As the author of a number of devotional and prayer books, I thought it might be helpful to share my perspective on what a devotional book is, or at least what it is intended to be. Personally, I read several devotional books each morning along with my Bible, and whether it’s Oswald Chambers, Spurgeon, John Baille, or my own book, it helps me begin the day. How does it help? It helps immediately, no matter what the theme of the reading may be, to remind me that God is bigger than I am. When I read a devotion, it causes me to focus on the One who wants to spend time with me. It helps me to draw ..read more

Your opinion, your point of view, and what you see when you look out at the world, are unique aspects of who you are. Your view is colored by your own cognitive biases and perspectives built on years of shaping your experience of life. You and your neighbor may see the exact same scene, but only vaguely touch on points of agreement.  So, the idea here is that if we each bring our own unique spin to what we see, how does that help or hinder us from seeing God? For some, seeing is believing. If you don’t see God’s hand at work in your life, it may be because you aren’t sure He’s even there ..read more

If you read news feeds on any particular day, you’ll probably be asking yourself, “Why do the “bad guys” seem to succeed in the world, while the rest of us are hanging on for dear life? It’s not easy to be confronted with continual hostility, cruelty, intolerance, and tsunami events that try to wash away every ounce of hope we try to carry.  In Matthew 5:43 we see that Jesus has something to say about this. The scripture says, “You have heard that is was said, You should love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who harass you so that y ..read more

From my book, It’s Still Possible   God may not have needed a blueprint or a rough draft to wind up with a masterpiece, but we do. We need a fresh canvas, a vision, or a great idea before we can create anything new or even if we want to polish up an old idea. It’s just not in our skill set to be able to create something out of nothing. We have to surround ourselves with plans and ideas, wads of paper that represent our discarded attempts, and stories from others, complete with photos to give us inspiration. If things go well, we may just stumble onto an idea that we play with, manipulate ..read more

Have you pulled out your bucket list lately? You know, it’s the one filled with goals and ideas of things you still hope to accomplish, or places you want to visit, or dreams you have carried in your back pocket for a number of years. Of course, you may have “a things I will Never do” list also. You might note you will never bungee jump off a high bridge, or you will not walk a tight rope over Niagara Falls. Those are excellent items for your never list, but what about that dream list? Maybe you hope that you will visit the pyramids of Egypt one day. Or maybe you want to take a cruise to Alask ..read more

The light was in the world, and the world came into being through the light, but the world didn’t recognize the light. The light came to his own people, and his own people didn’t welcome him. Luke 1:10-11   About thirty years after the resurrection of Christ, an ardent Jewish scholar and Pharisee, was threatened by those who had become Christ followers.  He didn’t want his people to be tempted by this new religion built around a man named Jesus. He did his best to weed out those rebels from the flock. Someone had to stop them, and he was dedicated to the cause. He was even present at ..read more

One of the golden cliche’s of storytelling is the opening phrase, “Once upon a time.” Its origin goes back to the 1300s and has been used across continents and cultures in a variety of languages. It communicates a beginning without the need to define an actual time in history. It is a phrase that, for children and even adults, evokes a sense of mystery and excitement. We imagine that whatever happened “once upon a time” is something we want to hear more about.  Storytelling is God’s way of sharing His truth and His examples. Jesus could have easily shared His parables with that opening li ..read more

Jesus made a conscious choice. He agreed with His Father that something had to be done. Someone had to rescue the people who were consistently and constantly getting themselves into trouble. He was Holy, sinless, and yet, willing to save the people God created. Of course, we weren’t present for the discussion the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit had as they deliberated over what to do about humankind. We just know the result.  Jesus left heaven behind and came to earth. He opened people’s eyes and gave them new hearts. He made it possible for them to believe in their Creator. He did all of th ..read more

A number of years ago, an intriguing tale was brought to life in a TV series called The NeverEnding Story. The story involves a young hero named Atreyu who is trying to save his planet from utter destruction. One episode was called The Nothing. The job of The Nothing was to keep people in a world of despair and take away any sense of possibility or imagination they might have. The Nothing worked best when people felt that they could do nothing to change things. The Nothing threatened any thoughts of hope or goodness. It had more control when people were disillusioned and filled with despair.&n ..read more

Recently, I was reviewing some of the entries in my book called It’s Still Possible. When I wrote the book, I hoped to inspire readers to recognize the ways God has worked in their lives, doing amazing things to create new possibilities. Sometimes their options were very clear to them. Other times, they required a lot of prayer.  Every time, they needed to experience and believe in unique possibilities so they could recognize God’s hand at work.  So, what helps us believe in possibility on any level? Perhaps it’s because we were born with a gene for optimism. We simply trust things w ..read more