Hers and His

Part of my morning ritual is coffee. I make one for myself and my wife. She’s an iced oat milk maple coriander latte and I’m an americano.

The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing – Tozer’s thoughts on Genesis 22, Abraham and Isaac

This post is an excerpt from A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God, The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing. I believe it to be some of the highest thoughts in all devotional writing. --- As he watched him grow from babyhood to young manhood the heart of the old man was knit closer and closer with the...

Walking In the Light of Known and Unknown Sin – Thoughts on 1 John 1:7

Adapted from Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest The Holy Spirit applies the Atonement (holy spiritual cleansing by the blood of Jesus) to us consciously and unconsciously, and it is only when we get a grasp of the unrivalled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7....

C.S. Lewis on the Interstellar and Redemption

I'm reading The Business of Heaven by CS Lewis and read an excerpt called Life on Other Planets. Below I have adapted his thoughts in modernized American English. "If there are other rational species other than life on earth, are they fallen and sinful like us? This is a point easily forgotten. Some think that...

One Mark of New Birth in Christ

There are certain evidences of the validity of a Christian's faith but none more obvious than a heart, once was cold and self-serving, now beats warm with tenderness. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a...

A River Ran Through It

My wife and kids and I were visiting her parents in Grand Junction Colorado a couple years ago and took a short drive together to a place called Rifle Falls during our visit. The view of the mountains was breathtaking and I couldn't stop commenting on it the entire way. I had asked her dad...

10 Things to Remember the First Year of Your New Job

Starting a new job is exciting! You get a blank slate, new friends, challenges that hopefully fit your experience, among many other perks that come with the new digs.  The time of year is high time for people taking new jobs so I thought of a few things that will hopefully be of some use...

5 Ways for the Underrated to Grow in Influence

Among the things floating around in the top drawer of my dresser, various bins in the basement storage, on a top shelf on my bookcase or in the glove compartment, there are a few items I treasure more than most. The list of things I treasure has changed through the years. When I was 5...

Leading from the Comment Section

Either you missed the casting call or didn't make the cut. You saw yourself on the stage dropping diamonds and picking up roses but somehow you're not on it. You are, however, subjected to listen to someone else read the same lines you rehearsed and delivered with conviction. What do you do when your life...

6 Tips on Discovering Your Writing Voice

I've never been a big U2 fan, but I admit that they are likely the greatest rock band of my generation.  Whether you're a fan or not you can't deny the impact they have had on music and culture.  Bono is more than just a front man to many.  His message has authority from his...

Be FEELED with The Spirit

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” - Ephesians‬ ‭5:18‬ Many well meaning Christians ask God for a filling of the Spirit when what they really want is a feeling of the Spirit. There are many different reasons people desire a filling: evidence of God...

Two Critical Things Influencers Do

Abe Lincoln knew a lot about a lot of things, but something he knew exceptionally well was how to influence people. This post touches on two things that Lincoln did that put him in the hall of fame of leaders and they are simple enough that anyone who's willing to pay attention can do. The...

6 Words That Can Change Everything

I got this message today from a friend of my sons. He's 14 and his life was changed by Jesus this summer at church camp. What 14 year old does that?! I'm at the gym fighting back tears writing this post. This is a natural outcome when someone really meets Jesus. I met Jesus at...

Help me see me.

In 2010, my family and I were in north central Ohio where I was pastoring a small church. We didn't have a copy machine so I was going to Office Depot weekly to have the bulletins printed for our Sunday services. I was in the van with my daughter, who at that time was around...

Did you pray about it?

“Wait here until I hear what the LORD commands for you.” Numbers 9:8, CSB How wise it is to hold off giving advice if before we pray about it. Maybe we pride ourselves as the authority on mind of God so much that we can answer offhand for Him on the spot without consulting Him....

The Sin of Doing Nothing (Numbers 32)

The tribes of Rueban and Gad wanted the pastures of the conquered Bashan and Sihon because of their vast numbers of cattle after Israel defeated them. Moses warned them of trespassing against God if they lingered in a land without helping their fellow tribesmen possess their own land. Gad and Rueban agreed without hesitation but...

Sprinkled Afresh – Numbers 8:21-22, Hebrews 10:22

“The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement for them to purify them. After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just...

The Exact Pattern – thoughts on Numbers 8:4

“This is how the lampstand was made: It was made of hammered gold—from its base to its blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.” Numbers‬ ‭8:4‬, NIV‬‬ Just as it is with each of His children, it wasn’t the gold or the ornate beauty of the lamp stand...

Blossoms and Buds – Thoughts on Numbers 17:8

The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. Numbers 17:8, NIV Many are without a heavenly certainty of their faith. Our taste buds grow dull to the meals made in Heaven's kitchen but there...

The ARK Gets an Upgrade – Thoughts on Numbers 16:37-38

“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains... Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.” Numbers 16:37‭... 38, NIV These censers were long golden rods for offering...

“They have been with Jesus.”

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus" ‭‭(Acts‬ ‭4:13‬, NIV‬‬). Adapted from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening, February 11: A Christian should be a striking likeness of Jesus. You have read about...

Into the Presence of God – The Contrast of Leviticus 1:1 and Numbers 1:1

“The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting..." (Leviticus‬ ‭1:1,‬ ‭NIV‬‬). “The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting..." (Numbers‬ ‭1:1‬, ‭NIV)‬‬. “From the tent” in Leviticus 1:1 would be changed to “in the tent” by Numbers 1:1. God spoke FROM the tent because Israel was not...