There are people in your life who are struggling right now because of poor decisions they have made. Those choices may have been made recently or decades ago.

There are people in your life who are making poor decisions currently, and you can see that it will hurt them down the road.

There are people in your life who have secret sins that will one day damage their life, and you know something is wrong, even when they won’t confess it.

What should you do for these people?

First, you need to pray for them. Second, you need to lovingly confront them, if possible. But often the most significant thing you can do is to love them through it.

Never stop praying for them. Never stop reaching out. Never turn your back and walk away. You do not need to condone their behavior or publicly praise them for what they are doing. But privately let these people know you still have their back and will be there when the dust settles. The Apostle Paul writes, “if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.” (Gal. 6:1)

One of the greatest gifts any person can receive is friendship when we have made devastating choices, and the weight of those decisions fully hits us.

I spend much of my time around Christians who attend Church. Sometimes the things they say and do leave me unsure whether to laugh or cry. Do I ignore their behavior and chalk it up to immature faith? Or do I grieve the lack of spiritual growth I see?

Lately, I’ve chosen grace.

That doesn’t mean I excuse sin or settle for spiritual immaturity. Growth still matters. Truth still matters. But grace reminds me that I, too, am a work in progress. The same patience God extends to me is the patience He calls me to extend to others.

Every day we face a choice: frustration or compassion, judgment or grace. When we choose grace, we create space for God to transform hearts, including our own.

Some people who knew you before your faith journey can’t reconcile the person you were with the follower of Jesus you’ve become. Your transformation might even shock them.

Similarly, you may be amazed by who accepts your invitation to Church, and even more so by the transformation that unfolds in their life afterward.

It’s incredible what an invitation might do.

There are several families under my leadership who are currently struggling in ways that very few people know. They are not people who post everything on social media; in fact, for many of them, the idea is repulsive. The mindset is that they would rather suffer in silence.

Several reasons exist for this situation. Some of it is pride, and people do not want to risk the embarrassment of letting others know. Another reason is the fear of being judged by respected members of the community. Still others feel utterly alone in their difficulties, and that no one else could possibly understand what they are feeling.

The biggest reason people do not know what others are battling is a lack of real connection. Church people will often settle for being a part of a community where they “know everyone” without developing genuine relationships. Sure, in general, the people of the Church will show their support and pray for others, but we need something more. Each of us needs 4-12 people in our lives with whom we can talk about anything. We need a circle of friends where we can not only pray but also confess. A group where we can cry and share our darkest struggles without fear of judgment or gossip. Every believer needs the support of people who remind them that they do not have to fight alone.

I am praying for the people who are fighting these private battles. I ask God to give them strength, courage, peace, and the power of the Spirit so that they will get through these dark nights of the soul. I am also asking God to help them connect with other believers.

Battles are coming for all of us, and the Church is here so that you do not have to fight them in silence.

In the movie “We Bought a Zoo,” Matt Damon’s character, Benjamin Mee, advises his son by saying, “You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.”

The context of this quote is about connecting with a member of the opposite sex. If a man can muster up twenty seconds of courage to speak with a woman, it could lead to a relationship, love, marriage, and a family.

While this is undoubtedly true, I have also come to believe that we can apply it to speaking to others about Jesus. If we can generate a few seconds of courage to talk with someone about faith when they are open to it, we can impact a life for eternity. And even when we don’t lead them to faith in that moment, we plant a seed that might one day take root.

One of the easiest first steps of connecting people to their Savior is to invite them to Church worship on Sunday morning. It takes about twenty seconds to ask someone to join you this week as you spend time in your faith community.

All that is missing is a little bit of bravery.

I spend much of my life attempting to understand the Bible as it was originally written. I read the Bible as a whole, do in-depth study, dive into Christian books, and open myself up to knowledgeable teachers. My quest is to have nearly flawless Biblical theology.

Recently, after a heartbreaking meeting with a couple, I jotted down a note as a reminder of that moment. I wrote simply, “Theological perfection only matters in the classroom, not in the hospital, cancer ward, battlefield, or funeral home.”

As a pastor, I am sometimes called into miserable situations, and in those, no one has ever grilled me on my theology to make sure I believed exactly as they did. In those circumstances, people do not care about your theology; they only desire your presence and prayers. It’s a little ironic: the places where Christian presence is needed most are also the places where precise theology matters least.

If you follow Jesus, you have enough information to make a lasting impact in the world for his kingdom. I want you to keep learning and growing in your faith, but know that in many situations, your overall knowledge is secondary. Make sure your heart grows along with your head.

There are several apps that contain the feature of giving you a daily Bible verse. Every day, you can receive a single passage by email, text, or pop-up on your phone.

At first glance, this is wonderful. And while I think there could be several positive outcomes, I also want to issue a warning.

The Bible does not come to us as individual verses. It is a book with an overarching storyline; there is context for everything that is written, both historically and Biblically. Taking a verse out of context can make the Bible say anything we desire, rather than honoring its true meaning.

While I am not against people reading a single passage each day, never let that replace your extended reading of whole chapters and books. It has been said that a text without a context is a pretext.

Our quest is not to make the Bible a bunch of motivational quotes to inspire us in whatever direction we choose. The goal of your Bible is to help us understand God’s work in the world and to find our place in his kingdom. Anything less is an improper reading of scripture.

Problems are, by nature, unwelcome situations we would rather avoid, obstacles demanding our attention and energy. They’re rarely what we’d choose for ourselves.

Yet some difficulties are a blessing in disguise. God meets us with grace and gives us a gift we didn’t think we wanted.

Growth comes from strain. Expansion stretches us beyond our current capacity. What feels overwhelming at the moment might actually be proof that God is moving and working in our lives.

Then, the question shifts from “Why me?” to “Where is God leading me now?”

A youth minister I know used to say to teenage Christians, “The time to decide how far you will go with a member of the opposite sex is not when you are in the back seat of a car.”

His point was simple. When you are caught in the heat of the moment, and emotions are running high, you will always make the worst possible decision.

The solution is easy: make significant decisions long before you are emotionally invested in the situation. He would say, the first choice was not to be alone in a car with a member of the opposite sex. Draw that boundary early, and you will avoid a bad decision later.

This truth applies to every facet of life. To protect your marriage, don’t be alone with members of the opposite sex who are not your spouse. If you struggle with the temptation of money, don’t become a treasurer of any organization. If you get depressed when you consume alcohol, then don’t go to places that serve it. Whatever your struggle might be, the best way to avoid it is to put up barriers in your heart that keep you from getting into compromising situations.

The things you pre-decide when your mind is clear will help you avoid mistakes when your mind is cloudy.

I just read that Bible sales are up 21% over 2024 at this point. Sales have doubled since 2019.

If you are one of those people, let me encourage you to take a class on “Hermeneutics.” There are rules for reading your Bible. It is vital to understand genre, context, Biblical themes, and the author’s intended meaning. My alma mater, Ozark Christian College, has put a class online HERE.

If you don’t do that, then get a book on proper interpretation like “How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth.” There are other very reliable resources out there on how to understand the Bible correctly. Buy one and read it carefully.

I am excited that Bible sales are up, but I also want people to understand the Bible as it was meant to be read. As Paul tells Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15)  

The world needs more Bible readers. It also really needs more Bible “understanders.”