Last week in Fresh Start, I told you about a book my pastoral coach has me reading: Peter Scazzero’s “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.” In the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4:1-13, Scazzero sees “three false identities or masks that Satan offers each one of us.” They......
12 October, 2025
Allen, my pastoral coach, (and he’s an awesome coach!) often suggests books for me to read. The most recent one: Peter Scazzero’s “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” has already rocked my world. In the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4:1-13, Scazzero sees “three false identities or masks......
05 October, 2025
When I was growing up, there was a kid my age who came from a devout Baptist family. I once heard an adult observe how good the kids were in that family and how they were faithfully in church. The kid my age often spoke......
28 September, 2025
As the Major League Baseball season winds down, controversy is heating up outside T-Mobile Park, the home of the Seattle Mariners. As the “Seattle Times” reports: If you have been to a game at T-Mobile Park, you have heard them. They are omnipresent. They are......
21 September, 2025
Recently, I was briefly taken in by a biblical myth that apparently has been around for a few centuries. One of my daily devotionals focused on Psalm 51:8: Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Psalm 51 is David’s......
15 September, 2025
Ramona and I had friends over for dinner recently. It was a beautiful evening, and we were grilling chicken, so we decided to eat outside. That changed when yellowjackets decided to join us, chasing us inside. As we scooped up dishes and food from the......
07 September, 2025
We take a lot of things for granted, perhaps no more than the sun. That’s right, the sun. Sure, you complain when it goes missing behind the clouds or when you get too much of it. But when was the last time you marveled at......
31 August, 2025
Jim Marshall, by every meaningful measure, was one of the very best defensive linemen ever to play in the NFL. His 20 NFL seasons included 282 consecutive starts and 127 quarterback sacks. He was part of the feared Purple People Eaters, Minnesota Vikings defensive line.......
17 August, 2025
What is the one sin (committed by those who have accepted Christ) that insults God? Here is a popular guess:Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this......
10 August, 2025
Years ago, I had a co-worker who would greet me almost every morning with, “What’s the story, morning glory?” I was reminded of that recently when I read a devotional about the importance of Christ-followers being prepared to share their story. It identified two separate......
03 August, 2025
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your......
27 July, 2025
When Jesus appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, He left little doubt about what the rest of Saul’s life would look like. Saul would become the Apostle Paul and Jesus made his mission for the rest of his time on earth......
20 July, 2025
Jesus is often described as a radical. There is no doubt that He was considered a radical by many during His time on earth, especially by the Jewish ruling class. His radical unconditional love, His radical acceptance of Gentiles (non-Jews), His radical challenging of the......
13 July, 2025
I’ve been there. Nine years ago, my life was in shambles. I felt I had messed up so badly that I couldn’t come back from it. More recently, I made some significant mistakes in the ministry where I felt I may have done more harm......
06 July, 2025
Almost every election season we hear people say, “I will choose the lesser of two evils.” They mean that they don’t care for either candidate but will choose the one they consider less objectionable. Choosing between two evils means that either way, you’re choosing evil.......
29 June, 2025
In the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul shares what he calls “the fruit of the Spirit:” love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23) You will note that Paul calls these “the fruit” and not “the fruits.” Why? Because the 9......
22 June, 2025
When I was very young, someone shared a theory with me on the perception of time. You may have heard it. As you age months and years are a smaller fraction of your life, so your perspective changes and they pass by faster. For example.......
15 June, 2025
It is truly an eye-popping passage in the Bible: 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father,......
08 June, 2025
I used to be a sensational complainer. I complained about pretty much everything. If it were indeed true that misery loves company, I would have been the most popular guy in the world. I’m not going to say that I never complain these days, but......
01 June, 2025
Disclaimer: If you do not believe God speaks to us in our dreams, this blog post isn’t for you. In a recent dream, I was in the front passenger seat of a speeding runaway car with no one in the driver’s seat (Incidentally, the car......
25 May, 2025