What upsets you? What really makes your blood boil? We’d like to think it’s injustice, or sin or the oppression of the weak….but usually, when we’re honest…what bothers us most is whenever we’re inconvenienced. Whenever something doesn’t work out, I get overlooked….or something is just uncomfortable. The god of comfort desires our worship. He wants us to […]

During His life and ministry, Jesus made many outrageous claims. Incredible claims which were all proven true. Of everything He claimed to be, to do or know, of all the counter cultural truths he shared….none were as controversial as His claim in John 12. “I am the way, and the truth and the life.” No […]

We live in a culture that has elevated freedom, independence and self reliance to an unhealthy level. Above all, we desire to call the shots. We want to do what we choose when we choose it. We want the freedom to pursue our passions, the ability to decide for ourselves…..perhaps even to live for ourselves. […]

The wisest man who ever lived sought out to experience the “good things” in life. At the top of his list….was pleasure.  Solomon denied himself no earthly thing… And yet he always came up empty. What can we learn from the life pursuits of Solomon? What promises does the ‘god of pleasure’ make that he […]

Who is it that we serve? Who do we worship? For the believer the answer sounds obvious…Jesus! Right?!!?! With our mouths we claim Christ, but what about our hearts? What consumes our thoughts? Our emotions? What are we most excited about? Most concerned about? Do our attitudes and actions prove that Christ is our greatest pursuit….or are there “idols” we are worshiping. Idols? As in small figures from far away pagan lands…yes, and no. Idols are much shinier, much more accepted, and far more common than we believe. What if idolatry isn’t an issue….what if it is the issue? What if we can pursue every false thought, pursuit and decision back to idolatry? Join us for “No other gods” as we unpack the lesser gods warring for our hearts!

A GAP is an unfilled space. Between teeth. Between people. Between where you are and where you want to be. Between knowing about something and really knowing it experientially. When it comes to God's love and your personal connection to Christ, God doesn't want a GAP. He wants a heart - not just a head - connection! There is a big gap between "I know a lot about God" and "I know him" by experiencing Him. It is the palpable difference between distance and detachment versus closeness and connection. In fact, the Bible says God's love was never intended to stay in your head. God's love is intended to travel from your head and flood light downward into your heart, displacing darknesses and conquering your "shadow self" for good. It is a battle you must fight and win. WHY? Because God's love IS a fact but He INTENDS it to be felt deep in your heart.

Who is the real you? The Bible says the real you is not who others believe you to be, not who you perceive yourself to be, not what you do professionally, and not even your own self description (good or bad). The Bible says the real you is reflected best in the character of your truest thoughts and your truest motives. And because this is true there is an all out war for your mind and how you manage it in the spiritual world. Control the thoughts of a man and you control the actions of a man. Our shadow selves - the man who struggles with his private thoughts and actions - is in a fist-fight with his own thoughts and which ones he will believe. It is called being conflicted and God does not protect us from these inner battles of the mind. In fact, His challenge to us is to manage our minds aggressively and choose (without anyone seeing what we are thinking) to LOVE HIM with our minds (which He sees). Are you ready to do battle? Many men have their best intentions sabotaged and have their minds HACKED into by the one Jesus identified as a "liar and the Father of Lies." It's subtle, it's powerful, and it's deadly. But God's Word - the Sword of the Spirit - is more than adequate to go deep into the heart of both the lie and Liar so you can come out of these internal battles victorious.

Why is it that men get such a bad rap in culture? Part of it has to do with choices men make that are selfish and inconsistent with their age. We can't overcome the boy inside - we want what we want, can't say no to ourselves, and, in the process, smash our relationships against the wall of our own immaturity. These poor choices make us feel small and when a man feels small he feels bad and when a man feels bad about himself he wants to "feel" better. At that point, WATCH OUT! So what do we do? Why can't we defeat our shadow self? Great believers can greatly struggle with sin. As the Apostle Paul! Fortunately, he both asked and answered that same question above. His answer is now God's Word - the sword with which you can slay that dragon.

We call it "acting out of character" or we say "I don't know what I was thinking!" But the fact of the matter is that all of our choices and behavior come from somewhere and personal thoughts always drive personal actions. We DO know what we were thinking but the thought is so dark or selfish we don't want it to see the light of day! So what do we do? We rationalize, deflect, excuse, or worse, accuse others. It's all smoke. But like the old saying goes "the truth eventually comes out" and we have to face the music. Our shadow self will get exposed and in that moment we have a choice - a BIG choice. God wants you to win that moment. In Part 2 we are going to see a King (and his shadow self) confronted by a prophet with no where to run.