When Life Feels Too Complicated
Do you ever feel like your life is just too much—too many tasks, too many responsibilities, too many demands on your time and energy? Most of us go through seasons like that. Life piles up, and in the middle of the overload, even our faith can start to feel like one more thing we can’t quite manage.
In those moments, we might be tempted to step away from our usual spiritual rhythms—prayer, Scripture, worship—thinking they’ll only add to the pressure. But in reality, that’s when we need them most.
Because at its core, the Kingdom of God is not complicated. It is grounded in simplicity, focus, and peace.
The prophet Micah put it beautifully:
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)
That’s it. That’s the heart of what God asks from us:
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Do what is right. Not just for yourself, but for others—especially for those without power or voice. Justice isn’t a side project;
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Spiritual Focus in a Rapid-Fire World
In playoff sports, when the clock winds down and the stakes rise, everything intensifies. The game seems to slow—yet every movement accelerates. Every pass, every play, every decision carries weight. The pressure is palpable, and nothing feels insignificant.
In a similar way, we are living in a high-stakes, high-intensity moment in God’s redemptive story.
Scripture reveals a sweep of progressive revelation from the promises of old, to the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church. This launched what the Bible calls the “Last Days”—a period that has now stretched over two millennia.
These are days of revelation and power. Days where the Spirit is active. Days in which the Church is called to demonstrate God’s love to the world. Days of preparation—for the end of life as we know it and the beginning of eternal life to come.
Could it be that we are now in the final stretch of these Last Days?
You don’t have to be prophet...
How Are You As A Connector?
Some time ago, while on a walk in a park, I was noticing different kinds of connections between mothers and their toddlers as they strolled along.
Some moms had their coffee cups in hand and their child in tow. Their eyes were glazed over as if in a daze. They were with their child, but at that moment they weren’t “with” anybody.
Some were texting and checking the internet. They were somewhere else in their minds and focus.
Others were doting over their children, overloading them with words, tones, object lessons and tactile experiences. These ladies were MOMs –they were “WITH” their children.
How are you as a connector?
Are you passive and somewhat disconnected?
Are you distracted, often thinking about other things while relating to people?
Are you overborne, smothering others and making it hard for them to breathe emotionally, psychologically, intellectually or physically?
Or, are you able to simply be present with those God brings into your life?
Jesus “Appointed twelve--de...
How To Know If You Have Enough Faith
How much faith do we need to have for it to be “enough” in God’s eyes?Â
What do we need to understand and believe?Â
Is there a specific body of truth statements or a theological construct we must grasp and affirm?
When Jesus spoke to people He often used images, metaphors and similes. He spoke of intensity and commitment. He said people needed to love Him more than their parents and more than their children. He said they needed to be willing to die for Him to be worthy of Him. (Matthew 10:37-38)Â
Worthiness here is not a matter of performance or accomplishment, but of treasure and focus. We must prize the Kingdom and focus on (prioritize) our relationship with Jesus above and beyond anything or anyone else. Jesus used strong, direct and bold language - to make a clear, undeniable point: The priority of Jesus and the Kingdom is everything.
The question isn’t how much faith you have, it’s about how central and focused your faith is. Is your faith centered on what God has/hasn...
How to Connect with God
When you hear the words, “Spiritual Disciplines,” what comes to your mind? For many, feelings of religious striving start to envelope their thinking. They may have difficulty listing many of the disciplines, but they don’t have trouble experiencing guilt, boredom, dryness or tiredness that the enemy wants to associate with these practices. Maybe it's just the word “Discipline” that sounds odious.
In reality, spiritual disciplines can be an incredible means of accessing God and experiencing His grace. Maybe it is more comfortable for us to call them practices. They are like maps that point us in the direction of God. They help direct our attention toward Him, and they can bring us a sense of closer proximity. Some of the practices that many find helpful relate to the Bible (reading, study and/or meditation); Prayer (silence, stillness, solitude, listening, dialog); Reflection (personal awareness, examination of conscience); Fasting (abstaining from food for spiritual purposes; part...
Today is the Day!
Life can and will be difficult. Challenges and hardships that will seem to be beyond your capacity to process, or even endure, are coming your way. This is not a negative fortune or word of prophecy; it is simply a reality of life in this world for everyone - Christians included.
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If tough times come - and they will - what will you do, and what will be your focus? You don't have to wait till they fall upon you to develop your approach. As a matter of fact, now is the best time to chart your general course for when the "bad" times hit.
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In John 16:32-3, we see one of Jesus's last conversations with His disciples before He was arrested and crucified. He was giving them crucial preparation for facing times of confusion and hardship. He said, "A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will h...
Choose Contentment Over False Contenders
We live in a society that is more resourced and privileged than any in history. Yet, that privilege can easily lead to a complaining posture. Wealth can paradoxically lead to an attitude of complaint and discontent.
When we focus on things, we can subtly start to believe that they will bring us happiness, identity or security. Once we have taken that bait, we can be drawn to attach our sense of self to those things and/or the “need” to get or maintain them. When we don’t have them – or when they don’t provide for
us as we thought they would - we become insecure and discontent.
The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6) This statement is like a math equation: Godliness + Contentment = Great Gain. What, however, does it mean?
Walking in God’s ways, in a state of soul-contentment, is Great Gain. The great gain is walking with God in His ways. It is not tied to circumstance or resource. It is tied to God’s Kingdom – His person and His...
Don't Be Fearful ... Be Free!
“It is for freedom that Christ has set you free!” (Galatians 5:1)
The apostle Paul was convinced that Jesus came to set people free from the bondage of religion. Religion – in this sense – refers to the constant concern about doing things rightly, and the guilt that accompanies falling short on a regular basis.
In Romans Paul wrote, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “Falling short” is the human condition. And, the consequence/wages of that sinful condition is death – death of our souls, and eternal death.
Unaddressed sin dulls our souls and makes our spirits lifeless. However, we must be reminded again and again and again that “the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
Religion tempts us to try to justify ourselves by our actions or intentions. Freedom in Christ releases us from self-justification, so we can be honest. We don’t need to dig ourselves out of our self-referenced lifestyles. We don’t have to pretend ...
Does Your World Feel Wobbly?
What do you do when the world around you – or the world as you know it or like it – starts shaking and feels unstable or threatening? What do you do when there seems to be nowhere to rest or feel safe? What do you do when change is in the air, but you are too tired to rise up and make changes?
We must remind ourselves, and each other, that we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot ever be shaken. (Hebrews 12:28) We are receiving the Kingdom of God; a Kingdom ruled by the Prince of Peace. This Kingdom is beyond tangible. It is not always easy to discern, though it is in our midst, because it is within us! (Luke 17:21) The Kingdom that we are receiving is an awakened awareness of God’s presence and sovereign rule. It’s an awareness of His omnipotence and His lordship over all time and all situations and all outcomes.
When our lives are threatening to fall apart under the seismic pressures and forces around us, we can stop, turn and worship the Lord. In times of trouble, we must turn from ...
Are You Sending Down Deep Roots?
Most of us tend to do whatever we can to get out of the path of adversity. We will try to think our way out of a mess, look for help from others, or pray that God will just make it stop.  Additionally, we all experience the constant inundation of advertisers that offers products to relieve and remove our troubles. They promise to give us access to the good life to which we are all “entitled.”  If your difficulty is weight, muscle tone, sickness, finance, loneliness, depression, or erectile dysfunction – “We have a product that will take care of that for you.”
God’s ways are often very different from ours. He uses the hurdles and stubborn obstacles of life to deepen us and produce lasting fruit in our lives. Wisdom and character are grown through adversity, not through escape. There is no product that you can buy that will give you the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) or understanding of the ways of God. These are only forged through a mixture of God’s truth, His Spirit, and the k...
