
The phrase “God and country” isn’t in the Bible. Why? Because God is forever and every country is but for a while. God is infinite, a country is temporary. If you want a slogan here’s one for you: “God above country!” (The Old Testament prophets even rebuked Israel for putting idols above God.)
The Bible never says, “Love your country.” It does however say, “Love your enemies.” So why do so many Christians love their country but not their enemies? Perhaps it is because they have rejected Spirit-led discipleship and embraced blind-patriotism.
The Bible commands Christians to love God and to love people but it never tells us to love a nation. Love is personal, not nationalistic. When Christian nationalism idolizes a particular nation, it promotes and embraces political idolatry and often self-righteous violence.
Jesus never told anybody to love Rome or to love Judea (the homeland of His fellow Jews). Instead, Jesus told people to love God, to love one another, and to love their enemies. How different this world would be if we would obey Jesus instead of our patriotic feelings and traditions. Jesus first–now and always!
If you are a Christian, never let politics take the stage in your life. Keep your heart always focused on Jesus, never on a country. Don’t let political pride push out your awareness of and dependence on the everyday presence of Jesus.
History clearly shows that religion mixed with political power leads to self-righteous cruelty. Look at the Taliban cutting off people’s hands, the Spanish Inquisition torturing and murdering people, “the Divine Right of Kings” giving kings unlimited power to torture and abuse people, radical Islamists committing horrible terrorists’ acts, legalized human trafficking (slavery) based on twisted Bible verses, Hezbollah murdering ordinary Israelis at a festival, the slaughtering of multitudes of civilians in Gaza by Israel, the Crusades trying to wipe out Islam, the genocide of native Americans in both North and South America, the USA using “Christian nationalism” to justify fighting endless wars around the globe, Catholic priests and Protestant pastors sexually abusing people– all because they felt protected by religion mixed with power.
Never trust one man or one woman to lead you! That’s why the US Constitution has checks and balances that put limits on what the President has the legal authority to do. That’s why the Bible always presents Christian leadership as a plurality, not as a single person. (Titus 1:5)
Human ideas and efforts can never make a nation truly great. “Unless the Lord builds the house the builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) Putting our hope in a political or religious leader will only lead to great disappointment.
US Founding Father and second President, John Adams, put it this way: “There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.” He also said: “Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all His laws.”
No president of the USA should ever be allowed to ignore, disobey, or dismantle the Constitution that he or she swore to defend. To allow that is to march toward tyranny.
I pray that Christian pastors discover their calling to disciple, train, and release ordinary people to follow and obey the risen Jesus beyond the institutional church and beyond politics so that they can help to bring about the next great awakening. A mighty move of God that changes multitudes of people from within with supernatural power (not political power) is the only way to truly make a nation great. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
I want to run Out of the gate Yet God says wait. I don’t want to Be second rate Yet God says wait. I do not want To show up late Yet God says wait. I want to do Things that are great Yet God says wait. I want my plate To be full now. Today’s my date. Yet God says wait. Patience isn’t My favorite trait Yet God says wait. When I take time To think and wait I notice that The Bible is full Of people who Needed to wait. Why should I be Any different? Blessings await Those who will wait On God to move. Let Christ create The fruit of His Spirit in you. Trust God’s timing. “Be still and know That I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
The terrible cruelty of both the horrible human trafficking called slavery, and the violently enforced segregation, has been swept aside and denied. Americans and Europeans will point out and admit the cruelty of the Nazis, but they ignore the cruelty of their own nations. As The USA approaches its 250th year as a country the official celebrations have no interest in acknowledging America’s crimes against humanity and honoring the people who suffered greatly because of them.
The May 11, 2026, issue of “Time” magazine states: “Our disagreements about the history of slavery are never simply about the past. They are about what we believe America is, what it stands for, and who belongs within it.”
Throughout my adult life, God has led me to explore and face America’s cruelty against black people — from selling Black History books door-to-door when I was in college, to reading and studying everything I could find about that history, to being a pastor in a black denomination for three years, to writing the book: “Off the RACE Track — From Color-Blind to Color-Kind.” (Copy and past the full title on Google or ChatGPT.)
3) The mystery of casual, lukewarm Christianity:
Kindergarten Christianity is a good thing for brand new believers, but when Christians settle in and get comfortable staying in sweet spiritual kindergarten something is dreadfully wrong! (Hebrews 5:12) Have you progressed into the biblical of faith that is led by Christ living in and speaking through you day by day? (Colossians 1:27) Kounterfeit Kristianity is kuite kommon. Never settle for less than aligning your life and your beliefs with the Bible (Joshua 1:8) and being directly led from within by God the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:14)
4) The mystery of people twisting the Bible:
A famous passage of Scripture is often used to try to force people to attend church. That’s not what these verses are about.
This is what Hebrews 10:24-25 is calling for: “24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
It’s not telling us to attend an official church service. It is calling us to “spur one another on toward love and good works” and to meet together to be “encouraging one another.” These two verses are about ministering to one another, not about listening to one man give a religious lecture once a week. Let’s be honest in how we use Scripture!
5) The mystery of people blindly following religious leaders:
If a pastor, preacher, or leader is: * Failing to manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit in daily life, (Galatians 5:22-23) * Less excited about Jesus than you are, (Philippians 4:4) * Living and acting in pride or self-righteousness instead of with sincere humility, (James 4:6) * Believing that he (not Jesus) is the head of a church or ministry, (Colossians 1:18) * Trying to control people instead of training them to listen to and obey God the Holy Spirit, (Romans 8:14) * Naming or has named a ministry (or anything else) after himself, (Isaiah 42:8) * Teaching things that don’t align with the Bible, (Acts 17:11) * Promoting a political leader in addition to Jesus, (Acts 4:12) * Manipulating people to give or tithe instead of trusting God to tell people what to give, (2 Corinthians 9:7) * Having an outward form of godliness, but seldom letting the power of God change him from within, (2 Timothy 3:5) * Living financially far above the people who support his ministry, (James 4:10) * Unwilling to have a detailed financial audit (that includes all of his salary and benefits) conducted by an outside auditor, (1 John 1:7) Avoid him or her.
6) The mystery of war:
Everybody has to die, but people shouldn’t have to die with their body ripped apart on a bloody battlefield. War is not prolife!
War by its nature is unjust. There’s nothing fair about it. Ask the dead civilians how just it is!
To ignore the presence and direct inward leading of the risen Jesus is to grieve God the Holy Spirit. Don’t forget to remember what the living Jesus is doing right now! Learn to live in the glorious moment of ongoing communion with Him.
Jesus said: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19) Some churches call it The Lord’s Supper, some The Eucharist, and some Communion. When you consume the bread and the wine (or grape juice) don’t just remember what Jesus did in the past, let it remind you what Jesus is doing now! Learn to experience ongoing koinonia (the Greek word for humble, heart-to-heart fellowship with the living Jesus and with His daily disciples).
Remember that Jesus is risen from the dead and living right now!
Remember that He is present wherever you are and knows whatever you are doing.
Remember that Jesus is speaking directly to you and that you can hear His voice.
Remember that He wants to daily live in you and lead you from within.
Remember that Jesus wants to fill you with the fruit of His Spirit and release His spiritual gifts in and through you.
Remember to always surrender your will and your desires to Him and His will.
Remember that Christ — literally living in you — is your hope, not only to cope with life, but to experience His glorious presence throughout each day.
Remember that He wants to empower you to love everybody, even your enemies.
Remember to never stop communing with the risen Jesus and with His humble obedient followers.
Communion isn’t just swallowing a tiny bit of bread and wine in a religious setting. It is ongoing heart-to-heart community built on the rock of direct revelation from God the Father showing you who God the Son really is.
Communion is humbly sharing your heart, your thoughts, your feelings, and your Spirit-prompted insights with other people and compassionately listening as they share theirs with you. To commune is to get and stay spiritually connected to Christ and to His faithful followers. Communion with Christ and His spiritually hungry followers causes me to feel rivers of invisible water — alive with the Holy Spirit — flowing from deep within me. (John 7:37-39)
Always remember to focus on the risen Jesus. Listen to and obey what He is saying within you every moment! Consistently commune intimately with Christ. People are awed, healed, and transformed when they connect with Christ and His humble, Spirit-led followers! (Unfortunately, self-righteous Christians don’t have the same effect.) It’s not the physical elements. It’s about actually experiencing and surrendering to the presence and power of the living, resurrected Jesus.
(Learn to remember Christ and to literally commune with His presence. There’s a Christ-encounter group at Chile Burrito, 330 Franklin Road, Brentwood, Tennessee 37207. It meets every Saturday morning at 8:30. Come and commune with Jesus and with us.)
Learn to speak beneficial life-transforming words.
People work hard Not to expose Sin that’s in them, But God still knows. Christ died and rose To give you light That clearly shows What your heart’s like. Learn to disclose And to oppose Darkness in you Til the wind of God’s Spirit blows Freely within And your heart glows With holy light. Then you can speak God’s words of truth With kindness And compassion.
Meet with others. Bask in God’s light. With Christ in sight, Share what you see And together Experience The power of Holy delight.
Healing and inner peace come from confession, not from concealment. From heart-to-heart connection, not from a theological analysis. When Adam and Eve tried to hide their sin from God, He asked: “Where are you?” God knew where they were hiding. He wanted them to admit and to acknowledge that they were hiding so they could step into and live in His glorious light.
I’ve discovered that when Christians come together to humbly put away pretense and to be compassionately honest with each another, we begin to see God’s beautiful light shining in and through one another. When the truth is spoken with heart-felt love, when falsehood is set aside, when pride is laid down, when sin is sincerely confessed, and when mercy and forgiveness are freely given — people experience the presence of the living resurrected Jesus and are overcome with awe and healing.
That kind of Christian gathering is very difficult to find. I experienced it during the Jesus Movement. Afterwards I searched for it around the USA and found mere glimpses of it here and there.
After decades The Salvation Army asked my wife, Ernie, and me to start a non-traditional church in a dangerous East Nashville neighborhood. God gathered a diversity of people. We set aside the traditional sermon and allowed anyone present to share as they felt led by God’s Spirit. It was a glorious experience that lasted for almost 10 years until a new Salvation Army leader shut it down.
Ernie and I are so grateful for that decade. It trained us and others how to allow God the Holy Spirit to freely flow among people. Since then, we look for every opportunity that we can find to open up with people and connect heart-to-heart with them. It’s often in twos or threes, but sometimes more. Several times each week we experience that kind of connection. It’s awesome.
I wrote a book about our experiences of Spirit-led heart connection. It’s called “Beyond Church — An Invitation to Experience the Lost Word of the Bible — Ekklesia.” Give it a google.
Is spiritual awakening coming? Both the Jesus movement and the charismatic movement were killed by church control and religious TV shows that trained charismatics and Jesus Freaks to become passive audience members dependent on a human preacher or teacher. Before that they were actively Spirit-led and part of a supernatural move of God. But wait and see. God the Holy Spirit will break free from controlling, quenching religion and move mightily within human hearts again!
Heart-to-heart connection requires patience, compassion, and love. God’s still working on me to develop those qualities in me.
Patience waits for what is real. It doesn’t passively accept a counterfeit deal. If you’re looking for patience, you’ll need to wait awhile.
Patience grows in the soil of contentment. (Philippians 4:12) Find inner peace and you will discover patience.
Heart-to-heart, Spirit-led community will help you find your inner place of holy hush. It will calm your anxious rush. Contentment grows rapidly in Spirit-led community!
Patience discovers that delay is often God’s loving way of aligning you with His perfect timing. If you want to experience Jesus in a deeper way, find brothers and sisters who will ask “Where are you?” and not reject you when you come out of hiding. Begin to open your heart to people and compassionately listen to them when they open their heart to you.
When you can’t see Keep on looking For things unseen. When you can’t hear Keep listening For hope to speak. When you’re lonely It is only Because you’re not Aware of God Who is present Right where you are. (Hebrews 11:1)
Patience waits And waits And still waits Until . . . Because it trusts Confidently That God will Come through. Waiting on God Allows Him to Supernaturally Produce patience Inside of you As the fruit of His Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
In our time Of instant Communication There’s little Dedication To patient Meditation. “Be still and know That I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
“The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.” —David Foster Wallace (Sugar coating the truth will keep you in bondage.)
Stop sugar coating “your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.” Instead let God renew you in the attitude of your mind and give you a new self. (Ephesians 4:22-24)
Continuous consumption of religious sugar often produces spiritual diabetics. Willingness to hear and embrace God’s truth spoken in love is the antidote. (Ephesians 4:15) High levels of religious sweetness are dangerous. Humbly receiving the truth free from sugar coating, is the cure.
Watering down the Bible is a deadly sin that many pastors and churches commit every week. It leads people into deception. It erodes the truth and makes Christians content with spiritual sugar water and religious diabetes instead of truth.
The living Lord Jesus is the truth. (John 14:6) He doesn’t need added religious sugar. You can experience Him directly. “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8) When the Bible is diluted with sweetness, the Spirit’s wonderful inner rivers of living water are ignored and rejected. (John 7:38)
God the Holy Spirit wants to show us our hidden sins. He wants to do more than forgive us. He wants to set us free from our sins, not to sugar coat them. (Matthew 1:21) He wants to fill us with the overflowing glory of Christ living in us. (Colossians 1:27) Will you let Him? (John 8:32)
Religious candy Is very handy. Just sit and hear A sweet and dandy Sermon in church Once a week or so. (James 1:22)
Sugar coated Deception Gets a great Reception From too many Church attendees. Let God’s Spirit Mold your perception. And give you His Revelation. (Matthew 7:15-20)
Highly sweetened Christianity Without repentance From all your sins Might make you smile For a little while, But it can’t carry You mile after mile. (Matthew 4:17)
A wooden sign with a thought-provoking David Foster Wallace quote on a lush forest path.
I’m always needing The direct leading Of God the Spirit — His inner voice, I need to hear it And to draw near it. Deep within my soul. I’m like a seedling. In order to grow I need God’s life flow Rising within me. He keeps me feeding On His sweet presence. Daily Bible reading With a hungry heart Helps me stay near Christ Living inside me.
Free Gas for Your Think Tank -- Short Reflections, Lasting Encouragement 