Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
I ate my feelings yesterday.
There's nothing wrong with chips and cookies,
But rather why I went to the chips and cookies.
It was in effect, trading my birthright for a bowl of soup.
(Hebrews 12:15-17)
I chose temporary relief in fleeting pleasures that do not satisfy, rather than the lasting healing of God that sustains.
But, for a child of God there is never condemnation, only correction.
He guides me to come to Him,
to stop scrolling,
to turn off the screen,
to close the pantry,
to meet Him in the quiet place,
to pray,
to cast all my cares upon Him,
and wait.
Wait for Him.
Do not forsake Him for another.
He will surely come.
I repent.
Though I stumble,
When I look to Him,
My Lord says, "Follow Me."
Then with an outstretched arm He lifts me up,
and restores me to a place where I can… again.
(Psalm 37:24, Jude 1:24)
"I called on the LORD in distress;
The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place."
— Psalm 118:5
Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, June 9, 2025.
The circumstances may be awful,
but God is good in the midst of awful circumstances.
The car crash we were in was one of the worst moments of my life—
and yet, one of the best moments of intimacy I’ve ever shared with my wife.
Of course I hate that it happened.
I wish she never had to go through anything like that.
But her presence changed everything.
What we were going through was bad—
but going through it together was good.
And that togetherness—that good—is what stays with me.
So it is with God.
I can suffer the bad and not be consumed by it,
because while bad comes and goes,
I have good all the time.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me…”
— Psalm 23:4
So even in suffering, I can not only smile—
I can sing (Acts 16:25–26),
because of the outworking of deep appreciation
for the One I’m going through it with.
And because He is with me,
while I don’t like suffering, I'm not overcome with resentment.
I don't have to be preoccupied—scratching, and clawing, trying to get to a better place.
Because He is the destination.
And in all circumstances… I’m already there.
Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, June 7, 2025.
The beauty you bring to the world is your gift.
All beauty comes from God and is alive.
Satan specializes in attractive dead things.
Very often, our gifts are revealed not just by the problems we see, but by the dark corners we see AND are compelled to illuminate—to bring God's beauty to.
A brother recently said I have the gift of facilitation. But I didn't see it. He gave me this definition: gift — unconsciously skilled.
Our gifts are largely unknown to us because to us they seem normal.
Most of us wouldn't see our gift unless someone gave us a mirror.
Oh, how wise is the Lord our God, who gives us the mirror of “the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25).
The Word of God is not just a revealer of God or a judge—but a revealer of us: who we are and the gifts we received in Jesus Christ—“the good and perfect gifts that come down from the Father of lights.”
So the perfect law of liberty is not like a funhouse mirror that distorts—but one that shows us the truth of who we are.
Jesus Christ, the living Word, is the mirror. Our gifts can be objectively identified in Him because they are His character traits that we bring to the world.
So let’s normalize speaking life.
Let's encourage each other by affirming the Jesus we see in each other—by proclaiming the beauty we see that others bring to the world.
Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
In Week 23 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for an overflowing cup.
Today, I will boast in the Lord.
God has affirmed His Word and rewarded my seeking Him.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
— Hebrews 11:6
My cup runs over.
“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.
For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
— Luke 6:38
Every time I’ve heard this passage in the past, it was from those devouring widows’ houses.
But this isn’t about money—obviously not.
How could money be put into your bosom?
No, this is about a much greater treasure—
"the true riches."
And I’ve been given a tiny sliver:
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
That is worth more than all the money in the world.
Now I see dimly,
but oh, what a wonderful, soul-filling sight!
My cup runs over—
not only in the face of difficult circumstances,
but because of them.
God has used them to turn me to Him
in ways I would not have otherwise—
to show me more of His heart,
and to make His heart more of mine.
Oh, I see it now:
“Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:9
My cup runs over with His goodness—
even in the presence of my enemies.
And my sincere pray is that it's overflowing into others.
Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, June 1, 2025.
I had a co-worker who was concerned about a plant at the office. It wasn’t doing well. Her first instinct was to take it home and repot it—to make sure it was in good soil.
I found wisdom in that.
There are a lot of things we can do in the care of an ailing life—we can prune, pick away dead foliage, treat for invasive pests—but it’s all for nothing if the plant isn’t rooted in good soil and exposed to proper light.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
— John 15:5
The principal thing is getting them to Jesus—"bringing them home" which means to bring them closer to ourselves and other believers where there is good soil… to get rooted in Jesus and exposed to the light of God's love.
This is the essence of life in Christ—God with us, God through us, God all in all.
This is true discipleship: bringing others into the good soil of Christ among us—the solid ground from which all life stems and lasting healing follows.
Originally posted on Facebook on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
You know what I think makes for a fulfilling life?
Creating the beauty you want to see in the world.
No—more than that—creating the beauty you were created to bring into the world.
This is the Imago Dei—our likeness to our Creator. After each day of creation, God stepped back, reflected on His work—the beauty He put into the world—and saw “It is good” (Genesis 1).
That’s the first thing I must remember:
To be intentional about creating the beauty I was made to bring into the world.
I’ve noticed the "beauty" I’m drawn to create often reflects a trait of God’s character. Coincidence?
So now, I evaluate my days with a single question:
“Have I brought God to something today?”
If I have, it was a good day.
And I’ve learned—you don’t necessarily need a new job to create this kind of beauty.
Often, I can simply do my job in a new way.
I can attest to this.
I’m not particularly passionate about switches, servers, or routers.
But I do care deeply about connecting people, keeping them safe, and making their burdens lighter.
Information Technology just happens to be the canvas for me to bring it into the world.
And it’s not just about work—
Beauty can be brought into every part of life: family, daily activities, even rest.
The problem is, we often miss it.
Not because it’s not there—but because we fail to step back, reflect on our work—the beauty we've put into the world, and see it is good.
So here’s what I’m learning:
The first thing I must remember to do is to be intentional about creating the beauty I want to see in the world.
The second is to rejoice over it.
And I have much to rejoice about.
It's so wonderful to see, for example, co-workers appreciated and encouraged, or the family in Christ I've ministered to serving and expressing love for one another.
I can see why Paul wrote passages like Ephesians 1:15-16,
"Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers …"
It's so good.
Satan’s full-time job is to prevent me from seeing it.
But it’s there—beauty I’ve been allowed a hand in creating.
And it’s worth fighting to see.
That beauty—participating in expressing God's beauty—makes life so fulfilling.
Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, May 26, 2025.
Jesus did not come so we would have right ideas.
Jesus came so we would have God.
“ I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
— John 10:10; 17:3
Have you ever been hit so hard that you can't tell up from down?
I have.
When life hits you like that, philosophies, principles, and ideas leave you.
But, God never will.
” … For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”
— Hebrews 13:5
Come to Jesus, believe Him. Keep asking, seeking and knocking—desiring God.
“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
— Luke 11:10
And get God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who draws near by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
God is not just a concept in our head. Faith does not come by being convinced. It comes by meeting a Person, and by love of that Person that makes us one with Him.
“ … Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.”
— 1 Corinthians 8:1
Receive what cannot be shaken as you become something new in Him never to be separated again.
Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, May 19, 2025.
I recently learned that Charles Spurgeon wrestled his entire life with depression. I find a quote from him on how he navigated his suffering deeply helpful,
“It would be a very sharp and trying experience to me to think that I have an affliction which God never sent me, that the bitter cup was never filled by His hand, that my trials were never measured out by Him, nor sent to me by His arrangement of their weight and quantity.”
It makes Paul's thorn in the flesh all the more real to me.
The Apostle Paul writes,
"And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me."
– 2 Corinthians 12:7-8
What is fascinating to me is that Paul attributes the thorn to Satan but appeals to God for its removal.
In doing so he acknowledges the sovereignty of God—that God is in control in every circumstance. But more than that, he trusts Him.
Why?
Because of God's purpose.
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
— Romans 8:28
This even applies to things done to me by others with malicious intent:
"But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."
– Genesis 50:20
God's purpose is God:
God with us. God in us. God through us. God all in all.
And, that's good.
So whatever I face, I can be confident: God is in control, He is working it together for good, and that good is having more of Him.
But, sometimes it's really hard and I don't want that bitter cup.
Our Lord knows all about that and cried out, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me…" —Matthew 26:39
The Apostle Paul, too, knows that difficulty and pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from him. (2 Corinthians 12:8)
But God responds, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” —2 Corinthians 12:9
So, like Spurgeon, Paul and our Lord Jesus, I conclude,
"Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." —2 Corinthians 12:9
"Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." —Matthew 26:39
Because, Your will is good.
God's purpose is God:
God with us. God in us. God through us. God all in all.
May everything I am and have—including my suffering—result in more of You.
Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, May 19, 2025.
There is only one objective: being with God.¹
There is only one work: believe in the one whom God sent—Jesus Christ.²
There is only one expression: loving one another.³
There is only one way: the manifold grace that flows toward us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.⁴⁵
Beware anyone who makes it any more complicated than that.
Life in Christ is not complicated, sin is.
Most of the volume and intricacy of Scripture exists to expose the great multiplicity and complexity of sin in the light of the truth of God so that we are not caught unaware and overcome by sin. It illuminates the complex and perilous minefield to bring us to the way of escape—back to the simplicity that is in Christ.
"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
— 2 Corinthians 11:3
Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Was blessed with another treasure in Bible Study this morning. 1 Kings 13 is rich.
It's the account of the man of God who was killed by a lion after following instructions from a prophet that contradicted what God told him to do.
Reading it again this morning stirred so many questions in my heart.
I asked God, why did the man of God heed the prophet? The man of God clearly understood what God had commanded him, as he repeated it word for word at least twice.
I sense it's because what the man of God was tasked with was heavy, terrifying, and isolating. He was being sent into hostile territory to confront people gripped in a culture of idolatry—where he would have no allies, and to the king no less—someone who had power to hurt and kill him. In a word, the man of God felt alone (see 1 Kings 18:22).
After such a harrowing ordeal, I would have readily welcomed a friendly face too.
Then I observed that there was already a prophet in Bethel—the old prophet. So why didn't God send the prophet that was already there?
I sense that God did not send the prophet that was already there because he was already there. The old prophet was a part of the very thing that needed to be corrected.
The last question I'll share (as I have many) is how could the man of God have known? While he knew what God told him, how could he know that the old prophet was lying?
What burned in my heart is that it is vital that we not only discern the "what" of God, but also—and more importantly—the "why" of God. God does not just do things; He does them for a reason. So we must seek and discern His purpose and see it through to its completion.
God's purpose here was to restore—to bring His people out of a condition of sin, which you cannot do if you're participating in it with them.
"But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh." —Jude 1:23
In all, I gleaned:
• Be mindful of the things of God rather than the things of men. While an action or reaction may be perfectly reasonable, that is no excuse for disobedience. Be prepared to walk alone.
• Be careful not to be in the thing that God has chosen you to help others out of.
• Be clear, not only on what to do, but on God's why. Seek diligently and discern God's purpose in what He's leading you to do. When His leading is in agreement with His Word (1 Corinthians 14:32), stand on that and see it through to the end no matter what anyone else says (Acts 21:10-14).
