LifeLift

It’s easy to forget that we’re truly valuable… 🔥 that we bear the image of the Creator 🔥 that we’re chosen, Holy, and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12-13) 🔥 that He promised we’re never separated from His love (Romans 8:31-39) 🔥 that God doesn’t hold our sins and failures against us, so He isn’t punishing us because of them (see Jeremiah 31:34) 🔥 that the same grace that “saves us” also calls us...

We’re promised two gifts that we each desperately want and need come when we take the hurts and pains of the past, stop hiding them, and move into the light: 🎁 Connection = that is, we find we’re not alone, we meet acceptance with a healing community 🎁 Cleansing = we find healing, and we’re able to repurpose the pains to help others…   Here’s part of the problem: We don’t like the light. (G...

In this talk we discuss the notion that everyone is “window shopping.” We’re constantly looking for a better plan, a different program, or more reliable steps to take us where we want to be. In the same way that we look in storefronts for the latest shoes, the coolest gadget, or the most up-to-date fashion, so do we often “shop” for our spirituality. And then we seek to perform to earn it. 👇 Yet...

I don’t know where I first got the thought— “we seem more confident in the enemy’s ability to deceive us— and to steal, kill, and destroy— than we are about Jesus’ ability to heal and mend and restore all things.” I guarantee the concept isn’t original to me, but maybe you can relate. Maybe you’ve even— like me— found yourself on the WRONG side of that belief structure at some point. 🤔 Buried in...

We have a lot of crazy ideas about God. Lots of them. We talk about His discipline- and how harsh it can be. How he scourges us to get us “in line.” As if God is very much like the high school hall monitor that was always waiting to catch us… … but on a cosmic level, one with bigger ramifications. 😳 Today, I hear THREE primary areas that (in my opinion) we get wrong about God. Namely, we mistakin...

Over the past few years it’s become popular in hipster-ish types of churches (not that I’m opposed to ANY expression of the church) to say things that SOUND right but actually breakdown to “nothing” when placed under the weight of any scrutiny at all. For instance, this one… “I hate theology, but I love Jesus.” 😳 Sounds cute and clever, but really? When we break it down, we get this: 👉 Theo- = G...

I knew a pastor who used to say, “God’s in a good mood.” To his dying day, he’d chuckle- in a serious way- when he said it. He was convinced that God was absolutely happy. Somehow, I was totally uncomfortable with what he said— but I WAS (super-strangely enough) NOT uncomfortable with the opposite… Why would I be more cozy with the notion that… ❌ God was angry, ❌ God had a “short fuse,” and ❌ G...

What is God actually like? That’s a big question— and one that matters. You see, we practically “live out” our beliefs, even those we’re not aware of. And, one of the biggest, most important beliefs is what we think when we think about the Creator. 💛 Some of us think of God in theological terms… Others think about Him in “Bible words.” Some of us even wonder if He’s a “him” or “her” or a “ghost”...

A few weeks ago I met Andy Mason… online. We’re in a common Facebook group, because we use the same software to run our websites… One of his posts led to an offline conversation which led to us swapping books. He was already planning to come to town, two weeks in the future, so after ready his book, I was about to meet him in person… His book… Heaven in Business. The reason he was coming to town?...

The Lord established an everlasting covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7:16. He promised an offspring of his would always sit on the throne. Notably, this occurred BEFORE David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then murdered her husband to cover the forced affair (see 2 Samuel 11:1f.). David never confused to this sin on his own— he was confronted (see 2 Samuel 12). Yet God— who knew from the beg...

“Repressed emotions are unfinished business,” David Stewart writes— they highlight pages in the past that continuing altering our story in the present” (Healing Oils of the Bible, p116). As this relates to pain in the body, Dr. Stewart writes, “When you have an emotional experience, especially a traumatic or painful one, the amygdala assigns a part of your body to remember the experience until you...

The disciples spent a lot of time with Jesus. That’s how “discipleship” worked back in Biblical times. Whereas we’ve reduced the concept to “ ... the breed of discipleship they experienced was a life-on-life encounter whereby the rabbi imparted everything he knew and did to his students. As a result, the students learned they could do anything the rabbi did. “My rabbi does _____________,” they rea...

There are 3 facts about human nature: 👉 FACT 1 = We’re designed to explore and grow. We, by our nature, venture forth and look into the unknown. 👉 FACT 2 = Some of that exploration causes PAIN. That is, not all exploration is pleasant. As a result, we create RULES to help govern how we make " in the future. Some of those “rules” are: ✅ FUNCTIONAL = that is, they’re friends. They’re healthy and...

Albert Einstein said that time is relative. He didn’t reject the existence of time. Rather, he rejected the distinction between past, present, and future. ⏰⏰⏰ “The light you see now left the sun 8 minutes ago,” a teacher explained, when I was in 2nd grade. “It comes to us really fast, because light travels super-quick. Faster than Superman, even.” I sat in disbelief. We all knew he was faster t...

During my first year of college I developed the habit of sitting down with a paper calendar— the kind I still carry to this date— the first day of class, syllabus in hand. I always wrote which chapters were being covered on which dates, when terms papers were due, which day I had tests, and any other noteworthy items the professor offered the class. That way, I had everything at a glance. And, I c...

Solomon tells us it’s better to “go to a house of mourning than a house of feasting” (Ecclesiastes 7:2). That is, something in looking at life soberly— from the vantage point of our humanity— shifts everything into perspective. In this talk I launch a new podcast series— Future Grace. The event that spawned the thought process behind it was the death of my paternal grandfather— years ago. I attend...

Culture trumps just about everything. If you create an environment where people can thrive, they generally come alive. 💙 Let me tell you where I’m headed in this talk… Proverbs reminds us that the “fear of the Lord” is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). On the other hand, “fools despise such knowledge and instruction” (also 9:10). Notably, there are two kinds of fear presented in the Bible....

We often create clear lines as to what men can do and what women can do. However, the Bible itself actually blurs cultural lines, empowering each of us. 🤔 Here’s where we see it… In Luke 10, Jesus visits His friends Mary & Martha (Lazarus’ sisters). You might know the story— Martha hustles around working while Mary “sits at Jesus’ feet.” I’ve heard the story preached that “you just need to sl...

We talk a great deal— especially in the church— about women submitting to men. And we go straight to Ephesians 5 to do it… But… … when you read the entire passage, it seems that Paul isn’t giving us of DO and DON’T type of behaviors. Rather, he’s telling us how to create a climate in which everyone thrives.   ⭐️   Look at Ephesians 5:2, which is the sentence that leads us into Paul’s ex...

After the Fall, something interesting happens with Adam and Eve.   Feeling ashamed, they hid themselves. Yet God approaches them, as it seems must be part of their regular routine to meet each evening. He looks for Adam. Genesis 3:9 tells us the Lord called to the man and asked, “Where are you?”   God didn’t seek Eve— even though she technically sinned first. He sought the one to whom He...

The concept of spiritual leadership and Biblical authority hasn’t received much positive press lately. In any area— the home, business, church, politics, nothing. In fact, most discussions about the topic seem overtly negative— and with good reason.   Over the past few years, we’ve seen an uptick in abuse. As well, many cases of hidden abuse (sins buried under the carpet or tossed into the cl...

The Bible encourages us, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).   This verse reminds us, first of all, that we’re born of the Spirit. When Nicodemus asked Jesus how a grown man could be "born again,” Jesus explained the nature of this new birth. Here’s part of the conversation (John 3:4-7 NKJV):   Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born...

Soul wholeness involves recognizing your emotions, reading what they say before you react, and then responding to the world around you in a healthy + intentional way— one in alignment with the Spirit. Let’s discuss this briefly, as it will help you in real life situations.   ✅ Something happens. It might be new information we gather, a phone call or text that is received, or something someon...

Most of us understand that we have a body and Spirit. We often confuse “soul” and “spirit” as being the same thing, though. They are different. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (emphasis added).   Notic...

Many of us seem to think we need something “more,” that we don’t have the ______________ (fill in the blank to your unique situation) we need in order to move from where are are to where we’re designed to be. But Scripture suggests something different.   The same power that raised Jesus form the dead now lives in you (Romans 8:11). And, as Peter says, you have everything you need for life and...