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Once again, I have enjoyed the honor of receiving an advance copy of a Bible as a member of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid. They requested only that I write an honest review of the Bible after receiving it. And once again, I have only good things to say about this Bible. It is the New English Translation, which received extensive and thorough reviews as part of the process of the translation. It therefore is a wonderful combination of readability and accuracy. The Timeless Truths Bible includes sections of commentary from various Christian historical figures. It also includes some information about some of these people. I agree completely with the editorial staff of the Timeless Truths Bible that it is important to include the thoughts and understandings of these historical scholars and men of God. When working on a book or a sermon, I find that not only researching the original languages but also checking in with a commentary helps me to make sure that I don’t get off track. Having this material included in the margins will be helpful for any reader. You can get your own copy here.

The Paint Project I missed posting and sending out my newsletter last week as I recruited family members to put a very much needed coat of paint on my house. It took the better part of the week and left me exhausted on a daily basis. To be honest, I’m still recovering and putting off going around with a paint can and a brush to hit the light spots. Protecting My Home and Rediscovering Priorities I love looking at the house and knowing that it is protected for some time to come. That isn’t the biggest takeaway though. I realized what a toll it takes on me to be spending all my time on activities other than ministry. Sure, the physical toll was one thing. But I missed spending the majority of my day in the Word and sharing through my various writings and counseling sessions what God’s Word has for us. The Awakening: Rediscovering My Mission I noticed the difference the very first day that I spent back on the laptop. But this morning while I was listening to my large playlist, I heard a song that really spelled it out very well. The song “Just Love” by Diamond Rio came on. In the middle of the song there are a few lines that really reminded me of my mission, what God has called me to. The song says, “Sunday morning worship Everybody hears it Are we gonna live it Just love.” Challenges to Lasting Faith: The Parable of the Sower For many years, my wife and I have seen how much of what we see, hear, and say in church often doesn’t last very long. Often the attitude of worship and things we might have learned from the sermon are gone by the time we get home. Much like the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-9) there are so many things that keep

As a member of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid, I received an advance review copy of the Evangelical Study Bible with the request that I give it an honest review. Although the New King James Version is not my favorite translation, there is so much to this Bible that I can easily overlook that fact. The Evangelical Study Bible is packed with more comprehensive material than any other study Bible I have ever seen. It includes doctrinal notes (from a clearly evangelical perspective), contextual notes, translator notes, brief biographies of Biblical characters as well as information on archaeological sites and much more. There are so many tools packed into this one volume that it includes a “How to use the Evangelical Study Bible” section! Although the sheer amount of extra material and a key for it may seem daunting, I believe this Bible truly gives every Christian the tools to understand the Bible and thereby the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a way that traditionally required a scholar and many different tools to put all of this together. I have always written and preached with a desire to open the Word to help people reach a deeper understanding. This Bible does that. I strongly encourage all Christians to consider getting one for their study. We can easily be a Christian floating around with no path or understanding, or we can truly understand what we believe and why we believe it, so that we can share it with the world. You can get your copy here. #BibleGatewayPartner

The Power of Gathering as Christians I received an email of a blog post last week. It was an impressively well-written piece about the four ways that we as Christians need to gather and how each benefits us individually and corporately. The last was prayer. The author talked about praying together, whether in church or just as small groups. The point was made that all too often we promise to pray for someone and we all know that many get busy and forget. (If we’re honest, many likely never really intend to pray.) What is much better, the author said, is to pray for and agree in prayer with others. I have to say I must agree that being prayed for or praying and having others join you to agree in prayer can do so much to lift a person up. The Impact of Community in Trying Times Last Thursday was an early, long, and difficult day for the whole household. I spent much of the day alone, in the dark about how my wife was doing. I realized in the early afternoon why I was feeling so poorly physically and struggling to move. The way the day had started, I missed taking my medications for over five hours. By mid-afternoon, I could have been in a very dark place. I wasn’t. I write and teach about controlling our thought lives. I do everything I teach. I wasn’t in a dark place, but I was tired and wanting some encouragement. Most of the time, just being with God is good enough for me. But sometimes we need ‘God with skin on.’ In other words, we need the encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ (Heb 10:24-25). So, I called a dear ministry friend and we talked for a few minutes. He listened and cared without any pity or comparing hurts. When I was done

Finding Hope in the Midst of Struggles In the mid-1990s, my wife and I were struggling. I would go in the bathroom and crank the song “No Doubt” by Petra over and over with the shower running so my wife didn’t hear me in there sobbing. It says, “This test of your faith will last As long as it takes to pass Till you have no more doubt you’ll endure And you’re faith will emerge true and pure.” Biblical Themes of Endurance This theme is throughout several books of the Bible. In Isaiah, we read about the nation of Israel getting slapped down by other nations. We hear about those other nations getting slapped down. And we read about His love for the Israelites and His desire to restore them as His people. In Jeremiah, we find one of the verses that we find everywhere. “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. .” Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB95) But before that God tells the Israelites that have been drug off to Babylon that they need to settle in and live for they’re going to be there a while, seventy years to be exact. Living in the Present Both prophets and the song I quoted have a common theme. There will be troubles then at some point we will come out on the other side. Jeremiah adds the theme that people should live in the present. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon mentions that we should eat, drink, and work. We should live in the present as the past is past and, in the future, the present will be past. Embracing Life But the focus is not on dwelling on our pain but living and building lives. Solomon even says to enjoy the work God gave you. God’s Timing and

How Faith and Mental Health Intersect How do our faith and mental health relate? This is a critical question. As a counselor, I see two base groups that consistently fight the idea of counseling more than any other. These are men and Christians. Our culture tells men that they are to be stoic and strong. Fortunately, the younger generations are seeing less stigma in seeking help for mental health. Christians suffer from thinking that we should be able to handle things because we have God. That’s true, of course. We do have God, but do we always know how to put our reliance on Him into action? Living in Relationship with God If we accept the fact that at the core of our creation is the desire of God to have a relationship with us, do we know how to live in it? What does that even mean? Well, too many Christians listen to an inspiring sermon that maybe even taught us something, but by the time we are driving back home, the very real concerns of the world have taken over our hearts and minds. Living in relationship with God is coming to a place where we know and feel His presence at all times. It’s coming to a place where we can truly lean on Him instead of dealing with the struggles of our lives completely on our own. Faith and Mental Health Alignment It’s clear that good mental health is completely in line with scripture. The word ‘rejoice’ is found in 183 passages in the King James Bible. Understand that we’re not talking about being happy or liking our circumstances. Throughout the Bible, we see the word rejoice as an instruction. It is a deliberate act. It is choosing to focus on Him or something that He has done. Mindfulness and Faith This is very similar to a secular psychologist instructing a

1. Falling into a Career vs. finding meaning in work and retirement Twenty-five years ago, I fell into a career. I had no idea at the time that I would find a niche and become a sought-after expert in a certain aspect of my field. After all, I just went after a position in my company that paid a significantly higher amount of money than my current position. After that, I was both interested in and able to learn the same specialty that launched me into the role of “expert.” So I have come to understand the importance of finding purpose and meaning in work and retirement. 2. The Weight of Discontent The only problem was that I hated every day of my seventeen years in that career. I enjoyed watching machines that I had built or modified. And I loved hearing operators be excited about how much easier their machines were to understand and keep running. But that pleasure was short-lived. As soon as I walked away from the machine or operator and had to take on a new task, the disdain was back. I stayed and deliberately kept moving up both in skill and pay for one simple reason – money. 3. Missing Purpose in Success The point of telling you this is that despite being one of the best in my specific niche, at least in my state, if not the country (and I did travel around the country, helping other factories), I still hated my job. I didn’t feel like I had a purpose. Having a purpose or doing meaningful things is so much more important than we realize. 4. Redefining Retirement When I became disabled, all I could imagine was being stuck sitting on the couch for the rest of my life. It was a very depressing thought! My wife sagely said, “You’re not disabled; you’re retired. You get to

Understanding Christianese Cliches I often talk about what I call ‘Christianese.’ These are Christian colloquialisms. They originated with deep meaning but have become so overused that they have become cliches. We hear them, and probably say them, but may not even truly understand them. Even if we do indeed understand them, do they reach our heart and change our lives? Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about: Examples of Christian Cliches Let go and let God. What would Jesus do? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Also an oft misquoted scripture!) Be in the world but not of the world. This is admittedly a tiny sampling. And I have no intention of addressing in this post the many sayings that we have that are patently false and damaging to an understanding of the Bible and God’s nature. Examining “Let Go and Let God” in Depth The one I want to address today is, “Let go and Let God.” Every time I hear this, two passages of scripture immediately come to mind. First is Philippians 4:4-7. But I also think of Romans 8:26-27. This passage in Romans tells us that sometimes it is difficult to find the words to pray, often because our hearts and our minds are overwhelmed. A Personal Journey with “Let Go and Let God” I recently found myself in one of those situations. A situation arose that tugged on my heart. I had prayed many times about this situation and just found myself at a loss. The natural human inclination to just fix the situation—well, that wasn’t going to work either. I knew full well that there was absolutely nothing I could do. If anything meaningful was going to happen, it needed to be God that handled it. I knew that I was emotionally overloaded by the circumstances and didn’t know how to pray. I

Introduction: Exciting Upcoming Projects I’m excited to share with you my upcoming Christian Books and Marriage Coaching Program. I have allowed myself to get a little overwhelmed and busy, but it’s all good stuff (at least I think so!). 1. Book Relaunch: “How to be a Christian in Today’s World” First, I’m relaunching “How to be a Christian in Today’s World: Shame or Fear of Failure vs. Living Confidently in God’s Love.” It has a new foreword and back copy, both written by fellow ministers that have read and supported me in my projects. Hopefully, sooner, rather than later, it will be available for sale on my own website. 2. Special Offer for Group Studies Discounts for Church and Bible Study Groups As part of the relaunch, I have decided I will get a discount for any church or Bible study group that wishes to use the book for a group study. It does have a workbook intended to be used over six sessions. 3. New Book Release: “Blessed Brokenness” I’ll also be releasing my second book, “Blessed Brokenness: Seeing God’s Glory in the Ashes of Life.” It is about how God has used the trials that my wife and I have gone through to minister to others and how I went from peace to frustration and then to lasting peace again as related to our struggles. The hope is that it will help readers to find peace in their role in the world and the Kingdom. 4. Audiobooks for Your Convenience In addition, I’ll also be releasing audiobooks of both books, making them more accessible. 5. Upcoming Marriage Coaching Program Lastly, somewhere around the end of the year, I will be launching a 12-week marriage coaching program. A small group of up to five couples will join me for 90 minutes per week to move from fighting and frustration to communicating and love. I

1. Ministry as Our Sole Calling Despite being in some sort of ministry for over thirty years, I worked full time to support my family until I suddenly became disabled in 2015. That freed up my wife and myself to dedicate ourselves to the sole focus of ministry. When I say ministry, I’m being very specific in the use of the word ministry. We never set out to make an income, but to minister. I need to be very deliberate here to not sound like I’m bashing ministers that charge for what they do or those that collect a salary. I’m not. I just know what we were called to do. I’m often reminded of the scriptures that say that a laborer is worth his wages. And that holds true today! 2.The Scriptural Foundation of Ministry Luke chapter 9 begins with Jesus giving the twelve authority over demons and the ability to heal diseases. Then he sent them out with strict instructions to take nothing extra. They were to stay with whoever would host them. Then in the beginning of Chapter 10, he sent 70 more out very similarly. He instructs them to stay in one place in each town, eat and drink what they are given for the laborer is worth his wages. The implication in this verse is that those that are being ministered to will voluntarily provide for those that minister. Admittedly, this is a struggle in our culture. The norm is to trade goods or services for money. The Christian culture, including churches, have adopted a very similar mindset. Most pastors have a set salary in exchange for an agreed upon list of obligations. Churches still rely on the parishioners to donate, which has its roots in the Old Testament. Nehemiah outlined the tithe approximately 450 years before Christ. And hopefully, if people feel that they have been ministered to, they