Posts by Jeff
Exiting Another Decade With Purpose
“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that You have done; I ponder the work of Your hands.” – Psalm 143:5 As we approach the final days of this decade, I think it is helpful for all of us to get a little bit contemplative about the last ten years. That sense…
Read MoreSundays Make Us Long For…
“And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and His name one.” – Zechariah 14:9 What better reminder could we find today? As millions of people who are called Christian meet in tens of thousands of worship centers with hundreds of differing denominational splinters dividing us,…
Read MoreMy Great Treasure
It was twenty-two years ago today on a Saturday night in Duluth, Georgia. By the time the everything began, it was already starting to get dark outside. The church was filled shoulder to shoulder with people. Amy intentionally wanted her wedding day to keep Jesus situated front and center, so she planned and prepared for…
Read MoreThe Encouragement Faucet
What’s the longest time period you have ever allowed yourself to remain discouraged? Some people are naturally upbeat, positive thinkers, glass-half-full types of folks. Others have to work hard at maintaining a grasp on the positive, affirming and hopeful. I was talking with a man some time back and noted that he had a negative…
Read MorePOLITICS: Mice Hunting Season
It has been my practice not to invest much of my public communication to the world of politics. Frankly, it is an unworthy steward of my time, thoughts, energies and words. Not to sound cavalier, but I have a much higher calling than to dedicate myself to the sad world of American politics. This present…
Read MoreHow Good He Is: Water, Blood & Oil
“I made My vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.” – Ezekiel 16:8-9 These obscure verses from the prophet Ezekiel’s book have me thinking today about…
Read MoreWhere Patience (His, Not Yours) Brings You
Today, it would serve us well to slow down a bit, catch our breath, and think upon the patience of God. We look at a world blanketed in unbelief, pulsing with immorality, boiling with outrage, and ringing with the noise of absurdity, so it is easy for us to acknowledge that God is very patient…with…
Read MoreBecoming Believing Believers
Recently, I have been thinking much on the issue of unbelief. It’s kind of an ugly word…unbelief. In the context of Christianity, unbelief is the dreaded enemy of our soul. Unbelief ruins many more Christian lives than immorality – it just isn’t as obvious to the eye. So many of us might be tempted to…
Read MoreA Nearly-15-Year Breakup
I was going through some old files on my hard drive and stumbled across this breakup letter I wrote in 2005. Sometimes I forget how long the process has been for me to live as one fully extracted from the trappings of status-quo, Bible-Belt Christianity. Based on the original date, I am going on my…
Read MoreWhat God Offers In Our Battles
Psalm 18:32-34 – “The God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” Sometimes, we sense inwardly that we…
Read MoreRelease It & God Will Remove It
There is a cooperation between the Christian and God. He is sovereign, so God has total power and authority over all of His creation, yet God invites His people to cooperate with Him in order for their lives to arrive at the place He appoints for them. There is no legitimate way to presume that…
Read MoreClosing the Vent
There are a couple of things swirling about in my heart as I get back into my office for the first time today in over a week. Last week, I spent an uninterrupted week in a prayer room in Missouri, listening for the voice of God, reading His word, interceding for numerous things and writing…
Read MoreConfidence & Assurance With God
There is a way in which to live the Christian life that results in a strong sense of consistent inner assurance that things are well between you and God. There is another way in which to live the Christian life that is lacking that sense of assurance. You may be surprised that the Father desires…
Read MoreMake Your Mouth Count
Do you have more regrets about the things that you said (and wished you had not) or things you didn’t say (but now wished you had)? Most of us speak more than we might realize and, if you are of the fairer gender, you speak nearly three times as many daily words as your male…
Read MoreYour Bouts With Doubts
The stoutest of faiths will occasionally experience the deepest of shaking. Over and over again the Scripture magnifies the holiness of our Supreme God. He is the merciful and loving Father, The Almighty, unblemished in His nature, never-failing, inseparable from His holy love, compassionate yet just, lavish in grace, steadfast in patience, and perfect in…
Read MoreSober Generation
These are days in which many among God’s people are awakening to a growing sense of sobriety concerning the end of the age. While it is not popular to intentionally speak of the prophetic description of the events that comprise the end-times, it is perhaps the most necessary message with which the Church must get…
Read MoreAmerica Vs. God
It’s a different season on planet earth these days. Certainly, there has always been a level of disturbance, a modicum of trouble, an atmosphere of unsettledness in our nation, yet something is clearly different these days. There is an added element that has entered the equation which should cause all of us to pause and…
Read MoreNew Series: The Life of David
Many years ago, Holy Spirit led me to do a personal, intentional study of the life of David. I read every passage in the Old Testament about David’s life, and devoured three lengthy biographies about David written by biblical scholars. What God did in my heart in those months more than twenty years ago is…
Read MoreGrace, Morals & Legalism
Saved out of a life of intense rebellion, I experienced somewhat of a flip-of-the-switch inside me the moment I surrendered to Jesus. Instantly purged from my life were a whole host of sinful activities that had dominated me for the decade prior to my conversion. God did not only save my soul, He changed the way…
Read MoreThe Anchored Heart
I spoke at length last night with a Christian woman who admitted her occasional struggles with whether or not she has truly been saved. This is not a rare conversation for me to have with someone in the Church. Numerous factors can assault our personal sense of assurance that we are safe within the hand…
Read MoreBeholding The New Thing
Dear Kingdom Leaders (and all who follow them), Both the testimony of experience and the testimony of Scripture teach us that Kingdom leaders will need to endure short seasons of loneliness. It is far better for you to experience that loneliness on the leading edge of what God is doing next, than to experience that…
Read MoreAmid The Chaos & Clamor…
In just a few days we will pause and remember that, eighteen years ago, some of our enemies did great harm to us. Terror was introduced to our homeland as a visible reality, and no longer could it be pushed to the outer edges of our thinking. The bad guys brought to the core of…
Read MoreDispelling Your Doubts
Some mornings I wake up and wonder why God let me. It is not often but I must confess the occasional morning when my first thought is that I am ill-equipped to live the life assigned to me. Every now and then, before the sun rises, strong doubts arise in my heart and an unhealthy…
Read MoreDown With The Veil, Up With The Banner
Lord Jesus, Today, Great Savior, work in us powerfully so that our hearts, minds and wills are centered in Your mighty love. Help us, O King, not be distracted by even the best of all those lesser things which beg for our attention. May your Love ride on the top of every powerful worship song…
Read MoreA Runway For Monday
It is no secret that I am not overly fond of Mondays. I apologize if that disappoints you, but I have never liked Mondays. Thanks to The Bangles 1986 hit, Manic Monday, I have even had a theme song to serve as permission for me to dislike Mondays. Yet, Mondays do not give me a…
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