Deep inside every breathing, eating and sleeping human being is more than a simple want for something more, but a need for the answers to the deepest and most pressing questions addressing the meaning of our existence.

Churches are meant to be our homes, where we encounter our family. You are more than a regular. You are involved.

Certainly, God has given us His world to enjoy for our pleasure. But we are caretakers, not owners. Our first question is not: what do I want from this world? but rather, what does God want to do in His world?

I wonder what my life would be like if I exercised less control and gave it over to God. I feel like some vital parts of my life have vanished and the junk is starting to pile up. I feel like I could use a good flood.

If your brain is rummaging through too many things to find the important God stuff, then it’s time to clean house.

Seeking God's face sounds like an absurd quest. Who could ever be so honored to look into His face? But that's exactly what He wants us to do.

Prayers that arise from a contrived faith settle for a contrived god, a god who can’t handle the truth. Laments refuse to settle. They seek God and nothing less.

When you’ve completely blown it, messed it up worse than ever and even when you’ve denied Jesus and His influence in your life … you need to know that Jesus says, “I still love you and need you.” When you experience that look instead of a look of condemnation, be ready to shed a few tears of sadness and joy.

To be someone else's best means that everything you do is for the relationship. To strive to be someone else's best means that you care so much about them that you are always there to support them, to encourage them, to understand them and to experience life with them.

Jesus seeks our response to who He is. In letting go of the idol of image, we can, free of self-consciousness and self-absorption, say as Peter did: "You are the Christ" (Mark 8).