Have you ever found yourself hesitating to quiet down and listen to God, because you are afraid of what you might hear? If God really speaks to me, he’ll probably send me to deepest, darkest Africa, or at least he’ll tell me I can’t drink coffee anymore. Why do we do this? Why do we assume that our Heavenly Father is only interested in giving us hard assignments or forbidding us pleasure? God called Abraham his friend. He referred to Moses the same way. After they had followed him for a while, Jesus told his disciples, “I no longer call you servants, but friends.” The whole point of Continue Reading

Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, not the Chief Cowboy. He likens us to sheep, not cows. This came to mind when I asked God to help me become aware of my temptations. Turns out, one is the temptation to use people. Ouch. I’d be onto it if the devil whispered in my ear, Hey, go steal that woman’s purse, or Go get rip-roaring drunk.  Not the kind of bait I would take. But, using others?  Hmm. It can happen subtly.  I may have a legitimate need – let’s say, I don’t have the energy to mow the lawn, but I want it mowed – so I start campaigning to the male members of my household about Continue Reading

There’s a scene in “Brave Heart” where the girl William Wallace loves is captured by the English. She is trussed up on a pole, breathing hard, eyes scanning the horizon in the desperate hope that Wallace will show up to rescue her.        But he is too late. A cruel sword slices her throat. The light goes out of her eyes.        Sometimes I feel like that woman, anxiously scanning the horizon, waiting for Jesus to ride up on his white horse and rescue me from my troubles.       Where is he?       The way this life plays out sometimes, it can feel like God is too late. When we are hard pressed Continue Reading

Sometimes I wonder how I am doing spiritually.  Am I becoming more like Jesus, or stagnating? Jesus said He would spit the lukewarm out of His mouth, and I sure don’t want that. So I ask myself some questions to try to measure this phenomenon, such as: Have I been reading and studying my Bible?  What good books on theology have I read lately? Am I doing the discipline of daily devotions? Am I listening to worship music and worshiping fervently with other believers? Am I serving at church? At first glance, these might seem like good questions to use as markers on our spiritual Continue Reading