Early Morning Decisions

Digital Disconnection/Heavenly Connection

Humiliy Opens a Door

Where Do You Run?

Getting a nod from God

Getting Old, Looking Back, Thanking God..

Signs and Wonders, Noises, and Love

Searching for a State Inspection...thinking about Soul Inspection

Pillar Pastors Discuss: "Our Story" (With Outtakes)

Beauty Is...

Late Night Airport Musings on Family, Missing Chel, and Kissing

Braums Ice Cream and Your Temptations

I'm Hungry...but for what?

Waiting on Dan, Kris, and Jesus.

Bubba Was My Best Good Friend

The Box that holds Phil Wickham

Swimming With Your Coat On

No Limit Texas Soul Poker!

Christ Alone

Jesus Don't Bowl

Up Early with Jesus

At the Park with Jesus...

Shepherd, Sheep, and Stranger Danger

Even at his feet...

World Cup vs. My Soul

When my rights aren't always right...

How do you serve?

big LOVE

The Least of These...

Medicine or Feast?

Like blades, we need sharpening...

Remembering those who have poured into us...

Fortunate Son

Psalm 16

5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Unlike John Fogerty (google him, you whippersnappers), I am a fortunate son. I have been given much…and of a great deal more importance; much has been given for me. Yet I still find it so easy to slip into a state of mind where the successes, acclimations, or just the plain old things that I DON’T get seem to thunder and rattle with a resounding dominance at the forefront of my mind. The “coulda beens” and “should have hads” are tricky sicknesses to shake. They can seep in from your eyes, ears, nose, hands, tongue, or mind and trickle right down into your heart. Please don’t mistake me for an unusually selfish person, rather, think of me as an averagely selfish one. And then remember with me, that the average person is all together entirely too concerned with himself.


But my Heavenly Father, who is the giver of every good gift I have, is abundantly wise. And He inspired David to write Psalm 16 verses 5 and 6 for all the averagely selfish people just like me. People who need to be reminded to stop and count their blessings. People who need to recognize how unbelievably blessed they are, and how all their blessings are unworthy of comparison to, and flow from, the ultimate blessing they have in Christ Jesus.


The Lord God of Heaven and Earth has assigned me my portion. And what He assigns, He secures. And because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, no matter what stuff of earth I gain or lose…whether I suffer much and die young or live 88 years of relative ease…I can say with complete confidence that the “lines have fallen for me in pleasant places”! My God is GOOD and He has been GOOD to me! My brother or sister reading this now; think of Jesus and His offering of Himself for you. Have you not been abundantly blessed? Do you have any just reason to complain against Him? Has God not been good to you? Cast aside those selfish concerns that battle for your attention and fill your heart with thankfulness to God. You are a child of the KING OF KINGS, surly you have a “delightful inheritance”.

Tweeting, Facebooking, and Really Following

In this age of twitter, facebook, instant messaging, and blogging *cough*, it has become increasingly simple to stay informed. Click a button and you can have the weather forecast in Saint Petersburg (Guess what, its cold.), the box score from a rugby match in Australia, or the available show times of that movie you’ve been wanting to see even though all of your friends tell you it’s terrible (you know the one I mean). We feel connected to the celebrities we follow on twitter, or the far away friends we send silly pics to on facebook. In short, for many of us, following or connecting with someone has become an activity that requires next to no commitment beyond clicking a few buttons. It is a quick and painless information exchange involving little sacrifice and almost assuredly, zero blood. And while this is certainly not an inherently moral issue…I wish to suggest that it could have terrifying results if allowed to affect our view of following/connecting to Christ.

Let me explain a bit further before you condemn me as torch waving fear monger. Growing up right now is a generation that will not know a time apart from cell phones or the Net. Can you imagine that? They will never know the fear of being able to find a pay phone in time to let your mom know that you’re ok; or the pure joy of sending and receiving hand written letters in the mailbox.

ANYWAY, here is my real point: When it was time for Jesus to let people know what it would take to get from him what only he had give, he described in terms of being his follower. This was not unusual for Jesus, as a matter of fact, it was his normal way of speaking. He wanted then the same thing he wants now: followers. To Jesus, being a “Believer” is the same as being a dedicated “Follower”. Following Him isn’t as simple as clicking a button or creating an account with a secure password. Following Jesus means total commitment, soul searching sacrifice, and almost assuredly…some blood. It means Jesus must be worth “denying yourself”. Let me tell you that I’ve been a follower of Jesus for many years, but I am still only beginning to learn what that phrase really means. My concern is for a people who are only happy when the following is easy. They are only content when everything is neat and clean and simple. And yet there stands Jesus demanding EVERYTHING from his followers, and he doing so without any apology!

Examine your heart, my friend…look into the corners and the crevasses…see the ugliness, and the laziness, and the darkness that naturally attracts itself to you like a magnet…and then look at Jesus and beg him for the strength to “deny yourself” and to follow him. I promise you, it will be the best connection you ever make.

"soul winner"

Many years ago an old preacher told me happily that he was a “soul winner”. “Soul winner”…I like the sound of that. It sounds holy in a “rubber meets the road” kind of way. I think about that man and how he would constantly bring the Jesus into almost every conversation that he had. You could tell that it wasn’t even an overly conscious decision anymore...he didn’t have to amp himself up to “do evangelism” or pray for hours to work up the boldness. Bringing Jesus into the conversation was as natural to him as talking about the weather or local sports team is to most of us. Jesus was his joy, his passion, and his obsession. Of course he was going to talk about Him, he wanted everyone to know his Jesus!

“Soul winner”, over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about that old phrase. What does it really take to be one? I know that nothing I can do in my power could ever bring a soul to saving faith…that is 100% The Lord’s gracious doing. I rather choose to think of a “soul winner” as an instrument that is ready to be taken up and used at any moment. The credit never goes to the brush that paints the masterpiece but to the brilliant artist whose skilled hand wields the brush. Honestly, I don’t think the brush minds not getting the praise; rather, I believe the brush just feels honored to be used by the master. After all, he could have chosen any brush to reveal his brilliance, but he chose this one. So, what does it take to be a “soul winner”? When you put it its simplest terms, I think it comes down to a desire to be available for the Master’s use.

God has many masterpieces yet to paint, are you available?