The Lord invites us to know Him better. What a privilege! If the joy of heaven is in knowing the Lord’s presence without any sin to hinder us, surely seeking His presence now must be the greatest possible pursuit.

Do you feel your need to pray? A person who has no need to pray cannot be living by faith. Prayerless-ness says, “I am sufficient in myself for everything required of me.” But is that so? And do you not grieve God by your persistent self-sufficiency? The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Decluttering

Decluttering is a fact of life, too. Over the years, I’ve decluttered more than the average person and now, I actually write books about decluttering.

When people find out I’m a Christian who writes about decluttering, they want to talk about what the Bible says about clutter. One of the verses they love to quote is Matthew 6:19: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (NIV).

Are You A Christian Slacker?

In a Business Week poll, employees were asked “Are you one of the top 10 percent of performers in your company?” A whopping 90 percent of all employees said yes, including 97 percent of the executives! But the math does not compute. Ninety percent of us can’t be in the top 10 percent. So, what is going on?

We often think we are the hardest workers and others are the slackers, partly because we judge ourselves based on our intentions and others based on their actions. We don’t think other people are as committed as we are – that they avoid their responsibilities, are always late, and make excuses.

Have you ever known a married couple who confessed they didn’t love each other? I have, and trust me, there is nothing more painful. As a husband, I can’t imagine waking up every morning beside a woman I didn’t love. I pity such a person.

On a couple of occasions, I’ve had such couples meet with me. Their stories tend to be similar. Life is rote. Their relationship is boring. They are married, but they feel more like individuals sharing a home and splitting the bills. For these people, romance left town long ago. They feel trapped because they understand divorce isn’t an option.

Conflict stirred within as I attempted to blend into the audience. The secret struggles in my heart felt exposed as the conference speaker addressed the crowd.

Frozen callings

“There are frozen callings in this congregation,” she declared.

The weight of that statement hit my spirit like a bag of bricks. No, Lord, I whispered. I can’t hope any longer for things that never come to pass.

Always, never, nothing, all, everything, best, worst. Typically, when we think about absolutes, we think about those rigid, inflexible words people use to describe situations or others.  The latter case, when used in a negative context, “always” strikes a nerve, doesn’t it?

Consider… Have you ever been in a heated discussion with someone and they said, “You always {insert your current mistake}”? Or, do you have a friend or a loved one who is the consummate pessimist who believes things will never ever work, or something will always go wrong?

The good news is, life is rarely 100% one way, every day, all the time, forever.

Or, is it? Enter the Word of God.

“I’m getting a new friend tomorrow!”

This was the announcement my 5-year-old daughter had for me when I picked her up from kindergarten. She was absolutely sure she would have a new friend coming. This was kind of mystifying for me, for while I am aware that little kids make friends with an ease that adults can only envy, to be so sure a new friend was coming seemed another level. It was only after some follow-up questions that the truth was revealed.

For years I struggled with feeling good in my skin. I would go on a diet and do pretty good for a few days, but then life would get busy, my daughter would get sick, or my motivation would fade. I would fall off track, eat my favorite things, and then plan to do better next time.

This cycle caused a negative conversation in my mind: Why did you eat that? Why can’t you stick to a diet? Why didn’t you work out today? If only you could reach your fitness goals. I lived with an ever-present feeling of failure.

Is it really possible to live and exist in perfect peace in an ever-increasing chaotic world?

Can God provide the peace I need to get good, consistent, nightly rest?

Is He able to give peace when my household is completely torn apart?

What about when I lose my dream job? Can He still give peace when I’m not sure where the money will come from?

The answer is – YES!

Christmas is over. The presents were unwrapped, the food was eaten, and the stockings may or may not still be hung. The lights have a leftover glimmer on the trees and houses, and in a few days we might un-deck the halls, then wake up to a new year.

We celebrated Christ born in Bethlehem. Now, life must go on, and so did his.

After the Manger

He “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man,” Luke tells us (Luke 2:52).