What are the great fears? I am interested in your response to this question. Consider the following: What do you sense from your friends? What do they really fear? What do you hear through the media that might cause one to fear? What are some of the great fears that people have in general? Today,… Continue reading Question: What are the Great Fears?
Category: Fear
If I Could Say What I’m Really Thinking
Yesterday, Anne Jackson’s new book, Permission to Speak Freely arrived in the mail. Last night, I read the entire book. No, I don’t normally read an entire book in one evening. However, this book was different. Perhaps it was her raw honesty that kept me engaged. Maybe, I was captivated because I felt as if… Continue reading If I Could Say What I’m Really Thinking
What Has Helped You Feel Less Self-Conscious?
I never intended to be a minister. Never. I grew up in a church. Over the years, there were probably a half-dozen ministers who preached at this church. As a child, I really didn’t know much about them. I only saw them from a distance. Yet, most of them seemed “different.” Not different in a… Continue reading What Has Helped You Feel Less Self-Conscious?
How to Ruin a Good Relationship
Lots of people are looking for the right relationship. Yet, so often these same people will then contribute to the demise of what otherwise might have been a very good relationship. A few examples: A woman thinks she has found a new friend. She becomes acquainted with another woman at work who is about her… Continue reading How to Ruin a Good Relationship
Much Fear in Many Churches
Fear. It is everywhere! No, I am not talking about the fear of the Lord. Nor am I talking about any sort of healthy fear. No, I am referring to another kind of fear — an unhealthy fear. She sat just outside the main doors to our auditorium (sanctuary, worship center, etc.). She was in… Continue reading Much Fear in Many Churches
Choosing to Move Away from Hiding, Blame, and Denial
Do you recognize any of these behaviors? Hiding. Blaming. Denying. The first question that was ever asked of a human being by the Creator was, “Where are you?” There is nothing wrong with this question. In fact, the question comes from the one who wanted relationship with all of us. Yet, our response to the… Continue reading Choosing to Move Away from Hiding, Blame, and Denial
Question: What are the Secrets in Churches?
I’ve got a question. What are the secrets in churches? I believe that in churches everywhere, people have secrets. These are secrets that men and women have in their hearts. These secrets may involve feelings, questions, sins, past experiences, addictions, future intentions, etc. Some of these secrets include: 1. The man who has always had… Continue reading Question: What are the Secrets in Churches?
“I Don’t Have Anything Left”
Okay, I’ll have to admit I was jealous. I watched him through my office window as he drove into our parking lot. He was driving a canary yellow Corvette. It was a shiny convertible and looked new. He was a handsome, well-dressed guy. As he got out of his car, I already began to resent… Continue reading “I Don’t Have Anything Left”
Are You Worried?
Sometimes I worry. I don’t think that I live each day in worry. But — I do know how to worry. Sometimes I notice that these worries seem to stand in line waiting for me to examine each one. One by one they parade in front of me, each one of them demanding… Continue reading Are You Worried?
Having the Nerve to Follow Christ (Part 2)
"Well of all the nerve!" I’m not sure where I first heard that expression. It may have been from my grandmother in Searcy, Arkansas, who used to utter that phrase quite often. Whenever I have heard that expression, the context is usually the same. Someone is expressing shock or disbelief at someone’s behavior. It really… Continue reading Having the Nerve to Follow Christ (Part 2)