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Not far from Bethlehem, bivouacked in the Judean hills with hordes of demons, Satan contemplated Joseph’s journey. In the spiritual battle for the hearts and lives of men and women, this inconsequential couple, pregnant out of wedlock, an embarrassment, was the avenue by which God would initiate His coup de grace of mankind’s redemption. While the world took no notice, Satan knew, God knew, the demons and angels knew—and Joseph knew—Mary was pregnant with the Messiah. With His birth, it would be Christmas.
God was not perturbed or anxious.
Essay: “Where I Place My Confidence”
I think we would all agree that 2020 has been a year for the history books. There is no doubt that even as we enter the new year we will still be dealing with many of the issues we are facing today. My question for you is, where will you place your confidence? Here’s the “insider” view I promised you when you signed up for my email list. You can download the essay, “Where I Place My Confidence,” below.
Resource: “Discovering God’s Will”
As believers, we all want to know the will of God before we make decisions in life. Sometimes this desire can be crippling because we are fearful of making the wrong decisions and acting outside of God’s will. I want to address this issue here and reassure you that discovering God’s will is not as complicated as it may seem. To read “Discovering God’s Will: How to Make Every Decision with Confidence,” download the free resource below.
Resource: “How to Live a Life of Purpose”
Every human on earth wants to know that they have a purpose in this life. We need to know that we are important. This need has been placed inside us by God and it’s a need that only He can fill. In order to live a life of purpose we need to understand what our purpose is. You can read more in the article “How to Live a Life of Purpose.”
Resource: “Capital”
If you try to spend something you don’t have, it will cost you, compromise you, or deplete you. This is true for money, time, and yourself. Of these three, money is the most objective, time the most universal, and your soul the most valuable.
To help you budget your capital, here is an exercise that you can do each morning. Take a few minutes to reflect on how you have invested your capital. Download the free resource below.
RESOURCE: “READING THE BIBLE”
The Bible is profound. There are some who have spent their entire lives studying it and never seem to come to the end of it. And yet, it's a book that is quite approachable, so simple that the concepts could be understood by a child. Whether you have been reading the Bible for years or just approaching it for the first time, what's important is that you approach it.
If reading the Bible is new to you, or perhaps you've tried in the past but have given up reading it for various reasons, I have a free download for you. Use the resource below to receive encouragement and a few pointers to help you get started.
RESOURCE: “BOOKS”
In five years, you will largely be the product of the books you read and the people you hang out with. Reading exposes you to big ideas, other worlds, different and new concepts developed over the course of sequential words, paragraphs hinging on the one before and the one following, all bound into a volume. You need this cohesion to think and you get it in one place, and one place only: good books.
The best place to start is to take it one book at a time. You will be so glad you did. Use the resource below to keep track of your reading progress.
Essay: “The Mistress, Master, Tyrant, and Monster”
Winston Churchill said, “Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public.”
In this essay, I open wide the curtains into my personal writing philosophy, exposing some of the great fears I (and many others like me) grapple with every time they put pen to paper.
Book Excerpt: “Composure”
People are multifaceted and life occurs in living color. Composure allows you to engage, appreciate, invest, enjoy, develop, and live fully human. A good model is Jesus Christ. He insisted on living life to its fullest. He always had the grit of humanity under His fingernails and consistently engaged life by going into the places where life was being ground out.
Book Excerpt: “Tears”
Big boys don’t cry. Women are more emotional than men. Tears are a weakness. I apologize for crying.
Have you heard these before? Of course you have. You’ve heard it all, as have I. Routine thoughts about tears are flippant. Candidly, they're worse than flippant: they aren’t true. Tears deliver important messages. First among them is, pay attention. Something important is happening, something so important it needs to be squeezed out of my soul through my eyes and cared for. Now. Not later.
Essay: “My Haunting Worry”
What if I fail to relay—hand off—all that is entrusted to me? It’s not that I think God will be put out should this occur. He’s certainly not depending on me. But if I live selfishly, inwardly, knowing I’m not doing my best, not contributing, not reinvesting myself, I will be disappointed with me…
Book Excerpt: “Worth”
The most celebrated physicist of my day and recent times, the late Cambridge Professor Stephen Hawking, said,
“The human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies. We are so insignificant that I can’t believe the whole universe exists for our benefit.”
As one bit of scum to another, surely there must be more value in us than Hawking stated. Unpack my response and reasoning in this free chapter.
