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.
The oldest thing that I own and still use today is my self-focused human nature. I was born with it. The more I give in to it and obey its thoughts, feelings, and desires, the more messed up I become. The more I die to it and obey God as He speaks in my conscience, the better my mental health becomes and the more inner peace I have.
I fight to resist and avoid using my self-focused human nature, but I still slip into it from time to time. The Bible describes it this way: According to Psalm 14:3 and 53:3, every human has been corrupted to the point that even when we try there is none of us who does good — not even one. Romans 3:10 quotes those two Psalms and says: “There is no one righteous, not even one.” Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
No wonder the world in in such a mess. No wonder it’s so easy to feel like I’m a mess. I’m in the same situation that Paul the Apostle was when he wrote: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25) Apart from the risen Jesus, I can do nothing good (John 15:5) but denying myself, (Luke 9:23) allowing Christ to live in me, (Colossians 1:27) and letting Him lead me by His Spirit (Romans 8:14) is my hope of glory. That’s what true Christianity is about.
Christianity’s about:
Supernatural healing, deliverance, and salvation, not about superficial religion. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Being humble, not being haughty. (James 4:6)
Hungering and thirsting for righteousness, not about hungering and thirsting for entertainment. (Matthew 5:6)
Self-denial, not about self-righteousness. (Luke 18:9-14)
Being pure in heart, not about being conformed to contemporary culture. (Matthew 5:8)
Being Spirit-led moment-by-moment, not about being spiritually dead. (Romans 8:14)
Direct personal revelation from God, not about religious consumerism. (Matthew 16:17)
Being compassionate not being cruel. (Matthew 25:34-46) Cruelty comes from captivity to fear.
Peace that passes understanding, not about political pride. (Philippians 4:7)
Seeking first the kingdom of God, not about self-seeking. (Matthew 6:33) To seek first the kingdom of God is to listen to and obey the risen King Jesus above every other authority and desire.
The Creator of the Universe who became a man, was crucified, rose from the dead, and actively lives, speaks, and works in His followers today. It’s not about any other Jesus. (John 1:1-5 & 14) & (2 Corinthians 11:4)
Passive people Sitting in rows Hearing the things A preacher says, Which of you knows Jesus who rose?
We humans have made a lot of messes, but letting Trump take control won’t fix them. Only letting Jesus take control can do that.
Life comes moment-by-moment. Moments fly by. They can be remembered but they can’t be maintained or recovered once they’re gone. Instead, they pile up in the past. Most moments are completely forgotten, but a few are occasionally remembered.
I try to make every moment my favorite one. That keeps me busy because by the time I’m consciously aware of a moment it’s already gone.
I try to live in conscious awareness of each moment, not focused on the past or the future. The present moment is where I encounter and surrender to the living Jesus Christ. I learn about what Jesus did in the past and I hope and believe for what Jesus is going to do in the future, but I experience His presence in the present moment. (2 Corinthians 6:2)
Now, even as my fingers are dancing on a keyboard, I sense from deep within me the reality of the risen Jesus and the fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) that His Holy Spirit is momentarily producing in me little by little as life’s moments zoom by. The Bible calls that “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)
O what magic moments Jesus creates in and through me. When I allow myself to be aware of Christ’s reality in now moments, it always makes me want to humbly bow before Him with wide-eyed awe and to verbally release wow after wow!
Christ-aware moments are the favorite moments of my life. I spend my days with my first priority being to experience all the Jesus-moments that I can throughout each day. (Matthew 6:33) How now is full of glory when Jesus is kept as my moment-by-moment focus!
When I sing, I always want to duet with the risen Jesus. If you’re unwilling to duet with the new wine of Christ in you, you’re probably looking to other wines, drinks, or diversions to ease your pain.
I love to live my life as a duet with Jesus. To truly duet with Jesus is to always let Him lead.
Every single Christ-follower is called by God to be a mighty warrior. The battle is within us. (Ephesians 6:12-13) Fight your self-focused thoughts feelings and desires and let Jesus always lead you. Having done all stand your inner ground! (Galatians 5:1)
An invisible King rules and reigns within me. (Colossians 1:27) He’s the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:16) Throughout the years I have been diligently training myself (1 Timothy 4:7) to surrender my will and my desires (Ephesians 4:22-23) to His absolute Lordship and authority (John 14:15) and to not quench His Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5;19)
I deny myself (Matthew 16:24) and persistently fight within me (1 Timothy 6:12) to think, say, and do (Philippians 4:8) what the Holy Spirit tells me to (Romans 8:14) instead of what I want to. (Galatians 5:24) I strive to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5) I seek (Matthew 6:33) to keep myself always focused on and aligned with (John 15:4) the presence of the risen Jesus (Acts 25:19) both within me (John 14:20) and around me. (Acts 17:28)
The living Jesus (Romans 6:9) is not only my Lord and King. (Philippians 2:9-11) He is also my Friend. (John 15:15) He has promised to always be with me. (Matthew 28:20)
The passion of my life is a discovery that I came across when I was in college. It wasn’t a discovery that I searched for or sought out. It just happened in a moment in the lobby of my dorm where some students were talking about their passionate love for Jesus. Suddenly (and somewhat mystically) the passionate adoration for Jesus that I saw in them was in me and I discovered that Jesus is a real (though invisible) person who I can know, experience, and interact with personally. He’s our Creator who was born in human flesh. A passionate love for the risen Jesus has been burning in my heart ever since then and He has felt more real to me than the physical word around me.
I discovered that faith (or belief) is so much more than merely mentally acknowledging the existence of God. (Mark 8:34) True faith (and belief) in God is to continually rely on and to daily depend on His moment-by-moment presence, protection, and provision. (Proverbs 3:5-6) An unbelieving heart turns away from ongoing reliance on the reality of the living God (Hebrews 3:12) and instead puts its trust in self-effort, in job security, in family, in education, in money, in a political leader, in patriotism, and in other idols. (1 Corinthians 10:14)
By trusting in God I’ve found mental peace And inner release From anxiety. Such tranquility! I let it increase. And grow within me. It’s a river of Hope that doesn’t cease.
To be an effective Christ-follower requires that we do much more than merely sit through a sermon each week. It requires persistent Spirit-led discipleship! I’d rather hear a preacher talk about his experiences with Jesus than about his opinions about Jesus. (Revelation 12:11)
My favorite season of the year is any season but winter. Winter is one of my discomfort zones, but I don’t let it get me down. I believe that discomfort zones are meant to be overcome. After many years of being held captive by the discomfort zone of language learning, I’ve recently found great joy in learning Spanish, and I’ve gotten pretty good at communicating in it.
I don’t remember the French I took in high school, but I do know that it was my most uncomfortable course. I disliked everything about it — memorizing vocabulary, learning grammar rules, having a teacher who didn’t know it very well herself, and being forced to role play trivial conversations about finding the bathroom or going to the library. Years later my wife, daughter, and I hosted a French exchange student for a couple of weeks. About the only French word I could remember was avec (which means with), so I said it to her often because saying avec always made her laugh with (or at) me.
In spite of my language learning discomfort zone, once after a trip to Columbia, South America I returned home with a desire to learn Spanish. I was living in a very small town and the only Spanish course I could find was offered by a little Bible college, so I enrolled for a semester. The teacher knew Spanish about as well as my French teacher had known French, so I didn’t learn much. Both courses taught me the same thing — the lie that says I’m no good at language learning.
However, I didn’t give up. I ordered a set of expensive Spanish tapes from the US State Department that they use to train their diplomats. I listened to those tapes over and over learning almost nothing. They confirmed the lie that language learning’s not for me.
A few years later I decided to try Spanish again. I bought several fill-in-the-blanks grammar workbooks. I saturated those blank spaces with Spanish words. After several months I thought I was on my way to fluency. I flew alone to Mexico City to see how much I had learned. When I got into a taxi at the airport I opened my mouth, but the driver had no idea what I was saying and everything I heard him say was completely unintelligible to me. He finally dropped me off downtown and I was fortunate to find my hotel because I couldn’t communicate with anyone to get their help. It was a long week in Mexico City. I came home convinced that Spanish isn’t for me.
Later my daughter started taking Spanish in high school. It was her favorite class, and she was becoming really good at it. I thought, “Why not me?” and decided to try a different strategy. My favorite piece of literature is the Gospel of John. I’ve probably read it a hundred times or more, so I know it well. I started to read part of it in Spanish everyday thinking that would be my key to Spanish mastery. It was the same story. I became discouraged and quit after a couple of months.
My last attempt was 2 1/2 years ago. I felt prompted to learn Spanish the way I had learned English as an infant and small child. All I did was listen for a couple of years and then eventually interact with people using infantile Tarzan grammar and pronunciation. Then eventually without effort I became a fluent English speaker. But how could I repeat that process as an older adult? I knew I had to finally overcome my fear and discomfort zone of feeling foolish and childish when trying to learn Spanish.
I had great encouragement from my wife, so I went to YouTube and searched for the simplest videos in Spanish that I could find. I intentionally avoided videos about memorizing grammar or vocabulary. I wanted to hear people speaking the simplest, slowest Spanish I could locate. I decided that I didn’t want to learn Spanish, I wanted to absorb it the way I had effortlessly absorbed English many years before.
So, I listened without putting any pressure on myself to learn. I noticed that little-by-little (poco a poco) I could understand a few words. That encouraged me and made me want to listen even more. Before long I was watching Spanish YouTube videos for one to three hours daily and actually enjoying it. I discovered that I could understand them better if I attached Spanish subtitles to them. I also began to read the New Testament for 10 minutes or more every day in Spanish and this time I stuck with it. (Currently I am about to finish my fifth time through it.)
Here’s a cool serendipity experience (serendipia in Spanish). After 9 months of watching Spanish videos, two Mexican families (4 adults and 5 children) moved in next door to my wife and me. One of them spoke very little English, the rest none. What a golden opportunity to practice Spanish with some lovely people. My wife even started to pick up some.
About a month later I searched online and found a Spanish immersion school in Costa Rica. My wife encouraged me to attend for two weeks and stay with a local family who didn’t speak English. Before I flew down, the director of the school wanted to interview me on Zoom in Spanish to determine which class to put me in. After our discussion he told me that I knew a lot more Spanish that I thought I did, and he put me in one of their advanced classes. I was shocked because I didn’t feel like I knew very much.
While in Costa Rica I was able to understand my teachers who only spoke in Spanish (but did speak slowly and enunciate very clearly). Although I was making many mistakes, I was able to communicate clearly with my hosts and with Uber drivers. I was amazed to find that with all my mistakes I could communicate as effectively as some of my classmates who had college degrees in Spanish.
I returned home with a great desire to become fluent in Spanish. I added Duolingo to my daily routine and continued watching videos, reading the Bible in Spanish, and talking with my neighbors. A year ago, I started meeting with a Spanish conversation group once a week. It has now been 2 1/2 years since I started overcoming my discomfort zone and I have realized that being uncomfortable and humbly making a lot of errors is a key to mastering a language. I have a long way to go, but me esta encantando el viaje. When I think back on my years from birth to English fluency, it feels like my Spanish is right on schedule.
Encouragement is luxuriously life-enhancing. I love to wrap myself up in it and soak up its presence. It’s an opulent spa for my soul. I make and spend time with encouraging friends. I devour uplifting books and web sites. I consistently choose to consume hope filled videos and other positive media. I persistently write, speak, and post optimism. I make my brain think reassuring thoughts. (Philippians 4:8) Luxurious encouragement is a wonderful thing to experience and to share with other people.
Through word and deed All Christians need To plant the seed Of encouragement In each other And to help lead One another Away from sin, Deceitfulness, And unbelief So we can be freed To faithfully serve The living God. (Hebrews 3:12-13)
Encouraging Christians to believe in, rely on, and faithfully obey the living God isn’t just a preacher’s Sunday morning responsibility. All Christ-followers are called and commanded to consistently encourage each other. New Testament Christianity is about all believers in Jesus personally taking up the responsibility to mutually, actively, and continually encouraging one another throughout each day.
Instead of passively waiting for and depending on a preacher or someone else to encourage you, make it your lifestyle to daily take up your biblical responsibility to persistently encourage everyone you meet. If you will “in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others,” (Philippians 2:3-4) you will begin to knock sin’s deceitfulness off of its feet and force it retreat.
What do you say we all get started today? Be kind and compassionate to one another. (Ephesians 4:32) Bear one another’s burdens. (Galatians 6:3) Build one another up. (Romans 14;19) Be devoted to one another. (Romans 12:10) Serve one another. (Galatians 5:13) Be patient with one another. (Ephesians 4:2) Comfort one another. (1 Thessalonians 4:18) Show hospitality to each other. (1 Peter 4:9) Use your gifts to bless each other. (I Peter 4:10) Stir up one another to love and good works. (Hebrews 10:24) And of course, love one another. (John 13:34-35)
Every day I read the Bible with an open heart and allow God the Holy Spirit to speak His encouraging words to me as I do. That’s true luxury.
Here are some taglines about “participating in the work of the Holy Spirit” so that you can consistently live an encouraged life and daily encourage others:
I’ve never been content to hear a religious talk about Jesus. When I worship, I want to experience Christ’s presence and reality. (John 8:32)
Instead of trying to explain and understand God the Holy Spirit, begin to listen to and obey Him throughout each day. (John 15:26)
The most effective way to pray is to “pray in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 6:18)
Learning information about God should never replace listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
God the Holy Spirit wants to pray from deep within you (Romans 8:31) and to flow out of your inner most being like rivers of living water. (John 7:38-39) Will you let Him?
If you have never allowed God the Holy Spirit to directly teach you, you don’t know what amazing insight and revelation you are missing out on. (John 14:26)
The more you focus on yourself and on what you want, the more you will be distracted from the presence and reality of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 9:23)
Wherever a strong awareness of the ongoing presence and power of the risen Jesus is rare, the Holy Spirit is being resisted and quenched. (John 16:14)
If you stay where the Holy Spirit is being quenched, you’ll soon begin to quench the Spirit in your own heart. (1 John 2:27)
Christians have two choices. We can either be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14) or we can quench the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)
It’s vital that Christians learn to “walk by the Spirit” and not by our own desires, feelings, and plans. (Galatians 5:16-17)
To be guided by the Holy Spirit you must cultivate an intense ongoing awareness of His presence and His voice and put His desires ahead of staying in your comfort zone. (John 16:13)
If you refuse to resist your human resistance to God the Holy Spirit, His miracles will seem like mere myths to you. (James 4:8)
Compromise, apathy, religious tradition, and spiritual paralysis are enemies of the Holy Spirit. (Mark 7:13)
God the Holy Spirit is a person. He is saddened whenever we grieve Him by ignoring the direct leadership of His presence and reality. (Ephesians 4:30)
When the Holy Spirit has been quenched in the church building, instead of seeking to surrender to His presence and direct leadership, we’ve taught ourselves to rely on our own religious programming. (Matthew 6:33)
To quench or ignore the Holy Spirit is to depart from New Testament Christianity. (Acts 1:8)
To refuse to allow the Holy Spirit to take direct leadership of a worship gathering is to trust in human control instead of God.
It’s time to free the Holy Spirit from the religious cages of human agendas and programs.
If you are in a Christian meeting and you sense that the Spirit is being quenched, be careful that you don’t let the fear of what other people think cause you to also quench the Spirit.
It’s very difficult to find a church service where the Holy Spirit is allowed to take direct control, but that doesn’t have to stop you from letting the Spirit take direct control of your life.
For too long the Holy Spirit has been the “persona non grata” in church services.
Churches, let the Holy Spirit take the stage. He has been hidden too long.
Religious routine That overlooks The reality And presence of God Who is unseen Quenches His Spirit.
To insist On having Your own way Is to resist God’s Spirit. (Acts 7:51)
“Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power.” –Hudson Taylor
“When one tries to increase his knowledge by doing mental gymnastics over books without waiting upon God and looking to the guidance of the Holy Spirit . . . this will deplete his spiritual life. Because the fall of man was occasioned by seeking knowledge, God uses the foolishness of the cross to destroy the wisdom of the wise.” –Watchman Nee
“If Christians are forbidden to enjoy the wine of the Spirit they will turn to the wine of the flesh . . . Christ died for our hearts and the Holy Spirit wants to come and satisfy them.” –A.W. Tozer
Without faithfulness life is constantly confusing us.
Without gentleness life is pushy and brash.
Without self-control life is a runaway train.
To avoid being without these 9 most important things, continually surrender your life to God the Holy Spirit and allow Him to turn your heart into His orchard so that He can produce these characteristics as His fruit within you. The Bible calls them “the fruit of the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22-23) God’s fruit-filled diet will work wonders in your life!
When Christians are bored The Holy Spirit Is being ignored And their awareness Of the living Lord Needs to be restored.
Here are some idol words — some insights about idols and how to avoid them. An idol heart and mind can easily be captured by idols.
Any substitute for God is an idol. Accept no replacement for God and for His direct personal revelation to you that Jesus is truly the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Matthew 16:16)
Any faith that isn’t built on the rock of direct personal revelation from God is an idol. (Matthew 16:18) True faith is built on the invisible reality of “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” (Colossians 1:27) — on what eye hasn’t seen and ear hasn’t heard — on what God has personally and directly revealed to you by the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10) Placing anything — any object, any thought, any feeling, any desire, any religion, or anyone — ahead of an ongoing, heart-to-heart, obedient relationship with the risen Jesus is idolatry. Even greed is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5)
To wake up to the never-ending presence and power of God, “Keep yourself from idols.” (1 John 5:21) Cast down everything within you that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Bring all your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5) Make them fallen idols that are powerless to block or interfere with your constant worship, adoration, and obedience to the risen Jesus Christ.
To overcome your idols, think better thoughts. The best and most powerful idol busting thoughts that humans can think are found in the Bible. Here are a few of them that have helped free me from idols. (Read it for yourself and you will find many more.)
“You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32)
“In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
“Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isiah 40:31)
“I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.” (1 Corinthians 4:3)
“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” (2 Corinthians 10:12)
“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18)
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)
The Son of God has come to give us His understanding. (1 John 5:20) Now He wants to live within in us and to daily lead us by His Spirit.
Continually surrendering your heart and your desires to the life and leadership of the Holy Spirit within you is the essence of discipleship. Without the direct, personal leading of the Holy Spirit, discipleship will always shipwreck. The Bible calls us to hear and obey Spirit-taught word instead of human wisdom. (1 Corinthians 2:6-7)
Words that come directly from the mouth of God are more important than physical food. (Matthew 4:4) People need Spirit-taught words. Human taught words are insufficient. (1 Corinthians 2:13) God the Holy Spirit is speaking. Train yourself to hear and obey what He is saying directly to you. (Revelation 2:7)
The best sermon is when God the Holy Spirit personally preaches in your heart. God the Holy Spirit wants to reveal things to you that your physical eyes and ears can’t hear and see and that your mind can’t conceive. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)
If you want to know what God thinks, you have to listen to the Holy Spirit and not put your trust in human wisdom. “No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11)
Without the Holy Spirit, the things that come from God cannot be understood. They even sound foolish unless and until they are directly revealed to you by the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:14)
Until we learn to “live by the Spirit,” we will stay “mere infants in Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:1) God the Holy Spirit wants to give you the mind of Christ. Then you will begin to daily see and live from Jesus’ thoughts and perspective instead of from your own. (1 Corinthians 14:16)
People are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Bricks and mortar aren’t. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) Spiritual maturity isn’t determined by where you sit on Sunday mornings but by how much you surrender your heart and will to God throughout each day.
The belief that only meetings conducted or authorized by an institutional church are true meetings of the body of Christ is false. (Matthew 18:20) Let the Spirit prompt you when and where to gather with other believers.
The true Christian expert who all Christ-followers need is God the Holy Spirit. Listen to and obey Him. He speaks directly to human hearts and also through the Bible. The Bible was written to be absorbed and obeyed, not to be analyzed and dissected.
Instead of being worshipped in a specific location or in a particular type of religious meeting, God wants to be worshiped “in spirit and in truth,” (John 4:24)
Christians need to Follow Christ’s call, Not just Sunday Protocol.
22 things that are more important for a Christian to do than to go to church:
1) Tell the truth, (Ephesians 4:15) 2) Be humble, (James 4:10) 3) Don’t compare yourself with others, (2 Corinthians 10:12) 4) Refuse to steal, (Exodus 20:15) 5) Let Jesus be your literal Lord and King, (Matthew 6:33) 6) Make your every thought obey Jesus, (2 Corinthians 10:5) 7) Honor your father and mother, (Ephesians 6:2) 8) Be led by the Holy Spirit, (Romans 8:14) 9) Deny yourself, (Luke 9:23) 10 Avoid drunkenness, (Ephesians 5:18) 11) Put away all sin, (Mark 1:15) 12) Be sexually pure, (Exodus 24:14) 13) Love your enemies, (Matthew 5:44) 14) Bless those who curse you, (Luke 6:28) 15) Pray for those who despitefully use you, (Luke 6:28) 16) Rejoice in the Lord always, (Philippians 4:4) 17) Read and obey the Bible, (Joshua 1:8) 18) Pray without stopping, (1 Thessalonians 5:17) 19) Love one another, (John 13:34) 20) Assemble together to obey the 50+ New Testament one another commands, (Hebrews 10:25) 21) Worship in spirit and in truth, (John 4:24) 22) Keep your heart close to God. (Matthew 15:8-9)
Let the Spirit lead you beyond church as usual. Then you’ll never be the same.
Free Gas for Your Think Tank -- Fill Your Mind and Your Heart With Hope 