More Than Bread

Send me a Text Message! I think most of us think that prayer is a good thing. Something we should do more  of... when we are able. But few of us think of prayer as a necessary thing. Most of us think that the reason we aren't loving our neighbors, our workmates, classmates, family and friends well is simply because we don't have time. If I just had more time I would be  love better. I wo...

Send me a Text Message! We are only a few days away from the start of Holy Week, Palm Sunday. In Luke 19:41, there is a picture of moment, as Jesus came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, He began to weep. I can't get that scene out of my mind. It's a moving party, a celebration; people yelling, shuffling around trying to get a glimpse. All of a sudden the parade stops. On a hil...

Send me a Text Message! Something happened when Jesus died on the cross. Something deep down in the  foundations of reality shifted. It isn't just a story that shows the soft side of God.  It was cosmic redemption -- grace started working it's way backwards and forwards through time, as God began to reconcile all things to himself "through the blood of the cross." (Colossians 1...

Send me a Text Message! I wonder how often we miss Christ's invitation to join him in a miracle because we  think he's leaving the solution up to us. So, we count our coins, strategize our plans, and work up our gumption only to realize, "Yeah, we can't do that. We don't have enough. We can't give what we don't have." Jesus is looking for a yes and too often...

Send me a Text Message! Here's a good legacy question. How will I be remembered? That's a great question, an appropriate question to ask, but I would suggest that there's an even better legacy question, not just how will I be remembered, but "Who will remember me?" I’ve been thinking about that a bit lately. Unless you are a world-changer, book-writer kind of person, a lif...

Send me a Text Message! I think part of what Jesus is saying in Matthew 25, is that when you come across those who are in need, I don't want you to think of them as the least of these. I want you to think of them as family. They are not just the "least of these" they are family. In fact, they are not just family, they are Jesus, to us. So... Go Love Jesus. I'm not taking about...

Send me a Text Message! This is what love does. Love gives and God gave the greatest gift. He gave us his son. Jesus died for us. My sin responsible for his death. And what does God do. He invites us into His family, gives us a seat at the table. For God so loved the world that He gave His only son... So that whoever believes would have life. This is the Greatest Invitation . Whoever.  Is there an...

Send me a Text Message! There was a moment in the life of Peter, before he was a Jesus-follower, a fishing boat moment that lead to an "if you say so Jesus" moment.  Are you an if-you-say-so-Jesus person? Or do you always know better? It’s hard to surrender when I think I always know best.  This moment was a test for Peter. Jesus is looking for people to invest in; leaders to develop; pe...

Send me a Text Message! My sin is not just my failure to reach God's standards, it's a failure to treasure his invitation; a lack of trust in his ways; an unwillingness to surrender. An un-surrendered sin-soaked soul is life's greatest problem. It leads to addiction, ravages marriages and breaks families, it hardens hearts, creates anxiety filled souls and drains joy. It keeps us fr...

Send me a Text Message!  We don't always connect the act of surrender to presence of love. But there is a story in John 13, that we call "The Washing of the Disciple's Feet" that is really the story of the love-burst of Christ. Do you realize that when Jesus is serving us, serving others, when he surrenders, it's just the over-flow of a love-burst? John 13 contains a story...

Send me a Text Message! In Mark 10, Jesus is quoted as saying, "Whoever wants to become great must become   a servant. Because this is what the Son of Man has done. He came to serve and not be served." My goodness don't we want that to be some sort of metaphor. I mean sure Jesus came to serve and not to be served but that was a temporary interruption in the normal experience of his...

Send me a Text Message! In Matthew 14, we are told the story of a storm, a storm where Jesus walked on the water and for a time, so did Peter. Like Peter getting out of the boat, the primary issue of surrender is control. Getting out of the boat, Peter surrendered control. Listen, your desire for control is ruining yr life. It's shriveling up your heart and driving a wedge in your marriage. I...

Send me a Text Message! There is a prayer for more in Isaiah 64, that contains the statement, "We are the clay. You (God) are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." We are the clay. You are the potter. We are all the work of your hand. That’s full-on, all-in 100% surrender. This is not really a God bless me, God protect me, God help and heal me, give me comfort and prosperity kin...

Send me a Text Message! Do you have a be-still space? When God says, "Be still." He's asking, will you trust me?  Will  you stop clenching your hands to hang onto things that don't matter. If we let our arms fall and our hands grow slack, if we stop striving, we are saying to God, "I trust you." In this episode and I want to give us something very practical to do. Fin...

Send me a Text Message! With this episode we start a section in our Lent series on the spiritual practices of "giving-in." One of the most powerful practices connected with giving-in is surrender. And of my favorite scriptures on surrender is Psalm 46. It is a compelling, heart-stirring description of God, but we won't know Him as this God if we don't practice surrender.   The...

Send me a Text Message! The word of God brings renewal and revival; new energy and new love to redeem old hurts. Is that the something more you need? I could give you a hundred different life-giving principles but ultimately those who thrive in life and find the more of God are those who know God, those who experience His presence, those who get rid of the clutter and give up control. Those who th...

Send me a Text Message! There is something very close to the heart of  Jesus in Isaiah 58.  Jesus announced his own calling with similar words, "The Spirit of God has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives..." Isaiah 58 is a beautiful portrait of the "more" we are preparing for during this season of Lent....

Send me a Text Message! Fasting is a way of saying, "God I need your gracious hand upon me." What if part of preparing for more requires trying to do less? What if we need to fast and pray for more, more than we need to strive to try harder to do more. Maybe we need to stop striving and start surrendering.  You know in the last decades, there have been revivals of worship and movements o...

Send me a Text Message! The best is yet to come. The glory that is coming is greater than the suffering that is here. In fact, maybe now, all we'll ever get is a taste of glory. It's like when you go into a really good ice cream shop. You stand at the counter, looking through the glass at all the choices and you see one that beckons you. So you look across the counter and ask, "Coul...

Send me a Text Message! So often we talk about the battle in our lives between what's urgent and what's important. But in the 40Day story of Jonah, we find that what's important has suddenly become very urgent. Fasting brings a sense of urgency to our giving up.  Listen fasting is not a weight loss program. If you use it to gain followers on instagram, you might as well eat. Fasting...

Send me a Text Message! There are many Biblical, historical and contemporary examples of what God has  done in response to fasting and prayer. Down through the years when people have longed for more, more of God, more of His presence and power, they have fasted.  At critical junctures they have fasted and prayed; crying out to God, "O God, this much, we need you, this much we want you. It&apo...

Send me a Text Message! We need to stop pretending that the goal of this life is comfort and that faith makes it easier to be comfortable. God isn't dreaming about giving us a way out of our pain. God dreams about giving us the strength to go through it, and discover His dream. What if our lack of capacity is a gps signal to His dream for our life? If that's the case then few things are...

Send me a Text Message! Almost every time the Bible talks about "the wilderness," it's not good. But it can become good, if we have the Spirit of God. It's one thing to be filled with the Spirit and even led by the Spirit, but when we go through the wilderness with the Spirit we come out the other side, empowered by the Spirit.  When do I need the power of the Spirit? I need th...

Send me a Text Message! The Spirit of God is the treasure of God that fills the people of God.  Too often we talk more about the gifts of the Spirit than we do the gift of the Spirit. The treasure is the Spirit. The gift of Christ is the Spirit of Christ. There is no greater gift.  Our life is a jar. Think about that for a moment...what is a jar? It's just a container right? Most jars are def...

Send me a Text Message! Through the word of God, we hear the voice of God and His voice speaks life and courage and perseverance into our hearts. We listen to the Word, we learn the principles and truths of scripture and we lean into His instructions. But there is something else here, something of great beauty and power that we so desperately need in our wilderness. We need more than words of life...