As much as we try to ignore it, we all have pain in our lives. And we all touch the pain, one way or another, for better or worse, in each other’s lives. Yet as universal as pain is, we typically don’t talk about it, for a couple of good reasons. First and most obvious, […]
So often we shame our “bad” emotions. You know the ones – sadness, fear, anger, shame, etc. And, too often, we use the Bible to do it, something God’s Word was never intended for. “Are you sad? You know James 1:2, ‘Consider pure joy when you face trials’! So just choose joy!” “Are you angry? […]
When we’ve been deeply hurt, and we see the patterns caused by that hurt reoccurring again and again in our lives, we often write a script for ourselves. That script is called, “Broken.” It’s a label we put on ourselves. Or worse, maybe it’s a label people we love and trust have put on us. […]
Self-doubt. Nagging fears. Intrusive thoughts. These are some of the most common experiences in the human condition. And some of the most hidden and denied. Because we all think we’re the only one. Is there any hope? Is there a way to stop the negative thought loop once the thoughts have started? Is there any […]
A common question I hear from people is, “How can I be a Christian, filled with the Holy Spirit, and still do this thing I’m struggling with? What’s wrong with me?” People feel such enormous shame because of where they’re struggling. We feel like we’re the only one. We feel like we’re a bad Christian. […]
The Tree of Discernment There were two special trees in the Garden of Eden: the Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (I’ll abbreviate that last one to The Tree of Good & Evil, for short.) Adam and Eve were allowed to eat from the Tree of Life, but […]
We can unknowingly do tremendous damage by guilting ourselves (or other people) into forgiving too soon. What?!? The Bible commands us to forgive! Yes, it does. I completely believe in the power of forgiveness, no argument there. But it has to be real forgiveness, not cheap forgiveness. Forgiveness is one of the most misunderstood topics […]
One of the biggest obstacles we’ve seen to people receiving healing is when they are all caught up in their own head. There are entire denominations that have intellectualized the Bible, believing the lie that the battle is all in the mind. Yes, there certainly is a battle in the mind, in our thoughts. But […]
It’s fascinating to me that our New Year here in Western culture occurs in the dead of Winter. I know other cultures’ New Year occurs at different times of the year, and that’s great. I’m sure God is speaking to all cultures with the timing of their New Year celebration, but I’m only qualified to […]
So often the thing that’s causing the pain in our lives isn’t what we think. It isn’t the blatantly obvious bad fruit like self-destructive addictions or jacked-up relationships. It isn’t the less obvious bad fruit like workaholism or perfectionism. The thing that’s causing the pain in our lives is wounding. But too often we don’t […]