Spiritual Director

So I started reading the book of Ecclesiastes today. I read chapters 1-4. It’s a great book, written by King Solomon – a very wise man. In it you can tell he’s on a mission – to find the meaning of life. And at first when you start reading this book of the Bible you start with a very gloomy outlook. He tells us life is boring and “as senseless as chasing the wind.” As...

Sometimes the evidence around us must be too great or we are utterly blind.  That’s why we don’t pay attention to the facts. We overlook them or ignore them, thinking that whatever the outcome is, it couldn’t happen to us. Let me prove my point. Every year people are seriously hurt in car accidents because they refuse to wear their seatbelts – though they were not just suggested to wear them but were mandated to...

When we think of God we generally only see Him from whatever side our hearts and faith are coming from. What I mean by that is, we generally look upon God as loving, kind, and compassionate, and those things are all true. As a matter of fact we could backup each one of those attributes with Bible verses. But there are times when life isn’t going so fair and we might have a little different...

Though I don’t remember the exact year (somewhere around the early 1990’s), I do remember my first missions trip. It was to the beautiful country of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union, but Communism had just fallen and the Soviet Union was dissolving. It was prime time for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to infiltrate the land, since prior to that, it wasn’t allowed. I was asked to go with a small group...

My Bible readings for today were from 2 Kings 17 and Mark 15. These are two completely different times and accounts, but I noticed a common thread that ran through them and that same thread can still be seen today. Let me explain… In 2 Kings 17 we are introduced to the last king of Israel. His name is Hoshea. Like many of the other kings before him, he disobeyed the Lord, but the Bible...

The whole courtroom scene in Mark 14 has always been intriguing to me. It’s filled with drama… it’s filled with suspicion and suspense… it’s filled with injustice. You know here in America a person is innocent until proven guilty. But at the trial of Jesus, He was guilty as guilty could be without ever having done anything wrong or saying a word. The Bible tells us that even the witnesses who lied about Jesus…“… even...

I love the account of blind Bartimaeus. You can read it for yourself in Mark 10. I like it because he’s a man of determination. He has one thing on his mind and he’s not going to let anything prohibit him from getting it, unlike me and possibly you, sometimes. Maybe there’s some things you and I can learn from blind Bart. Here’s a few of them… #1. Sometimes the routine of our life causes...

Have you noticed how people change their minds so quickly lately? I have and have noticed it for some time now. I’ve noticed how people, young and old alike, make plans, but then when something better comes up, they rearrange their plans – even if it’s last minute. It’s really hard to get a concrete answer from them because they just kind of “flow with the river.” They never really ever come to a definitive...

I’ve told you before, but want to tell you again. When I read the Bible, I hear the sounds, see the sights, smell the aroma, can taste the food and feel the movement. In other words, all of my senses go into action and the Word of God comes alive for me. When that happens there are certain little nuances that stand out to me and make me ponder their deepness. Here’s one of them....

We live in a world of unopened eyes. There is more around us that we never see and maybe don’t ever want to see. We’re the ones who say, “Our perception is our reality.” The Bible talks about the darkness in this world, and the rulers, principalities and powers that be, but I don’t know if we can really see them. I mean, we see and experience bad people, bad situations, and bad ordeals, but...

Ok, so if you don’t want to hear the truth today, you might not want to read this. This is straight from the Bible and might make you feel uncomfortable. Ready? In Mark 4, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who plants seeds – some seeds fall on the road, some on rocky ground, some among thorns and some in good soil. Then He explains it to the disciples later. The explanation of the...

Can I asked you why you hang out with Jesus? I’m not so much asking if you believe in Jesus or why you believe in Jesus as much as why do you keep Jesus in your life? I think it’s a pertinent question to ask, especially after I read Mark chapter 3 today. In the first six verses of this chapter, Jesus heals a man in the temple who had a crippled hand. However, there...