I had sworn that I would never say that again. I told myself that behaving that way was wrong, and I promised to change. But today, I did it again. I said and did those terrible things again.

In our walk with Christ, we often strive for perfection, hoping to live a life that reflects His love and holiness. Yet, the journey of spiritual growth is not a straight path. It’s filled with stumbles, missteps, and mistakes. The good news is that each one is an opportunity to draw closer to God.

Often, growth occurs through our imperfections. These mistakes fill us with guilt that breaks our hearts, allowing grace to pour into our lives. Our mistakes humble us, teaching us to rely on God’s strength rather than our own. They provide us with an opportunity to start over with more knowledge and a greater trust in the word of God.

Learning from missteps requires reflection and repentance. It’s about recognizing where we’ve gone astray, seeking forgiveness, and allowing God to reshape us. On the wall in my office, I have printed off this passage: “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.” (Proverbs 24:16) Each fall is a chance to learn resilience, trust, and dependence on God’s guidance.

Embracing mistakes as part of spiritual growth doesn’t mean excusing sin. Instead, it’s about trusting that God uses even our failures for His purpose. Like a child learning to walk, we stumble, but God’s hand is always there to lift us, teaching us to take stronger steps toward Him.

My wife and I enjoy getting up in the middle of the night and walking for miles in the dark, so that no one sees us, there is almost no traffic, and the temperature is cooler.

One of the most enjoyable things I do each week is listen to my two favorite clean comedy podcasts. When I finish them both on YouTube, I re-listen to them through Apple Podcasts. Twice, every week, always twice.

Every Saturday night, I read through my sermon at least three times. Three times is usually the sweet spot. I practice it in my mind and memorize the location of the material on each page, so that I can close my eyes and visualize each one in my mind when I preach. Then, I get up on Sunday morning and walk at the local track and preach it to myself before I do anything else.

I call my mother every Wednesday afternoon and we talk for about an hour.

Most evenings, sometime before I go to bed, I browse through a handful of Facebook groups that share memes and giggle.

My life is simple, and it is difficult to explain to people. I like to work, love, and laugh, all while having routines that make other people scratch their heads. It is just who I am. Often, I think of Romans 9, where in verses 19-21, Paul uses the analogy of the potter and the clay. The potter, who is God, has the right to make things however he wants. Some items he makes for special purposes, and others are for common use. I am a common, ordinary man with quirky habits, but I believe God shaped me this way, and this is who I am today.

Another ritual I observe is that I come to my office every morning and pray. I ask God to use my life and quirkiness for his glory. It is an odd gift, but it is all I have to give.

As Christians, we are called to build each other up in love, not simply to point out flaws. There is a big difference between telling someone, “You’re wrong,” and showing them a better path forward.

When all we do is point out errors, we leave others feeling stuck and defeated. Correction without direction rarely produces growth. When we take the time to offer a godly alternative, we give hope and guidance.

If we want to reflect Jesus well, it’s not enough to say, “That’s wrong.” We need to add, “And here’s a better way that honors God.”

I preach, teach, and write about many biblical topics. I share instruction, advice, and practical steps to help people live out their faith. I encourage people to share Jesus’ message through both words and actions.

Most of the time, I feel like people ignore what I’m saying. When they do listen, it barely goes beyond surface level and gets forgotten quickly.

However, I’ve noticed that people respond differently when the message becomes personal.

A sermon on marriage hits differently when your own marriage is struggling and you need help.

Teaching about welcoming guests on Sunday morning means more when your own family visits church for the first time.

Words about resurrection hope carry greater weight when someone you love is battling cancer.

The challenge for followers of Jesus is to take His words personally at all times. To read and listen, knowing that there is something that can apply to us right now.

What Jesus says and what the Church teaches matters to you personally, whether you realize it now or not. This weekend at worship, as you listen to people explaining the Bible, ask yourself, “Where can I personalize what I am hearing?”

Behind my house sits a small shed with an old wooden privacy fence about three feet beyond it. Over time, vines had entirely overtaken the space between them.

A few weeks ago, I decided to reclaim that area. With fall approaching, it seemed like the perfect time to free some stored items and restore order to the chaos.

I spotted wasp nests along the shed’s back wall, sprayed them, and waited before starting work. I was tearing out vines when I turned to clear the fence as well. Without warning, a swarm erupted from a metal gate stored there. I only noticed them when the stinging began.

They hit me at least three times, and the one on my forehead seemed particularly aggressive, stinging repeatedly based on the lasting welt. Over the following days, I endured a massive headache, swelling around both eyes, and pain, along with embarrassment.

This experience reminded me of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, where he writes about resurrection and Christ’s return. He describes how death will be “swallowed up in victory” and quotes the prophet Hosea: “Where, O death, is your sting?”

Death brings momentary stinging pain, much like a wasp’s attack. It hurts both physically and emotionally, but there’s hope. One day, death’s stinger will be removed forever.

I hate wasps. I hate death even more. But I’m grateful that someday, both stings will be gone.

We live in a world that craves instant results. We want quick answers, immediate success, and fast fixes. But the Christian life is about faithfulness over time. Scripture constantly reminds us that God works with an eternal perspective, shaping us slowly, deeply, and purposefully.

The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” The Christian life is a marathon. Growth in faith, relationships, and character takes time. The seeds of the Gospel don’t bloom overnight, prayers may not be answered immediately, and faithfulness may not seem to yield quick rewards. Following Christ means embracing patience.

God is always at work, even when we can’t see it. Playing the long game means trusting His timing, investing in eternal things, and believing that our perseverance will bear fruit. When we sow with patience and faith, we can be confident that God will bring the harvest in His perfect season.

Don’t lose heart. Keep sowing. Keep trusting. Keep running the race. The long game yields eternal rewards.

Many times, we as Christians think of repentance as simply saying, “I’m sorry,” or feeling bad about what we’ve done. While sorrow over sin is part of it, genuine repentance reaches much deeper.

In the Bible, repentance means turning away from sin and turning toward God. It’s more than emotions; it’s about transformation. True repentance leads to a life that looks different.

If we continue in the same habits while claiming repentance, we’ve missed the mark. But when the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, our desires shift, our choices change, and our lives begin to reflect Christ. Repentance shows itself in the way we love, pursue holiness, and live in obedience to God’s will.

Genuine repentance sets us free from the grip of sin and draws us closer to God. May we never settle for words alone, but walk in the fruit of repentance every day.

One mistake I’ve made in ministry is focusing too much on numbers. I’ve fallen into the trap of measuring ministry success solely by numbers. This mindset spreads to others, making us treat attendance figures as the ultimate gauge of God’s work.

The Church isn’t about numbers; instead, it is about people, uniquely created and deeply loved by God. Every statistic represents a name, a story, someone for whom Christ died.

Jesus understood this. His parables used numbers to highlight individual worth. He spoke of the shepherd who left ninety-nine sheep for one lost lamb, the woman who searched for one missing coin among ten, the father who waited for one wayward son.

Faithful ministry isn’t about growing crowds but about reaching every person in your community in the name of Jesus. It’s helping those who feel invisible, welcoming those who’ve wandered, and celebrating when even one person steps toward Jesus.

In God’s Kingdom, every single person matters.

Take a moment to consider the people closest to you. Do they all nod along with every decision you make? While universal agreement might feel comforting, it could actually be a warning sign that you’re surrounding yourself with people who won’t challenge you when you need it most.

True friendship requires a careful balance. On one hand, we all need cheerleaders who believe in us, celebrate our wins, and offer encouragement during tough times. These supporters provide the emotional foundation we need to take risks and pursue our dreams.

But we also need truth-tellers. We need friends brave enough to ask hard questions, point out blind spots, and lovingly challenge us when we’re heading down the wrong path. These aren’t perpetual critics who question every move you make, but trusted voices willing to speak up when it matters most, especially when everyone else is staying silent.

This is where the Church community becomes invaluable. When you’re part of a group that includes people from different backgrounds, ages, and life experiences, you gain access to wisdom you can’t find in an echo chamber. These diverse perspectives can illuminate dangers you might miss and reveal opportunities you hadn’t considered.

A healthy inner circle includes both types of friends: people who lift you up and those who keep you grounded. The key is learning to distinguish between destructive criticism and constructive challenge, then having the wisdom to listen when someone who truly cares about you raises a concern.

The goal isn’t to create conflict in your relationships, but to cultivate a network of people who care enough to tell you both what you’re doing right and what you might be doing wrong. These relationships, built on mutual respect and genuine care, can be your greatest asset in making wise decisions and living with integrity.

Whenever anyone uses a verse of Scripture (including me) in their teaching, please take note of it and then read it yourself … in context. Understanding the setting of a sentence is crucial for accurately comprehending it.

Last week, I started listening to a nationally known preacher, and he was discussing pastors not being driven by action, but instead becoming people who live with a stillness before God. Prayer, Bible reading, and meditation should be the center of a pastor’s life, not ministry activities. Then he read a passage of Scripture, claiming it was “one of his favorites for ministry.”

The army of Egypt is coming toward them with 600 of their best chariots, with officers over all of them. The Red Sea traps the Israelites. Then “Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. (14) The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.'” (Exodus 14:13-14)

This pastor quoted Exodus 14:14 and stated that the people were to be still and trust God. Then he went into his message, which is that God’s call to Church leaders remains the same today. Don’t focus on activity, but rather on stillness, as Moses and the Israelites did.

Because I had recently preached on this passage, I was familiar with the context, and he totally ignored the very next verse. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.'” (Exodus 14:15). In the passage that follows God saying for them to be still, he shouts at them to get moving.

Being still before God is not about inaction; it is about an attitude of total trust in doing what God says. They were to follow His instructions precisely as He told them. They do not need to be filled with anxiety; they need only to act as God commanded them. It was not a call to inaction but to acting in obedience.

Later that same day, I saw a meme on one of my Christian Facebook groups that I had seen before, but it made me laugh and cry a little that day. It said, “I can do all things through a verse taken out of context.”