Intimacy over efficiency and productivity

For some reason we often find ourselves pulled to be ultra-productive. We may feel this inner push to be efficient with our time and energy. Not that this is a bad thing at all, in its proper place.

Of course we should make the most of our time by efficiently handling email and productively organizing our time to check things off of our “to do” list, however when it comes to relationships, intimacy must be priority. 

We can’t  “streamline” things like relationships. 

We can’t speed the process along and we absolutely shouldn’t be angling to help the conversation go faster or for the bonds to forge more quickly. These are things that ought to take time. These are things that cannot and should not be hurried. 

Can you imagine someone saying “I love you” or even offering a marriage proposal and the person to whom they direct their love and affection simply responds with “Can’t we move this along?”

In the middle of my day today, the Lord reminded me that I need to yearn for intimacy over efficiency. 

Furthermore He told me that when I am intimate with Him, He will direct my path and show me the way I should live and the things I should be spending my time on. In other words, when we are intimate with the Father, He will help to make us efficient and productive.

So the next time, you sense the urge to go faster and be more productive, make sure that it does not spill into your relationships because those just take time to grow healthy and to be fully enjoyed as God intended.

Listen to the instruction of the Lord

Dear friend 

Listen to the voice of your Father.

Listen to the voice of wisdom.

Heed the instructions of Truth and Holiness.

There are so many people who are going through hardships in their life of their own doing. 

Of course, we know that there is trouble in this world simply because it is a fallen world. We know that there is heartache simply because of the presence of free will. We know that the devil is on the prowl and causes a lot of grief and suffering. 

But if we were honest with ourselves, we would also recognize that a lot of the trouble in our lives is of our own doing. 

And God has given us an answer for this. 

Listen to his voice. Heed his instruction. 

Proverbs 5:12 says “how I have hated instruction and my heart spurned reproof.”

And how true this has been in your life and mine when we have gone on in our own understanding and disregarded the godly instruction that God provided to us. 

So let me ask you…

What is God telling you to stop doing? 

You know the thing… Every time you engage in it, you feel guilty. Every time. Each time the pastor mentions repentance your mind goes to that thing. Every time you feel pangs of guilt and shame, you know it’s because you have been ignoring the voice of the Lord and what he has told you to stop. 

It could be lying, or cheating. Or stealing. (Remember poor or lazy work for your employer is lying and stealing. Remember spending time on your phone and your own projects while at work is also stealing.) 

It could be lust or jealousy or greed. Always wanting what others have and not being thankful for what we have been given is a surefire way to become bitter and even self-justifying in our selfishness.

God may have told you to stop abusing your body with gluttony or drunkenness or markings on your body for the dead or for the soul or with intoxicants/stimulants. 

God may have told you to stop trying to look like the world in beauty and vanity.

The Lord may have convicted you about your speech, whether cursing or gossiping or being negative. 

You may have had a deep conviction about sexual immorality. And what you look at, what you fantasize about or the sexual encounters you have outside of marriage.

God may be talking to you about idolatry and placing other things before God. Or worshiping money and success. Or making yourself the center of your own universe. 

Whatever it is that God has told you to stop. Please heed his voice. Hear his warning. Receive his wisdom and his instruction. What He warns us about, He is willing and able to deliver us from. What He commands us to, He empowers us to do.

Proverbs 5 warns about what happens when we ignore the voice of the Lord. We bring ourselves to utter ruin. 

My desire for you is that you will be delivered and set free and have victory in Jesus Christ. And as such, I know that means listening to the wisdom of the Lord and obeying his command.

The promise of the Lord is that when we repent (turn away) of our sins and confess them before him, He will abundantly pardon and freely forgive. He will cleanse us of unrighteousness and empower us to walk in his holy ways. 

But we have to heed his instruction. We have to listen to the voice of our Father. 

Will you? 

Before it’s too late?

An exceptional life of peace, contentment and a calm inner assurance

Dear friend, 

Are you living an exceptional life? 

Are you living a life of peace and contentment? 

Do you have a calm inner assurance at all times? 

If you cannot answer yes to each of these questions, I hope you will take the time to read this blog post and discover what God has for you. 

If you already can say yes to each of these questions, praise the Lord! But I also encourage you to read this blog post for further edification and a deepening of your roots in Christ.

I’m going to ask a series of questions that I hope helps to search your mind and heart to discover any anxiousness there:

  • Do you find yourself on edge whenever the phone rings or a text alert appears? 
  • Do you have a sense of impending doom? An inner sense that something bad is coming? 
  • Do you try to avoid certain people or places because it seems they put you immediately on edge?
  • Are you constantly battling the thought that nothing is going to get better and that the world and your own life are going to continue to spiral out of control? 

All of these are evidences of an unsettled spirit. 

We might think that these reveal the crazy, chaotic nature of our current environment and culture and that it is because everything has broken down so much in society. We might be tempted to blame the people around us, or a toxic environment, or even the devil.

But the reality is that each and every generation has faced its own share of overwhelming circumstances. And God offers His beautiful and centering peace and presence for all people, no matter the circumstances. 

The promise of God is that we CAN live abundant lives overflowing with peace, love, joy and hope. The promise of God is that we CAN have victory over meaninglessness, stress, anxiety, fear, selfishness, and worldliness. 

God offers to us the possibility of a life that has a settled mind, a calm spirit, a peaceable temperament, gentle reactions, and a joy-filled attitude.

Furthermore, these are things that we do not have to “put on” (like a mask) or work up in ourselves, by frenzied effort.  

These are things that God gives to us as a free gift of his grace. We are invited to receive them. And let them minister to us and bless us in supernatural ways. 

Let me give you three practical tips on how to receive these from the Lord: 

1. These are gifts that accompany salvation. If you call on the name of the Lord for salvation confessing your sins and turning away from your sins and bad habits/choices, God will grant you forgiveness and give you his Holy Spirit.  And when you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, you also get all of these beautiful gifts that accompany His Spirit (but sometimes we don’t realize this because we don’t tune in to the Holy Spirit).

2. There is an abundance of peace and contentment present and overflowing in moments of silence, solitude and waiting. Find a prayer closet, a place to kneel and turn off all distractions and notifications. Just listen to the Lord. Perhaps read one Bible verse and then meditate on it. Or pick one attribute of God and think on it over and over again and let it bring joy and gratitude and peace to your heart 

3. Let go of the things of this world. Recognize that everything around us is going to burn up. Mainstream media, social media, the things in our lives that break down and have to be insured and repaired or replaced. Let go of all of these things. Recognize that the spiritual and the eternal things are the things that will last. Invest your time and energy thinking about the eternal and spiritual things. Spend time speaking about these things with others and discovering how truly present and available they are. Take the time to rejoice in song or to give verbal acknowledgement of the goodness of God.

The point here I’m trying to make is that God wants you to have a deep inner assurance of His nearness together with a calm spirit, a peace-filled heart and mind, and an unshakableness that comes from his abiding presence in you. Do whatever you can to be with the Lord and His people and meditate on His goodness and His promises. Cast your cares upon the Lord. Reject the principles of the world and wait and see how the Lord will center and anchor you in the middle of the chaos that surrounds.

The mystery of ministry

The mysteriousness of ministry 

Is what we’re doing making a difference? How?

How will we ever know if what we have said or done has truly accomplished anything? 

Will we always just have to rely on the promise of the Lord that he will make something happen with our meager contributions? 

These are questions that we as pastors probably wrestle with (or try not to think about because we can’t come up with the answer). 

But there is something profound about the mystery of ministry 

We keep praying, keep preaching, keep reaching out to people. We press on to invite another person and share the gospel with new people and in new ways. We prepare another program, another lesson, another event. 

All in the hopes that someone will hear the gospel truth and the voice of God and that they will believe and be truly set free. 

We hope and pray that almost like osmosis, these people will come in contact with us and will sense the power of the Holy Spirit flowing from us to them. 

The mystery of ministry is that we can’t ultimately analyze every individual effort and see whether it is effective or not. 

Of course we ought to review our efforts and ask the Lord to give us wisdom and insight and that He would guide our steps. 

But in a very different way than commerce and industry, ministry is not about clear and concise tracking of ROI (return on investment). Instead ministry is about pouring out what we have received from the Lord and trusting that he will bring fruit from our intimacy and fruit from our obedient labor, done in His name.

So Pastor, I encourage you. Continue to pray. Continue to preach. Continue to have conversations and plan programs and ministries and events. But above all, make sure that what you are doing is rooted and grounded in the gospel and bathed in prayer. May our ministries be for the glory of God and the salvation of the those who hear.

Recognize that ministry is messy and mysterious. And we may not know the fullness of our efforts this side of glory. But we continue to plant seeds and water them, trusting that God will indeed bring the growth.

Seen. Heard. Valued. Loved.

I DON’T want to be seen because people will see my flaws and weaknesses, mistakes and sins and perhaps will decide that it’s not worth knowing me or loving me.

I DO want to be seen because I want people to see my value and the gifts God has given me and invite me to be a part of community with them.

I DON’T want to be heard because I might say something wrong, or foolish, might trip over my words, or reveal something that shows my own depravity and sin apart from God. I don’t want to be judged or ridiculed.

I DO want to be heard because I want people to see my worth and my value and know that I have something to offer. I want to be shown value and worth in how people listen to me.

I fear that if I am fully seen and fully heard then I will not also be fully loved. I have discovered that many times when I disclose things then I am judged for them and perhaps even mocked or ostracized or otherwise mistreated

I do want to be fully seen and fully heard because I want people to value me and show me love. I know that God is able to fully see me and fully hear me and treasure me. He cherishes me. He values me. He honors me in his love.

I fear that humans are not able to do this.

I know that they are with Christ at work within them.

And yet, I also know that many Christians choose not to allow Christ to live through them and therefore, although they believe in Him, they do not act like Him.

I want to be seen and heard valued and loved.

And I want to see and hear, value and love others.

Lord help us!

God is at work where you live

We don’t have to know all that God is doing

We know the basics… He’s told us in his Word that he is saving, sanctifying, sustaining, and guiding us. Along the way we know that He is protecting and providing for us.

In your local congregation and in mine, we don’t necessarily know all the specifics of how God is working to strengthen the core of the congregation and build them up in faith and produce fruit in them that will draw other people to Himself.

We don’t know all the ways that He is arranging circumstances and speaking by His still small voice to people. Sometimes from our limited perspective, it seems that not much is going on.

But nothing could be farther from the truth.

An entire book could be written about what’s going on just in the last month in your local congregation.

God is speaking, God is nudging, God is convicting. God is doing miracles, God is setting captives free. God is speaking by visions and dreams, God is speaking by His word and even through the Bible studies and messages that you’re bringing.

The point is that God is profoundly at work and rather than spending all of our time trying to figure out all that He’s doing, the most important thing is to avail ourselves to Him and say “God, what do you want me to do now?”

As pastors we must quiet ourselves and bow before the Lord in prayer and we can be assured that God will bring a name to our minds, or will give us a task to do, or will speak a promise to us that He wants us to meditate on and perhaps even share with family and congregation.

One of the all-time most important things that we as pastors should be doing is kneeling or laying before the Lord with reverant submission in our hearts and an openness to what He reveals.

And then we can begin to watch for His handiwork because we can rest assured that He is highly active right where we live and in the midst of the people who are part of both our biological and faith family.

I am FOR you

I want you to know that I am for you!

I want you to succeed in your tasks today and this week. I want you to flourish in life. I want you to have joy and peace!

I want your soul to prosper. I want your relationships and your health to prosper!

I desire that you are delivered from any attacks or oppression and set free from all bondage. I want you to truly walk in peace and freedom not being held back or held down by any bad habits, any darkness or any sin.

I want you to be forgiven and saved and know the certainty of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

I want you to know how deeply and dearly loved you are.

I want you to know how valuable you are. I want you to realize that you are seen and you are heard. I want you to feel the warmth and affection of friendship.

And why do I want this?

Because this is all that God has freely given to me and freely avails to all who will receive it. And He invites us to walk in this abundance and to share it with others!

I’m constantly looking for ways to communicate this to people. Sometimes with words other times with actions. Sometimes just with a gentle look.

Please know that I am for you because God is for you. And I love you because God loves us both.

I hope that you will believe this and that as you hold on to it it will give you hope.

Christians and politics

Christians and politics

What should a Christian do in regard to politics, being a public citizen, voting and talking to people who believe differently than us?

  1. First of all, remember to pray for our nation. Our nation needs the Lord and we need to be humble and to penitently confess our sins and turn away from our wicked ways. Also let us pray for all of our politicians. All authority on earth has been instituted by God and we have been commanded in the Word to pray for all of our leaders. 
  2. Second, pray that God will give them insights and place around them godly counselors who will guide them in the way of truth and help them to know the wisdom that is from above.
  3. Third, pray for people who have different views than our own. Pray that we will get to know them, build a relationship with them, hear from them, learn from them and also be able to have spiritual conversations with them. 
  4. Fourth, do not participate in the hateful and divisive ways of man. Do not proclaim that salvation or hope for a country (or its economy or overcoming crime or poverty) somehow rises or falls on one party, one platform, one policy or one politician. Do not fall into the trap of convoluting Christianity with any particular/singular earthly person, party, platform, nation, tribe, tongue, or denomination. God is available to all and is speaking to all and can use all who are surrendered to Him. We know that what we think we hear God saying must agree with the Bible, but no one earthly entity is the hope of man and no single earthly entity has the final say on God, His kingdom, His ways, etc
  5. Fifth, do not lose your credibility by arguing for the ultimate superiority of one earthly system over another. Learn that all earthly systems may have valid helps and be honest that all earthly systems are incomplete and imperfect.
  6. Sixth, when you vote, vote for the particular issues that are in alignment with the principles of the Bible and especially the overriding call of God for us to live out holy love
  7. Seventh, when someone believes differently than you, don’t talk over them, shout them down or talk down to them. Listen to them. Inquire as to why they believe that. Be genuinely curious. Seek to learn something new from them or to acquire a new perspective. Be respectful. Seek to win the relationship NOT the argument. Look for common ground and seek to build a bridge between the person you are talking to and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
  8. Eighth, remember that people will learn more about how to disagree agreeably by your example of gentleness, kindness, patient listening and genuine care for the other person. Realize that talking about politics is ultimately a tool for evangelism and discipleship and you should not squander such an opportunity by merely reacting or seeking to win the debate. 
  9. Ninth, realize that the Bible has much more to say about government, authority and politics than people realize. Read the Bible, seek to learn much from it and allow the Bible to shape your beliefs instead of only looking to the Bible to defend a political belief or preference you already have.
  10. Tenth, people will try to use religion and the Bible to bully others into silence and acquiescence. Jesus never did this. He spoke the truth (with gentleness and respect) and He offered grace upon grace, but never did He seek to silence His oppressors, only to lead them to salvation and truth and grace in His name. 

Finally, remember that discussions about politics are neverending. Don’t get sucked into conversations that neither glorify God, nor build you up, nor help to bring people to Jesus. 

Above all, what matters most is knowing the Lord, walking with Him and in His ways and helping people to come to a knowledge of the the truth that is in Jesus.

I am praying that God will help me and you to show holy love in our conversations, our interactions, and our political activity. I pray that we will see politics as a way a Christian can joyfully, peacefully, graciously and gently talk about God and His Word and actually invite people to find out for themselves the beauty of Christ and His gospel.

We’re always looking for something more

Have you ever noticed that we just can’t seem to be content with what we have?

We always seem to be looking for new things. A new house, a new car, a new job, new clothes, new technology and the list goes on.

We just don’t seem to know how to be content.

And it doesn’t just apply to material possessions and wealth. It also seems to be true about experiences (think about people who are adrenaline “junkies” who always have to go higher, faster, farther, more intense, more risky, more death-defying).

But this is also a trap in regards to people’s spirituality.

God has given us everything we need for life and godliness in Him

He has availed to us Himself. He places His Holy Spirit inside of His born-again believers. He gives us the mind of Christ and a brand new heart. He gives us His Word and even writes it on our hearts and our minds.

But for many that is not enough. They look for hidden wisdom, secrets others haven’t known. Sometimes it’s like we look at God’s offering of Himself and say something like “Is that is? surely there is something more”

And so we hear sermons and Bible studies and read social media posts that claim to know the “more.” They promise secrets to unlocking new things, they promise new heightened experiences, they assure the hearer/reader of something more than the salvation offered by God through Christ.

I am here to remind us that Christ Jesus is enough. His love and holiness is enough. His mercy and grace is enough. We don’t need Jesus and politicians. We don’t need Jesus and “hidden secrets to greatness,” we don’t need Jesus and fancy programs and lights and fog and amazing facilities. We just need Jesus.

All we need is Christ. He is enough.

And so in your life, and conversation, and social media presence and in whatever ministry you are a part of, I beg of you, don’t try and attract people to yourself or your ministry with the promise of “more,” just share the unadulterated gospel of Jesus with all of His promises of forgiveness and salvation, secured by His redemption and atonement. Share the love, hope and joy of Jesus and help people to find that being with Christ and with His people in service to the heavenly Father is enough.

Injustice and how to respond

I have given a lot of thought to recent events in the USA. I want to share here as succinctly and meaningfully as possible some solace, hope and wisdom for all who might receive it…

There has been injustice in this world since Cain and Abel. 

And across the millenia since then, there has been much heartache, much evil and much retribution. (and with it much fear, anger and bitterness)

It seems that there are times and seasons of life where wickedness and injustice are more prominent than other times. Sometimes it is particular to our own individual stories, other times it takes place on a broader national or international stage.

In the last 5 years the national injustices seen in this country have been far too many to name one by one but George Floyd comes quickly to mind as well as the travesties of Iryna Zarutska and Charlie Kirk just in the last couple of weeks. 

Whenever wickedness is present, there is much heartache and pain and people suffer. 

The devil loves nothing more than to divide and conquer. It has been a tactic of his forever. Furthermore the devil is the father of lies and has been lying from the beginning. In times of personal or national crisis the devil loves to cause discord and to spread lies and misinformation. Let us not believe everything we hear. Let us ask the Lord to grant us discernment and understanding along with compassion.

We must seek the Lord, call on the Lord, turn to the Lord, repent of our sins and ask for forgiveness, salvation, healing and revival. We must lay down our weapons, our anger, our vitriol and our divisiveness. We must not allow a bitter root to grow in us (which defiles and corrupts not just us but even affects those around us).

I beg of you, if you are not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, recognize that all of the evil and injustice present in the world are pretty clear indicators that there also must be holiness and truth somewhere, and I am here to tell you that you can find it in the person of Jesus Christ. 

I beg of you, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of wickedness (Satan and his demons) and that we don’t battle with the weapons of this world but with the weapons of righteousness, grace, mercy, truth, gentleness and all the other fruits of the Spirit. 

Please do not demonize people, do not paint everyone in a particular party or belief system as being “the enemy.” Do not abandon for a moment the principles Christ has called us to of forgiveness and redemption. 

Pray for the families of every single person you know that have experienced injustice (whether on a personal level or on a national stage). Pray for those you disagree with. Pray for those who have committed heinous acts of violence. Ask the Lord to forgive and save those who have committed acts of injustice towards others. Ask the Lord to give you a supernatural, unworldly and Christlike love for all people (including victims and perpetrators, people who are difficult to like or love and people who feel like your enemy).

Let us pray and diligently pursue holy love for family, friend, stranger and enemy. May God’s holy love in us eclipse anything and everything else that the devil and the world would try to use to divide us. Remember Satan’s goal is to steal and kill and destroy but God wants us to have life abundant and that is only truly found in Him and according to His counter-cultural ways. 


God’s kingdom ways are radical grace, unconditional love, uncommon peace, misunderstood peace-making, respectful truth, tender-hearted pleading, gentleness and kindness at all costs, and the extravagant generosity of mercy, sorrow and compassion.

Let us weep with those who weep. Let us shed tears for those who are in bondage. Let us not get caught up in the anger of man (which never brings about the righteous life that God desires) but instead let us learn from the example of Jesus, let us remember the highest calling we can have:

Jesus wept, so can we. And our tears can become prayers for the victim and the perpetrator. 

As I heard from a godly man this week: “Maranatha: ‘even so Lord Jesus, come!’”