THREE PASSAGES THAT COMBINE TO CREATE A FORMIDABLE BARRIER AGAINST SPIRITUAL DISCOURAGEMENT About two weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking at the Xcelerate 2017 Discipleship Conference, at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, along with two other presenters, Michael Kelly, author of Transformational Discipleship: How People...
3 SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE AND ACCLERATE YOUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH Dr. Caroline Leaf is a neuroscientist and committed Christian who is taking the lead in revealing how brain science can help Christians grow spiritually. She writes in her book, Switch on Your Brain: Self-directed neuroplasticity is a...
A SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE FOR RENEWING YOUR MIND AND TRANSFORMING YOUR LIFE As you know, I am big on taking truth through the brain over and over again to encourage mental renewal. My enthusiasm for this principle comes from two things. First, a reading of Romans 12:2, which...
FOUR EXTRAORDINARY DEMONSTRATIONS OF GOD'S LOVE Though there is plenty in Scripture to indicate that God loves us, some of us are still unconvinced, held back by the nagging question, "But if He really loves us, as He says He does, why doesn't He take better...
IF THERE ARE THINGS EVEN WE DON'T ACCEPT ABOUT OURSELVES, HOW CAN GOD ACCEPT US? One of the difficulties we have believing that God loves us is that we know our own weaknesses, foibles, and sins. There are things that even we don't love about ourselves,...
THREE MISCONCEPTIONS THAT WILL HOLD YOU BACK. Our self-image is a powerful force in life. We always act consistently with it; therefore we will never rise above our self-image. So it is important to have an accurate self-image. The trick is to see ourselves as God...
BECOMING MORE SELF-AWARE SPURS SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION The road to transformation is long, and the journey can be bumpy from time to time. But it is a road that we must all travel if we ever hope to become more than we are. And like Dorothy on...
DID PRAYER REDUCE THE DAMAGE OF IRMA? As I write this, Hurricane Irma has been downgraded to a tropical storm, and Florida is beginning to lift its head and assess the damage, as what's left of Irma sweeps northwest across Georgia into Alabama. The bad news is...
HARNESSING THESE FORCES CAN HELP US ACHIEVE OUR GOD-GIVEN POTENTIAL If you harness these six forces for good, they can help you achieve your highest spiritual potential in life. If you simply let these forces act upon you, you will be dragged down to your lowest...
OUR FEELINGS FOR GOD DEPEND ON OUR MASTERY OF THE FACTS Most Christians would like to feel closer to God. We would like to feel warm affection for Him when we meet with Him for prayer and personal worship. We would like to feel loyalty to...