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.”

Occasionally, as a child, I would run into the room where all the adults were sitting to ask a question. Then I would begin to ramble on about some meaningless thoughts of a child, and my parents would stop me and say, “The adults are talking.”

That was my cue to leave the room because they were discussing things that didn’t concern me. More than once, I tried to eavesdrop on their conversation from the other room and realized I had no idea what they were talking about. They would converse about doctor’s visits and diagnoses, retirement, paying bills, and who was getting a d-i-v-o-r-c-e.

Some topics require a level of maturity to care about, discuss, or even understand.

Scripture consistently calls believers toward spiritual maturity. Paul writes about reaching “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). At the same time, the author of Hebrews distinguishes between spiritual “milk” for new believers and “solid food” for the mature (Hebrews 5:14). James reminds us that perseverance develops maturity, making us “complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4).

This progression isn’t about intelligence or natural ability; instead, it’s about spiritual formation over time. Just as a child cannot fully grasp the weight of adult responsibilities, newer believers may not yet have the spiritual foundation to engage deeply with complex theological concepts or challenging life applications of faith.

I’ve been privileged to participate in conversations that have profoundly shaped my understanding of God and His ways. These discussions about suffering and sovereignty, grace and justice, or faith and doubt, require not just biblical knowledge but spiritual maturity cultivated through experience and reflection.

Sometimes, when someone joins these conversations without the necessary spiritual groundwork, I find myself wishing I could lovingly say what my parents once told me: “The adults are talking.”

This principle feels especially relevant when we engage with people on social media as well.  

While studying the Ten Commandments in preparation for a recent sermon, I discovered something that had previously escaped my notice. The ratio was striking: eight commandments tell us what not to do, while only two, observing the Sabbath and honoring our parents, give us positive actions to take.

This imbalance isn’t accidental. God understands our human nature intimately. He knows we’re naturally drawn toward choices that conflict with His purposes for our lives. The apostle Paul referred to this tendency as “the flesh.” There are those bodily impulses and desires that often pull us away from God’s best.

Living as a Christian involves both action and restraint. Yes, we’re called to bear good fruit, as Jesus taught when He said we can recognize a tree by its fruit. Our faith should manifest itself in visible acts of love toward God and others.

But there’s another side to this spiritual equation that deserves equal attention: the things we choose not to do because of our commitment to God. These aren’t just arbitrary restrictions, but they’re evidence of a transformed heart that has new priorities and values.

This dual nature of faith raises two essential questions every believer should regularly consider:
“What positive fruit is my life producing?” and “What behaviors is my faith preventing me from pursuing?”

Both questions matter. Together, they paint a complete picture of what it means to follow Jesus.

If you genuinely desire to do something for Jesus, you will find a way.

Through the years, I have known men who wanted to preach. They were unable to lead a church full-time, so they would spend nights and weekends at mission houses, nursing homes, and any other location that would allow them to speak. I have known people who wanted to play music for the Lord. They would form bands, volunteer at their Church, and look for any open opportunity to play and sing. There have been people who want to write for Jesus. They have created blogs, written for magazines, published e-books to share, and even self-published printed books.

If you genuinely want to do something for the sake of the Kingdom of God, there is nothing that can stop you. You will find a way.

If you don’t want to do anything, you will find an excuse. And that will be the end of it.