After years of research, Google recently released the “Duplex” feature of their Google Assistant. This new product has caused many journalists to express ethical concerns. The video of Google’s initial demonstration revealed how Duplex can call businesses with a human sounding voice and schedule appointments. Duplex deceived people by not disclosing it was a robot. The future of artificial intelligence […]

Do you think if you could become great like the apostle Paul, you’d have it made? Think again. Paul was a loving, godly man who devoted his life connecting everyone with Jesus. Yet, when Paul appeared in court, none of his friends came to support him. 2 Timothy 4 says, “Demas has deserted me… Alexander the coppersmith did me much […]

This week we’re exploring the differences between wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Wisdom results from the knowledge and understanding we gain over the years. When we’ve made enough mistakes, the knowledge gained enables us to have wisdom. Wisdom is applied strategically, while knowledge is more tactical. My first business began when business loans were at 21% interest. The painful lessons I […]

This week we’re exploring the differences between wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Knowledge comes from God, through the experiences and skills He allows us to confront in life, provided we’re humble enough to learn. As a young loan officer my first Small Business Administration loan was a disaster. SBA loans require lots of attention to detail and dozens of documentation challenges. […]

This week we’re exploring the differences between wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Let’s begin with Understanding. The Hebrew meaning of this word has been defined as, “perceptive insight with the ability to judge.” A consulting client once asked me and his other advisors to help him with an issue. One of the advisors recommended a plan that was immoral. It was […]

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of time praying for wisdom for the many work decisions that need made. I’ve discovered that many verses in the Bible reference wisdom, knowledge, and understanding all in the same passage. These three words have different meanings that build on each other. Understanding comes from learning God’s Word. Knowledge comes from the […]

Phil Vischer, creator of VeggieTales, shared with my wife and I that when VeggieTales videos began having success, he had a dream. His dream was that God was anointing him to be the next Walt Disney for the Christian community. He didn’t realize it at the time, but Phil’s dream eventually became an idol. Phil summarized for us what he […]

Some people have been conditioned to think they can never please others. This can lead to an “at-leaster” mindset; someone that tries just enough to get by, because they doubt success is possible.   In Jesus’ Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:24, the lazy servant was an “at-leaster.” He rationalized, “Master, he said, I knew that you are a […]

At eight years old my grandfather bought me an electric guitar and sent me to a music store for guitar lessons. My first guitar teacher was a man in his 80’s. Every time I missed a note my teacher whacked me on the forehead with his baton. I would leave humiliated and upset. His approach robbed me of the joy […]

When I was a loan officer, a man pulled up in a new Mercedes, was dressed very flashy, and was wearing lots of expensive jewelry. Afterwards, my assistant said, “That man looks very wealthy. Why does he need to borrow money?” I told her, “Like they say in Texas, he’s all hat and no cattle.” His Mercedes was about to […]