Proverbs 5:3-4 (ESV) Warnings Against Sexual Immorality 3 For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,     and her speech is smoother than oil, 4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,     sharp as a two-edged sword. F.B. Meyer, an English pastor and evangelist from the late 19th/early 20th centuries famously wrote: “It is a matter for great thankfulness that the Bible, which is God’s book rather than man’s, deals so strongly and wisely with one great evil, which has manifested itself in every age and in every state of society. It speaks boldly and plainly; and all who will meditate on its teaching with a prayerful heart, will be savedRead More →

  Proverbs 4:14-19 (ESV) – “The Two Ways” 14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,     and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15 Avoid it; do not go on it;     turn away from it and pass on. 16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;     they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness     and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,     which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;     they do not know over what they stumble. The firstRead More →

Proverbs 3:9-10 (ESV) 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth     and with the first-fruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty,     and your vats will be bursting with wine. Today, when we read these 2 simple verses we have a tendency to translate “wealth” to the “giving of money.”  While giving of the physical treasure of money is important to the Lord, we cannot ignore the fullness required of biblical (Godly) stewardship.  To do so completely misses the richness of not only these couple verses (and many others like them), but the richness of Gods love, provision, and bounty for our lives. Preceding this passage,Read More →

Proverbs 2:7-9 (ESV) 7  He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;     He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8 guarding the paths of justice     and watching over the way of his saints. 9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice     and equity, every good path; Three ideas are made clear by this passage: Wisdom is given, as a gift, by the Lord to the upright (those in covenant with God). Through this wisdom, we gain the understanding of righteousness, justice, and equity. The purpose of this gift of wisdom is to protect the path of the saints (us) because we are carrying this understanding of righteousness,Read More →

For a little more than a month now, I have been reading the chapter of the Book of Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month (31 Proverbs in 31 days).  This new practice is in response to a burden the Lord has put on my heart for all his followers, disciples, and saints to spend more time with him in the Word.  In addition, I felt led to share my short study with all of you – to help you spend that additional time building a relationship with the Lord.  My method is simple: Every morning I read the proverb for that dayRead More →

Last fall, I had the opportunity to participate in a semester-long Kingdom Leadership Development course through a local seminary and my home church.  It was a transformational experience.  Recently, the director of the program requested that I pray throughout the semester for and write letters of encouragement and direction to a few of the men in the current spring Kingdom Leadership course.  Naturally, I was thrilled to pray for these men daily and welcomed the opportunity to pour into their lives as they desired to grow in both leadership and in their walk with Christ.  As the leader of a fledgling men’s ministry, I spend muchRead More →

Two days ago (April 11), The Royal Courts of Justice in London set Friday, April 13th, 12:00pm as the execution date for Little Alfie Evans as that is when the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital will take little Alfie off life support – Against the wishes of his parents.  THIS IS ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS!  Below is a brief summary of the facts: Alfie Evans was born healthy in May of 2016. In December of 2016 he was taken to Alder Hey with a chest infection at which time he developed a serious un-diagnosed illness which has left little Alfie “unresponsive” and imprisoned against the demands of hisRead More →

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship Today is “Yom HaShoah” or as we commonly call it as non-Jews “Holocaust Remembrance Day.”  This day is set aside each year to honor the memory of the six million Jews who were murdered, to honor the resilience of survivors, and to rededicate ourselves to preventing genocide.  To that end, I want to take a moment to recognize a #RadicalMan of God, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. At a time when most pastors and priests in Germany were jumping on Hitler’s bandwagon of anti-Semitism, Bonhoeffer joined the Confessing Church, a small but committed groupRead More →

Christ Crucified Good Friday is the darkest day of the Passion or Holy Week.  The final hours of Christ’s life in the flesh leading up to His death were marked by  betrayal, false accusations, multiple unlawful trials, condemnation, mockery, beatings, and abandonment.  After being scourged, spit on, mocked, tormented, and pierced with a crown of thorns, Jesus carried his own cross to Calvary where he was unceremoniously nailed to it and raised into the air.  Over the next several hours, Jesus spoke seven final statements from the Cross: #RadicalWords – Luke 23:34 (ESV) 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” #RadicalWords – LukeRead More →

  From Bethany, where Jesus and the disciples spent a quiet Wednesday, Jesus sends Peter and John to Jerusalem to secure a location and prepare for the Passover Feast: #RadicalWords – Mark 14:13-15 (ESV) 13 And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” That evening after sunset, as theyRead More →