Posts from 2022 (Page 3)
Book Review – Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig Groeschel
Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life, by Craig Groeschel 2021. Zondervan, 246 pages. Retail cost $17.99 (US), $23.99 (CAN) Have you ever sat down and asked yourself, “What lies am I currently believing?” or “How often do I think about what I’m thinking about?”. These and other questions are addressed and answered in Craig Groeschel’s newest book: Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life. Groeschel, Pastor of Life.Church and New…
The Way Of God Leads To Life
“The way of the godly leads to life; that path does not lead to death.” – Proverbs 12:28 [NIV] The path of the godly leads to life. A holy way of living will lead to a life of blessings, while the wicked way of living leads to a path of curses. If you want a good and fulfilled life, you must follow Christ at all costs. Life as a Christian will have hardship, but it’s much better to suffer from…
Trust the Journey of Your Life
We are all on our own unique journeys in life. From different life experiences, ages, and wisdom we have garnered throughout the years, God is with us, and His love never changes. James 1:17: “All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change” [NET]. Since God never changes at all, we can give Him our burdens on this voyage of…
Dare To Be Different
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” – 1 Peter 2:9 [NKJV] As children of God, we are made to be different. We are cut from another cloth. The world is not going to understand everything we do. The world is not going to comprehend why we smile when things go wrong, or…
Wise People Give Good Advice
“The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.” – Proverbs 12:26 [NIV] You know a person is wise when giving legitimately sound advice to their friends. The wise will ensure that their friends get helpful, edifying guidance regardless of whether they like it. Foolish people just tell people what they want to hear, even if it leads to their downfall. Telling people the hard truth is never fun, but it’s much better than telling them…
The Only Thing In Which You Should Ever Put Hope
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” – Romans 15:13 [ESV] Do we have any sports fans out there? If you are, I’m sure you know what’s like when “your” team comes so close to taking it all but doesn’t. There can be years where your team can almost be a real-life analog for some inspirational sports movie, you…
Iced Latte Anonymous
I need to go to Iced Latte Anonymous. I know a group like this doesn’t exist, but I would be the first to sign up if there were such a thing! I am addicted to the velvety and bitey coffee taste, with whole milk and two Splendas, please! And it has to be iced, not hot. That’s much more savory, in my honest opinion. More seriously, we all have addictions. Co-dependence on others, drugs, alcohol, chocolate, or even iced lattes!…
We Don’t War With Man
“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 6:12 [NLT] Wars frequently occur on earth, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a recent example of hatred, conflict, and death. The news of Ukraine shocked the world because of the possibility of World War 3, and it brings to mind that despite the…
Negative Things Can Work With God
Just the other day, I was watching a sermon online from my pastor in Florida. He was preaching from Romans 8:28 and how God uses tragedy and negative events in our favor. When bad things happen to us, we usually blame ourselves or we blame Satan. In reality. negative things are an expected facet of this Christian walk. We will suffer, but our suffering won’t be in vain. When we were in the world before we were saved, we suffered…
Lenses
I had my annual eye exam the other day; you know where they put that giant, awkward machine-thing in front of your face, and you have to rest your chin on it? The optometrist flips through a series of lenses, trying to help you see as clearly as possible to narrow down where your vision is. At the bottom of the exam wall chart was the letter B, but I swore that I saw it as an N. It was…
We Are Tested By The Fire
Adversity is what builds character. We need storms in our life to show us where we are weak and how much we really trust God. If everything were hunky-dory, then we wouldn’t have a compelling testimony. God put us through hardships not because he hates us but because He wants us to become like purified gold. In the refining process, gold has to go through an intense amount of heat to have the impurities removed and for what is remaining…
Summer Spiritual Growth
“Rest” doesn’t mean time away from God. Most people love the summertime. Aside from some blistering temperatures, depending on where you live, there are so many appealing things about the warmest months of the year. You may get to enjoy vacations, summer backyard barbecuing, no school, trips to your local beaches and campgrounds, and loads of fun in the sun. Yet just because it’s the summer months here in the Northern Hemisphere doesn’t mean we can press the “pause” button…
Life is an Unexpected Adventure
I am going through a lot in this season of life—many “firsts” for me. One of my good friends has breast cancer and had to get a double mastectomy. Cancer doesn’t run in my life, and I never had a friend who had cancer before. It’s hard to see her tired like she is and has suffered for the last two years. She got diagnosed at the start of the pandemic. With everything going on in the world, a cancer…
Recommended Book Resources For Men’s Ministries
Want to dive further into men’s ministry or learn what it means to live the life of a Christian man? In preparation for the newly-released Warrior Disciple men’s ministry book, I wanted to offer what I thought were other great books for men’s ministry and spiritual growth for guys. The following are just a mere smattering of terrific resources to help you in your pursuit of going deeper with God: The Quest For Character by John MacArthur If you can…
Naturally Supernatural
“Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.’ But Jesus said, ‘You feed them.’” – Mark 6:35-37a [NLT] Jesus shocked His disciples when he told them to feed the multitude of people. Little did they know that they already had all they needed to provide food for the…
Change Our Thinking
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – Romans 12:1-2 [NKJV] To live a life that’s acceptable to God, we have to change our thinking. When we have…
Cleaning Up Our Junk
Both I and my cousin are planning on moving pretty soon. He’s attempting to move his family to a different part of North Carolina while I’m trying to make the move back to Florida. This past Saturday, we had to clean up the house and had to clear up a lot of junk for the landlord. Getting rid of stuff isn’t always fun or easy, but it’s necessary for us to move forward. God puts us in an environment outside…
Take One Big Bite Out of Life
I miss many people that have passed from my life. Like I miss my grandfather, grandmother, and aunt so much. I know they are watching me from Heaven. But I had a special connection, especially with my grandfather, so he frequents my thoughts. And guess who frequents my thoughts just as my grandfather? My dog Zoey passed away when I was 20 years old. I got Zoey on my fifth birthday. I remember right before my birthday, my mom asked…
Patience Produces Wisdom
A person’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense. – Proverbs 19:11 [CSB] Having patience is the fruit of having wisdom. People who are impatient tend to act without reason. When you are willing to wait, you are more likely to be able to enjoy your reward more. Waiting is hard, but it’s better to wait than to regret it. Just like we teach children to wait to get their favorite toy, God can often…
Gospel Call Vs. Regeneration: What Comes First?
After Predestination and Election, what is it that comes first in the Ordo Salutis (Order of Salvation) when God in “real-time” goes to save someone? Is it the act of hearing or reading the Gospel of Jesus? Or is it the divine act of regenerating a soul, AKA being born again, where God makes a spiritually dead man alive? It appears that the Gospel Call (not God’s Effective Call, but the actual human-transmitted speaking and preaching of the Word of…