Rick Thomas | Your Daily Drive

Biff wants to begin a counseling ministry in his local church. The leadership is aware of the church’s sanctification needs; they want help and humbly acknowledge this need. They asked Biff to propose a plan. He asked me how to go about this new endeavor. What are the critical details for starting and sustaining a counseling ministry in a local church? Here is what I told Biff. Read Here: https://...

One of the essential goals of parenting is the practice of releasing your children to the culture where they will eventually live. Part of this process is for them to live less under the governance of the parent’s rules and more under God’s authority. As they leave the parent’s protective care, they come up under the Lord’s. Knowing how to assist them in this transition is vital. Read Here: https:...

What do you want? What would you like to have? Do these desires come from the heart of contentment? To want something does not have to be wrong. We should always want all kinds of things throughout our lives. To not to want things is not to live. The heart of the matter for any of us is when our wants begin to control our thoughts. When that happens, another “god” begins to rule our lives. Read He...

Is there someone in your life with whom you struggle? Stated differently, who bothers you? Has someone done something that has brought friction into your relationship with them? What if you flipped the question around: have you done something to someone that has caused friction? Did you know that you have no other choice but to resolve this problem? Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/you-have-no-ch...

There are many benefits to living in our world, and you should not feel guilty about these good things. However, we can become so accustomed to “our way of life” that when something disrupts our expectations, it can dismantle us. It’s precisely in these moments of difficulties that we need to reevaluate and realign our hearts to our calling as God’s children. Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/how-...

As the divide in our country continues to widen, the temptation to be harsh, sinfully angry, or retaliate in ungodly ways toward those who think differently from you is high. There are times when we can think more highly of ourselves and less considerate of others, especially when they do things that frustrate us. It's in these critical moments that the gospel must level our hearts. If not, we may...

“Tough love” has become one of the mantras in modern Christian culture. Like many popularized sayings, it has taken on an unintended—harsh—meaning that does not bring about the peaceful fruit of righteousness. How do you think about tough love? What comes to your mind? How do those who have experienced your tough love think about it? Is there a more biblical worldview for corrective care? Read Her...

You’re only as strong as your hope, and if your main hope is not in Christ, you are not as strong as you should be. The way to know where you have placed your primary hope is by how you react to the difficulties and challenges that come into your life. If your trouble manages you more than Christ, the most courageous thing you can do is ask the Lord to break you from that bondage. Read Here: https...

In God’s mind, your life is over. He sees the end from the beginning. The Lord stands outside of time—a macro view, looking inside your timeline, which has a start and end date, and He’s helping you navigate your journey. You’re not sure where you’re going or the pitfalls along the way, but from His vantage point, He does. You must know that your story ends well, which is the antidote for fighting...

Many marriages, families, and churches have a common link, a missing one. In a word, it’s fellowship. I’m not speaking of having a social conversation with someone. Biblically speaking, fellowship is when two or more people willingly, humbly, openly, transparently, honestly, and vulnerably share themselves reciprocally, which is easier said than done. Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/fellowship-i...

Describe the aroma of your home. Would you say it’s a place where joy, gratitude, and thanksgiving are regularly wafting through the rooms? As you think about the environment in your home, perhaps you can narrow the focus down to yourself (Matthew 7:3-5). How aggressive are you in expressing gratitude to your family members? Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/how-to-create-the-aroma-of-gratitude-in...

When your companion is darkness rather than light, and your circumstances are overwhelming you in a season of acute need, there is no more of a critical time in life for God to reveal Himself to you. But sometimes your answer to your praying is more darkness. Silence! How in the world does the gospel connect to a God who is silent? Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/connecting-the-gospel-to-a-god-w...

God creates children in His image. Parents have a responsibility to shape the child for God, with the hope and prayer that when they are old enough to understand, they will follow Him. Then things get off track. The parent makes mistakes. The child reacts poorly. The remarkable news is how the Lord can use the bad things that happen to bring these broken children to Himself. Read Here: https://ric...

Gaslighting is the mental manipulation that someone does to another individual. It’s a psychological maneuver of abusive type people who want to control you by making you believe you’re guilty of something that you did not do. If they persist, you may give up and accept what they say even if in your heart of hearts you don’t believe it. Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/what-is-gaslighting-its-eff...

Audio Series: Change Me – The Ultimate Life-Change Handbook, by Rick Thomas Change Me: Chapter Five, Only Four Problems In Life You may purchase this book from Amazon: http://amzn.to/2aXDEuO Will you help us so we can continue to provide free content to the world? You can become a supporting member here rickthomas.net/recurring-membership/ Or you can make a one-time or recurring donation(s) here h...

Audio Series: Change Me – The Ultimate Life-Change Handbook, by Rick Thomas Chapter Three: Perfect Self-Help Book You may purchase this book from Amazon: http://amzn.to/2aXDEuO Will you help us so we can continue to provide free content to the world? You can become a supporting member here rickthomas.net/recurring-membership/ Or you can make a one-time or recurring donation(s) here https://ricktho...

Audio Series: Change Me – The Ultimate Life-Change Handbook, by Rick Thomas Change Me, Chapter Two, First Unique Step You may purchase this book from Amazon: http://amzn.to/2aXDEuO Will you help us so we can continue to provide free content to the world? You can become a supporting member here rickthomas.net/recurring-membership/ Or you can make a one-time or recurring donation(s) here https://ric...

Audio Series: Change Me – The Ultimate Life-Change Handbook, by Rick Thomas Chapter One: Make the Most of It You may purchase this book from Amazon: http://amzn.to/2aXDEuO Will you help us so we can continue to provide free content to the world? You can become a supporting member here rickthomas.net/recurring-membership/ Or you can make a one-time or recurring donation(s) here https://rickthomas.n...

Audio Series: Change Me – The Ulitmate Life-Change Handbook, by Rick Thomas Introduction You may purchase this book from Amazon: http://amzn.to/2aXDEuO Will you help us so we can continue to provide free content to the world? You can become a supporting member here rickthomas.net/recurring-membership/ Or you can make a one-time or recurring donation(s) here https://rickthomas.net/donations/

I was chatting recently with a Christian counselor who said that her mentors taught her that Christian counselors should not show emotion during a counseling session. She asked me what I thought about this kind of teaching. What do you think? It is okay to cry in front of the person you’re helping? What about laughter? How does emotion relate to God and Him making us in His image? Read Here: https...

Rick, recently you talked about how you tend to live on “military time,” and Lucia lives on “island time” and how you both have had to work through your conflicting personality traits in your marriage. You also tied this to how the gospel speaks to every area of your lives. How did you both eventually apply the gospel to your personality differences? How can the gospel help two people live in rela...

What is your primary way of relating to people? Do you connect superficially, or do you engage them where they live? I’m talking about reaching a person at their heart. It is imperative to reach folks at the right place so they can experience biblical transformation. If you don’t connect at the heart-level, you won’t help them become more like Christ. Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/the-best-way...

One of the most natural things you will ever do is respond sinfully to the sin of another person. When you do this, it reveals a lot about how you think about yourself, the other person, and the Lord. Part of this problem is we don’t “plan for sin” to happen. I call it a lack of “budgeting sin” into our future experience. Not living in the reality of human fallenness will have tragic consequences...

Once a parent, ever a parent. Even after a parent loses hands-on oversight and care of their children as they get older, they never stop thinking about them—always wondering and praying for their well-being. Before that sad day of their departure comes, I want to provide you with three powerful parenting strategies that will help them after they become adults. Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/her...

Teenagers don't have to be angry or disconnected, but many of them are. Rather than speculating on why they are this way, some practical advice on how to change would be appropriate. This article is for that teenager who is looking for help to change their thinking, behaving, and life trajectory. I used to be one of those directionless, frustrated teenagers. These seven things are proven and they...