I’m reading a great book write now that was written by a friend. In it, she says, “If the enemy cannot get you to walk away from God, he will try to get you to walk alone.” One of the…
Practical Tips for Spiritually Fathering, Mothering, & Being Fathered/Mothered, Part 2
Last week, I started talking about spiritual mothers and fathers / spiritual sons and daughters: The function they take, roles each plays, how they help each other, and practical tips for doing it well. Today, I’d like to delve a…
Practical Tips for Spiritually Fathering, Mothering, & Being Fathered/Mothered, Part 1
There’s been a lot of talk in churches in recent years about spiritual fathers and mothers, and how necessary they are for the younger generation. I thought here I’d give some practical tips and thoughts on spiritual mothers and fathers…
Are We Scared of Sin?
I couldn’t quite decide how to start this post, so I’ll do it with a question: What is your response when blatant sin crosses your path? I’m not talking about the powers of evil here, just obvious sin. Are you…
Christians Off-leash
I love seeing dogs off-leash on the trail. While there are notable exceptions, if a dog is off-leash, it’s almost always because its master knows that it’s under voice command – in other words, the dog won’t jump, won’t bite,…
Obedience Without Understanding
I’d like to make a quick caveat to last week’s post. Not because I don’t believe it – far from it – but because there is more to the subject than what I was able to cover in a single…
Compliance vs. Obedience
When Jesus was spending His last evening with His disciples before His crucifixion, He told them, “Those who know my commands and obey them are the ones who love me, and my Father will love those who love me. I…
General vs. Specific Prayers
General prayers aren’t the worst thing in the world. In fact, they can save lives, bring comfort, and change outcomes for people we don’t even know. Many years ago, I heard a sermon about how we should pray for specific…
Sent vs. Called by God
I’ve been thinking recently about what it is to be sent vs. what it is to be called. A person might have an apostolic anointing on their life – they’ve been sent by God to a specific place, people, or…
Separated from God
An excerpt from my journal. “Surrender is painful,” people say. Perhaps that is true. But nothing is as painful as being separated from God. Nothing. Nothing is wrong with it to be separated from Him. Nothing. Nothing can separate us…