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At what target are you aiming? Being a better person? Controlling your temper? Reading your Bible more? Prayer? All worthy goals, but have you linked them to the most important goal of all? “Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with…

Yard work. Spring has sprung, and so have the weeds. My husband does most of the yard work, but one thing falls to me. The flower beds. I love to garden, but I hate weeds. Hate them. When I finally make it outside for my semi-annual weed pulling, two kinds of weeds stand out. The…

I’ve always considered myself someone unafraid to take risks. Like Peter. Walk on water with Jesus? Bring it. But today a friend caught me in more of a Moses moment. She confronted me with the fact I was putting God in a box, placing limits on the Almighty. And I know better. I’ve seen Him…

Note: In the Law of Moses, there is no sacrifice for defiant sin. None. Lots devoted to unintentional sin. But for defiant sin? No recourse. This Easter I find myself deep in the Pentateuch—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. (Your favorites, I know.) I’m taking Old Testament History 1, Genesis–Judges this semester. The journey from…

“The true measure of leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less.” John Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Are we under the influence? Truthfully, the question is not are we under the influence, but under whose influence? God’s? Our spouse’s? Children, peers, co-workers, Oprah? Who or what exerts the greatest influence on our lives? Three…

Today’s been a bad day, and I’m discouraged. My husband is traveling. I’m single parenting again, and my child is warring against my respect and self-worth. I’m tired and am at the end of my rope. Here are the knots God gave me to grab. KNot 1: “Let us not become weary in doing good,…

“Baby steps. Baby steps.” I can hear Bill Murray’s voice from the comedy, What About Bob?. In the film, Murray plays Bob Wiley, a needy patient of Richard Dreyfuss’s Dr. Leo Martin. Click to see clip. Goal setting and goal scoring require steps in the right direction. Where do you want to go? Toward God?…

What keeps us under the umbrella of divine protection? A healthy fear of God and an active faith. In Genesis 20, God’s man of faith walks in disbelief while a pagan king exhibits a fear of God, faith in God’s words, and immediate obedience. Check out the story of Abraham and Abimelech. As Abraham travels through Canaan,…

Faith. Lived out in how we speak at the dinner table, how we behave in traffic, and how we act toward those we live and work with. What’s our faith say? Does it impact those around us? Genesis 22 tells of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. Picture the scene. Isaac is thirteen at the very least,…

Knowing Jesus caused a shift, an earthquake with my soul as the epicenter. And I found myself in good company. Let’s look at Paul—before and after. Paul gives a before shot in Philippians 3:5-6 (NIV): “ . . . circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a…