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WHEN IT ALL CATCHES UP WITH YOU — HOW DOES IT CHANGE YOU? (2 minute read) When you do something wrong and you’re caught—or when your bad choices finally lead to something not so good—how does that change you? BTW, pardon again the photo - I just like seeing my wife - it has nothing to do with this story. Today, I read: “You can hear crying on the bare hilltops. It is the people of Israel crying and praying for mercy. They have become very evil and have forgotten the LORD thei

Who have you set up boundaries with? Are those boundaries really necessary? IS IT A BOUNDARY OR AN EXCUSE I mean, is that person truly dangerous, abusive, manipulative, or capable of causing you real harm? Or is it possible you’ve established boundaries for other reasons? Maybe reasons that aren’t entirely justified? We hear a lot about boundaries these days. And don’t misunderstand me, some boundaries are absolutely necessary. There are people whose behavior is destructive,

What are you praying about right now? HOW REAL IS PRAYER TO YOU Some people never pray. Some pray at the drop of a hat, but I wonder sometimes how real their prayer really is. How real is prayer to you? When you pray, do you really believe God is there, that He hears you, and that something is actually happening? BTW, yes, the photo has nothing to do with praying. I just like to share photos of Wendy. So today, my schedule reading says: “Do not worry about anything, but pray

Things are going well—and then, little by little, we stop following. Why? WHAT WALKING WITH GOD LOOKS LIKE How is your walk with God right now? I know, it sounds religious. Let me define walking with God. Walking with God means listening to Him, “doing” as He says, reading His Word, praying to Him, loving others as you love yourself, forgiving, serving, being generous, and being other-centered instead of self-centered. His ways are to benefit our lives. Jesus basically summed

What kind of pain do you have? No one is without pain. Why? Because we don’t live in a perfect world. WHO’S FAULT IS IT? Some pain is not our fault—some is. Some comes from what other people have done to us. Some comes from our own choices. Some comes simply from living in a broken world where bodies get sick, relationships struggle, people disappoint us, and people we love eventually die. But here’s something I’ve noticed: We often don’t change until the pain becomes signifi

How do you forgive someone who absolutely did you wrong? I didn’t say trust them. I’m asking, how do you forgive them? THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FORGIVER The one who forgives is the one who is “full” of love, patience, mercy, and grace. We throw those words around pretty easily, but when you’re the one who has been hurt, betrayed, lied to, rejected, or mistreated, those characteristics don’t come quite so easily—right? WHAT THE FORGIVE SHOULD LOOK LIKE This morning I read so

What would you define as a bad day? Bad traffic? A strained relationship? Trying to get over your past, and it’s hitting you hard today? Needing to overcome an addiction? Being broke? What’s a bad day for you? I suppose it depends on what you compare it to. WHAT A BAD DAY REALLY LOOKS LIKE I’m reading today, and Isaiah says about Jesus’ suffering: “Many people were shocked when they saw him. His appearance was so damaged he did not look like a man; his form was so changed the

What’s driving your life, your thoughts, your daily actions? What’s on your mind—a lot? What occupies your schedule? What do you do a lot of? Where do you spend your time, energy, thoughts, and feelings? What does your typical day look like? The answer to those questions might reveal more than you are taking note of. TWO FORCES INSIDE OF US Today I read: “Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are aga

What kind of judgment will you face when you die? How often do you even think about that? OUR TYPICAL DAY Most of us wake up with a full schedule. If you have kids, life can be hectic, chaotic and busy. Others become consumed by work. A good friend told me years ago, “You can’t outwork the work.” He was right. There will always be something else to do. But then you run across verses like these, and they make you stop: “But those who depend on following the law to make them ri

What do you know that you are not following? I know, that’s a pretty general question. But today I read: “So the words of the LORD will be, ‘A command here, a command there. A rule here, a rule there. A little lesson here, a little lesson there.’ They will fall back and be defeated; they will be trapped and captured.” (Isaiah 28:13 NCV) I suppose you have to know a little about Isaiah and his mission to really understand this. The leaders of Judah had grown tired of hearing I

How does life cycle? Everything seems to cycle—fashions, weather, seasons, even the rising and setting of the sun. OUR PERSONAL CYCLE And if we are honest, we cycle with God too. We get close to Him, experience His goodness, then slowly drift away. Eventually, we find ourselves needing Him again, and He is still there, waiting for us to return. The Bible tells this story over and over. God rescues, people wander, consequences come, and then God restores. I read this in Isaiah

Can God use evil people, painful circumstances, and bad decisions for His purposes? Yes. That does not mean God approves of evil. It means evil is never outside His control. I was reading: “But Assyria’s king doesn’t understand that I am using him; he doesn’t know he is a tool for me. He only wants to destroy other people and to defeat many nations.” (Isaiah 10:7 NCV) The king of Assyria had no desire to serve God. He was motivated by pride, power, and destruction. Yet God wa

How hard are you working to “get ahead” in life? And maybe the better question is: Ahead of whom? “Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich; be wise enough to control yourself.” (Proverbs 23:4 NCV) Solomon was not condemning hard work. Proverbs praises diligence over and over. His warning was about wearing yourself out chasing wealth. Work hard, be responsible, provide well—but know when enough is enough. Solomon also gives us one of the reasons we work ourselves so hard: “

Why did someone take you to lunch, buy you football tickets, send you a gift, or do you a special favor? Sometimes people are simply being kind. But sometimes there is another motive. There’s an old saying: Never accept something that makes it harder for you to say no later. Solomon wrote: “If you sit down to eat with a ruler, notice the food that is in front of you. Control yourself if you have a big appetite. Don’t be greedy for his fine foods, because that food might be a

How much do you and I actually control? Maybe more than we think — at least while we are alive and well. Once you wake up in the morning, you can make a lot of choices. You can work out, drink your coffee, show up on time, clean your surroundings, eat better, be kind to people, work hard, forgive somebody, encourage somebody, or waste the entire day. We have responsibility for how we live. But here is the bigger question: Who controls whether you wake up at all? Who ultimatel

How’s your love life in your marriage? How’s your married sex life? Are you having sex outside of marriage? If so, why? How do you view love, sex, and attraction? Is it just a primal desire, or is it connected to real love — true love? How’s your physical attractiveness? Are you still working on it, or have you let yourself go? If you have, why? Let’s talk about love, sex, attraction, and why all of this matters. SONG OF SOLOMN - WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT I read Song of Solomon eve

Time, brings all things to light. What is time revealing about you? Have you ever watched somebody keep making the same bad choices and thought, “How can they not see what they are doing?” In advising others, I see a lot of this - even in myself. Solomon said, “The heart of the wise leads to right, but the heart of a fool leads to wrong. Even in the way fools walk along the road, they show they are not wise; they show everyone how stupid they are.” (Ecclesiastes 10:2–3, NCV)

Have you ever wanted to go back and change something that simply cannot be changed? Maybe it was a decision, a relationship, a mistake, something someone said to you, or something you wish someone had said but never did. Solomon writes, “A tree can fall to the north or south, but it will stay where it falls.” (Ecclesiastes 11:3, NCV) In the original Hebrew, the picture is very simple: wherever the tree falls, there it lies. Once it has fallen, reality has changed. You may wis

Why are we fighting the same sin we fought 20 years ago? MEN DURING MID-LIFE What happens inside a man somewhere in his 30s when, from the outside, he may look like he has finally gotten his life together, but inside he is beginning to come apart? The photo is me at 37 with my Mom - I sure loved my Mom … I see it more than I wish I did. Men around 35, 37, 40 who just seem to derail. Obviously, everyone sins. Ladies do too. But I have watched enough men in this season of life

Forgive my cheesy image of God - but you get the idea. What are you trying to accomplish in life right now? What are your goals and aspirations? What are your challenges? How does God fit in all of this? I’m reading Job 38–41 today. And for most of the book of Job, Job is asking God questions. Why did this happen? Why am I suffering? Why does God seem silent? As we struggle, we ask the same questions. So first, this is why God matters, He can and will help us. Job knows he ha

What are you tempted with right now? Food, lust, a person, wealth, your body and appearance, a relationship, acceptance, approval, anger, unforgiveness — the list could go on, right? So stop for a moment and answer the question if you would: What — are — you — tempted — with? We sometimes talk about temptation as though it just suddenly “shows up.” And sure, sometimes it does. Something unexpected gets put right in front of us. But most of the time, temptation connects with s

Where do you get your counsel when you need an answer you can completely rely on? We spend a lot of money on therapists and counselors. We spend a lot of time talking with friends, pastors, family members, and people we trust about what we should do. And now, more and more people are turning to AI. I use AI. I think it is a great tool. I use it for writing, research, ideas, explanations, and even to help me think through things. But today, I’m showing you an actual image of a

Who has worship done right? The Catholics? The Baptists? The non-denominationals? The Pentecostals? What about home churches? Does anyone do it right? Some churches are liturgical. Some are quiet and reverent. Some are crazy, dancing, yelling, talking in tongues. Some use smoke machines, megatrons, giant screens, and huge music that can almost feel like entertainment. So how should we “really” worship? REAL WORSHIP LOOKS LIKE THIS Jesus gives us the clearest starting point in

Let’s be honest with ourselves today … I’ve been writing, podcasting, doing blogs and YouTubes on parents and adult children in the past few weeks. Honestly, it’s been a thing I’m working through personally. I’ve got part three of my YouTube video coming out in a couple of days on this topic. But today, I want to put a capstone on this topic in writing, all coming from my journal. What am I really expecting from the people I claim to love, and why do I expect it? Let’s be re