I think if we could recover a vision of what holiness actually is, we would be absolutely captured by it. I think we would see it as not only completely desirable, but attainable as well. King David was a man who knew well his character flaws,...
READ MOREYou have been ransomed by Christ. Your treachery is forgiven. You are entirely pardoned for every wrong thought and desire and deed. This is what the vast majority of Christians understand as the central work of Christ for us. And make no mistake...
READ MOREToday’s Daily Reading is an excerpt from Morgan Snyder's book “Becoming a King”
What is the Enemy’s plan for your life? It’s an important question for each of us to ask and keep asking.
There are daily strategies,...
READ MOREIgnoring reality does not breed joy. Pretending that what is true does not exist is not holy defiance. The seeds of joy can only be firmly planted in the pungent soil of the here and now while at the same time being tethered to eternity. Joy is...
READ MOREDo not give way to fear. (1 Peter 3:6)
Isn’t that why we hide, why we strive, why we control, why we do anything but offer beauty? We are afraid. We have given way to fear. Just think about your life—why...
READ MOREThe book "Killing Lions" is a conversation between John and Sam Eldredge about the trials young men face.
[Sam] I recently read an article about a young Maasai man who came to the United States to pursue his master’s...
Playful, cunning, generous, fierce — not one moment of it is contrived. Jesus never plays to the audience, never kowtows to the opposition, never takes his cues from the circus around him. He is simply being himself.
The diversity of Jesus...
READ MOREEternal life — we tend to think of it in terms of existence that never comes to an end. And the existence it seems to imply — a sort of religious experience in the sky — leaves us wondering if we would want it to go on forever. But Jesus...
READ MOREHow long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?" (Ps. 4:2). These blows aren't random or incidental. They strike directly at some part of the heart, turn the very thing God created to be a source of celebration into a source of shame. And so...
READ MOREIt is a matter of the heart, my brothers. There are many offices a man might fulfill as a king — father of a household, manager of a department, pastor of a church, coach of a team, prime minister of a nation — but the heart...
READ MOREHow would you score your soul these days:
Are you happy most of the time?
How often do you feel lighthearted?
Are you excited about your future?
Do you feel deeply loved?
When was the last time you felt carefree?...
God knows the danger of ignoring our hearts, and so he reawakens desire. You see a photo in a magazine, and pause, and sigh. You see someone with a life that reminds you of the life you once thought you would live. You’re channel surfing one...
READ MORELife, you'll notice, is a story.
Life doesn't come to us like a math problem. It comes to us the way that a story does, scene by scene. You wake up. What will happen next? You don't get to know — you have to enter in, take the journey as...
READ MOREJesus will return. Swiftly, unexpectedly. Any moment. His return will usher in the renewal of all things. That includes the execution of justice, rewards, the feast, your “estates,” your appointed role in his great kingdom — along with...
READ MOREOur God has provision for us!
I know, I know — most of you think that what you need right now is three months at the coast. Walking on the beach, drinks on the deck, and with all my heart I hope you find that. But for most of us, a...
READ MORE“Healing prayer,” said Leanne Payne, “is not the ‘instant fix,’ nor the bypassing of slow and steady growth. It is that which clears the path and makes such progress possible.” This type of prayer is beautiful and indispensable in our journey...
READ MOREAnother way to begin to seize hope with a good, firm grip is to ask yourself, What have I done with my kingdom heart? Where am I currently taking it? You have a heart for joy — where is your hope for joy set right now? You have a heart...
READ MOREWhen our hopes are in their proper places, attached to the right things, not only do we flourish better as human beings, but we are rescued from a thousand heartbreaks. For not all hopes are created equal; there are casual hopes, precious hopes,...
READ MOREThis may come as a surprise to you: Christianity is not an invitation to become a moral person. It is not a program for getting us in line or for reforming society. It has a powerful effect upon our lives, but when transformation comes, it is...
READ MORESeveral years ago I went through one of the most painful trials of my professional life. The story involves a colleague whom I will call Dave, a man I hired and with whom I had labored several years in ministry. We spent many hours on the road...
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