Become a Giant Slayer

“The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said.” – Deuteronomy 31:3 Yesterday we referenced the Promised Land, a special place for God’s chosen people who were freed from slavery, who had to walk across a vast desert to enter a land flowing with prosperity. When those enslaved people entered the Promised Land, there was one caveat I forgot to mention. It was full of giants. See, God will take you to the promised land, but you have to become a giant slayer on your way there. We must understand that the beneficiality of the big goals God has for your life is not just what you achieve; it’s who you become. The promised land is set aside for giant slayers

November 16, 2022 No Comments

The Hard Road to Jesus’ Easy Yoke

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24 We’ve been talking about walking in the easy yoke of Jesus. We’ve discussed how doing life attached to Him sets us free from the need to pretend that we’re perfect as we keep trying harder to win the approval of others. I’m sure by now, you’re fully convinced that’s the best way to live your life. However, you may wonder why certain Scriptures seem to contradict this idea. There is no denying that Jesus, in addition to teaching rest, also instructs us to do things like take up our cross and follow Him or be crucified with Him. How, then, do we explain what seems to be a contradiction? Is Jesus’ yoke easy or is it hard? Does

May 15, 2022 No Comments

Vulnerability in Relationships

“See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.” – Luke 11:35,36 Today, I want to sum up our discussion of discipline and secrecy and how it deepens our walk with God. Allow me to offer you two practical steps you can take to employ the power of secrecy in your own life and in your relationships, both with Jesus and others. First of all, when you do something really great for someone else, keep it a secret. If you’ve never done this before, I encourage you to give it a try. Give a gift to a friend or a stranger, serve in some capacity, or volunteer for a day, but don’t tell anyone. When

February 1, 2022 1 Comment

Inspiration or Manipulation

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10 Simon Sinek’s description of leadership is one of my favorites. People can be influenced in two ways, according to him: manipulation and inspiration. Now, before you leap to a quick conclusion about which type is best, keep in mind that manipulation isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, if I pay someone $50 to mow my lawn, that is a sort of manipulation because I am paying them to do what I want. I’m not going to get a response by listing all the advantages of mowing lawns and making a YouTube video about it; I need a clear approach to accomplish it! Discipline can be viewed as a type of manipulative influence,

October 29, 2021 No Comments

A Vow of Devotion

“During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over; they must let their hair grow long.” – Numbers 6:5 There’s something in the Bible that I’ve preached about before called the Nazarite vow. While there are a number of things that we don’t know about this ancient tradition — like its duration and who exactly was supposed to partake — we know that it was a period of time set aside in dedication to the service of God and neighbor, and that it encompassed three distinct disciplines. For as long as a person was adhering to this ancient practice, they couldn’t touch any dead thing (which means they weren’t eating meat), they couldn’t drink any wine or alcohol, and they couldn’t cut their hair. The latter was the

December 3, 2020 No Comments

discipline