At the start of 2017, I took a deep breath and sent a message out to ten people who have known me for at least ten years. While that may not sound like a big deal, the reason it required a deep breath is because I asked those ten people to tell me the first three words that come to mind when they think of me. At the time, it felt like a huge

I'll be the first to admit that it can be hard to have a nuanced conversation about generosity in a culture that measures almost everything, including God's blessing, in terms of material abundance. I know I've been guilty of thinking that the most generous among us are those who have accumulated vast amounts of wealth and are now making plans

Even though I've experienced God's miraculous intervention in my life on more than one occasion, I have yet to penetrate the mystery of divine power. I don't have it all figured out. And if I thought I did, I'd very likely be wrong. I believe God acts according to His will, and that He is able to heal. I affirm those truths because I have been

Because I believe so strongly in Jesus's power to heal, I'm going to take what feels like a risk and share a personal story with you. I do it only to bear witness to what I've experienced and to magnify the greatness of God. As a former pastor who has been at the bedside of many who were sick or dying, I realize that not all suffering, sickness,

If it hasn't been obvious in my last two posts, I love the story Mark's telling in the second chapter of his Gospel! As you read it, you can't take your eyes off of Jesus. He takes center stage. Sure, there are momentary “distractions” as the plot unfolds. The religious leaders are offended at Jesus's offer of forgiveness and

Last week we looked at the determined faith of the paralytic and his four friends. It's quite a story Mark tells in the second chapter of his Gospel, one that really gets us thinking about who God is and how God acts, especially when faith enters the picture. Some of the concepts and principles that emerge in Mark 2 are worth shining a

When you read the Bible, it's hard to miss the supernatural events that occur in the lives of ordinary people who are willing to exercise their faith. Miracles happen, God shows up, and faith is right there in the middle of it. It happens over and over again. It's one of the Bible's recurring themes. And it's worth paying attention to, not only

Think about all the elaborate strategies we use to conceal what's really going on inside of us. We've even come up with a phrase that describes one of those strategies. It's called “putting your best foot forward.” Sound familiar? Just this week I was in a conversation with someone, and I wanted so badly to hit the eject button. I

I remember landing in Kathmandu, Nepal, a couple years ago and being very excited about seeing the Himalayan range for the first time. The tallest mountains in the world are in the Himalayas — more than 100 peaks above 23,600 feet. To put that in perspective, the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains is Mount Elbert, which comes in at