Last night I woke up at 3am in a panic. Something just gripped my mind and heart as I was filled with anxiety. A small, still Voice told me, “Just breathe … and pray.” So I took deep breaths. I tried praying the Jesus prayer, but it was too long. All that could come out … Continue reading A Breath to Pray

Many Christians think that worship of God is something we have to “make happen.” Whether it is corporate worship or personal worship time, it’s so easy to believe that we or someone (like the Pastor or Worship Leader) has to “get the ball rolling.” And while it’s true that worship requires effort on our part, … Continue reading Responding to God

In Mark 9:30-37 we see a very subtle but powerful vignette about Jesus and his disciples. It is an object lesson on intimacy and transparency. Jesus, now knowing full well that his path will lead him to a brutal and humiliating death but with the promise of resurrection, pulls his disciples away to a secret … Continue reading Intimacy and Transparency with Jesus

Worship is a response to the goodness and greatness of God. The problem is that most of the time we are unaware of how good and great God is. The way we overcome this is by improving our “view” of God. I touched on expanding our perception of God in the breadth of His character … Continue reading God-in-a-Box

The title of this devotional is inspired by one of our (my wife’s and mine) favorite songs by the BeeGees (remember “Saturday Night Fever”?) But it drives home a very good point in our discussion of viewing the mercies of God: we need to know the depth of God’s love and character in order to … Continue reading How Deep Is Your Love, God?

Yeah, this title was partly inspired by the 1999 Heath Ledger/Julia Stiles teen romantic comedy, “Ten Things I Hate About You.” However, it’s also inspired by a spiritual exercise I did several years ago that amazingly renewed my worship of God. But first let me give a little context. We left our discussion on “viewing … Continue reading One Hundred Things I Love About You