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If you have ever spent all day at the beach or lake wearing fewer clothes than would be acceptable anywhere else in society, you have probably gotten a sunburn. Your family may try to warn you. “Hon, you’re getting a little red.” “I think you’re burning.” “You might want to find some shade.” But what do they know? Sure, you may be as white as bleached flour and may not have seen direct sunlight since last summer—but you feel completely fine. Your family is not the authority o

Sure, Jesus loved and showed compassion to the paralytic. Yes, the faith of the paralytic’s friends played a part. But… Let’s go a little deeper and see another beautiful truth that can be easy to overlook. In Mark 2:1–13, Jesus returns home. People hear He is there and quickly fill the house where He is staying. A paralytic and his friends have heard of Jesus’ healing power, and they believe He can heal this man too. When they arrive, the house is so crowded that they cannot

Mark 3:27 says, “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.” That verse reminds me that strength matters. I want to be strong physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But real strength does not come from talk. It comes through growth. So let me ask: how much effort are you putting into growing stronger in Christ? Because if you are not strong, the enemy does not even have to fight hard to wreck your house. Jesus said tr

Do you aspire to do something great—something really important to you and others? Good… If you are like me, you have developed a scale or grading system to determine if accomplishments are “significant.” Historically, I will run my ideas and abilities through that scale and become discouraged and paralyzed when they don’t “qualify.” Consider this story: A ruler is heading out of town for a while. Before he goes, he calls three of his servants, tells them he is going away, and

I have had several conversations in the past week with young men. The common thread: They are tired of the sinful ways of the world and want to pursue Jesus. Not because of me, not because of some notable person, but because a number of people were faithful to sow some Gospel seeds and live out their lives for Christ. And through that, Jesus met them and showed them the Way. In my own life and up to this point in my ministry, young men have proved to be some of the toughest i

“Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?” The man wants the fire.
The man wants the fire close to his heart.
The man knows the fire will burn him.
Yet the man doesn’t want his flesh or clothes to be burned. Ah, decisions, decisions!
Can I take the fire (sinful desire) without being burned (bodily harm, mental anguish, legal trouble, or God’s discipline)? I find myself at these crossroads often—thanks to my flesh. Do you? I truly believe we’ll keep faci

I’ve never had a job where I couldn’t pinpoint the least desirable part. For example, in lawn care, weed eating takes the crown (for my out-of-town readers, that’s trimming around trees, shrubs, sidewalks, and such). Every job or task has a “weed-eating” aspect. Those undesirable tasks tend to mess with our eyeballs. They make us start looking up and around, paying way too much attention to what everyone else is doing. Before long, we’re wondering why we have to do the hard s

Now, I’ve been known to complain and am just as prone to do it as y’all. However, it’s one of my least favorite topics of conversation to listen to. Yesterday, I was blessed with the chance to poison all the lovely weeds that pop up this time of year for my uncle, who’s been facing battle after battle with his health. As I was finishing the spraying, he came out with one more little request. He wanted me to grab a hoe and a shovel real quick to fill in the holes in his yard l

Yesterday was awesome. After climbing the steps to the stage and turning around, my eyes met double the souls that typically attend Sunday worship. Familiar families sitting together. Many I had never met before sprinkled throughout. My heart was full. The Holy Spirit answered our prayer and met us yesterday. He filled the building and the believers, reminding us that we weren’t celebrating a fairy tale but a risen Savior who gave His life for us I hope the worship service ma

Back in elementary school, my class took a field trip to Rickwood Caverns, a state park in Hayden, Alabama built around a big cave in the ground. The point of the trip was to explore the cave, learn about underground life, and see the stalagmites. I don’t remember much about the facts or formations, but I’ll never forget one moment. We had been walking down, down, down when the tour guide stopped. After everyone gathered in this large, cool, damp room, he turned off the light

I’m tired of missing out on incredible experiences simply because I refuse to pay attention or listen. Can you imagine being born blind and never seeing all the beautiful things we get to enjoy every day? I can’t either. John 9 tells the story of Jesus meeting a man who was born blind and giving him sight. That had never happened before—no one who’d been born blind had ever received their sight. But Jesus did it. He performed this miracle on the Sabbath, showing that He has a

The most common excuses I hear from people who refuse to regularly read God’s Word. I write today with the hope of giving you some motivation to toss those excuses like an empty drive-thru sack into a gas station garbage can. I took my oldest to Birmingham for a doctor’s appointment this week. Pure excitement—I know. We park, walk, check in, and sit in the waiting room. The scene is quiet. One other man accompanies us in the stale room of weathered, black pleather chairs. Mom

You usually don’t fall into sin overnight…you get used to it. At first, it bothers you. Then you live around it. Next thing you know, you get comfortable with it. That’s Lot in Genesis 19. Ol’ Lot sitting in the gate of Sodom, which is a place of position. He didn’t just visit sin… he positioned himself in it. As it often does, one night, sin showed up. A mob at his door—loud, violent, out of control.
 The same sin he lived around… now staring him in the face. And now he want

Likely, you had a childhood hero who played on the silver screen. I had several: He-Man, G.I. Joe, and Popeye the Sailor Man. The first two remain heroes of mine, but not that Sailor Man—he lied to me. I still remember the day. I had been watching him and those enormous forearms save the day time and time again after he ate his spinach. Moreover, he seemed to love the way it tasted. Well, I wanted to save the day and enjoy good food. My family had never served me spinach at t

I learned this the hard way standing under a towering tree that was seconds away from taking out a power line. The saw was screaming and wood chips were flying out the bottom and showering my legs and feet. I looked up and was comforted by the rope tied to the tree and tethered to my truck but unsettled by the tree’s stubborn lean toward the power line. About 10 minutes prior to this, my helper and I tied a rope half-way up the tree and tied the other end to my truck and put

I love to travel, but I wasn’t sure a museum was what I had in mind for a family trip. My mom found a place in Georgia that recreated moments from biblical history, and the experience helped me see the historical setting of the Bible in a way I never had before. It obviously wasn’t the same as going to Israel or Rome, but it helped you picture what you are reading. Although I was a little apprehensive before the trip, it gave me a perspective that has stuck with me ever since

You know what we can do? We can humiliate em’!—and that thought flashed through my mind. Do unto others, right…he tried to humiliate me, so maybe he wants the same in return. (fleshly temptation) Yesterday, someone left a comment on my confession video about me misusing Scripture to prove my point. Basically, the comment said, “Be careful, you never want to misquote your myth.” I didn’t ask the guy, but I figure he was trying to humiliate me by calling the Bible a myth. It di

I was passionately defending the Bible to a coworker who didn’t believe it. She had been speaking against Jesus and the Bible in general, and even though I wasn’t following Jesus very closely at the time, it flew all over me. So I inserted myself into the conversation and started defending Jesus from the Bible the best I could. She let me know she didn’t believe the Bible. Well… I knew exactly how to win her over. I quoted a verse from Proverbs with passion. I really brought

I know better than to think and say that we will all agree on anything. But, I do think we all want peace and safety for our homes. I was reading Genesis 12 this morning and noticed that ol’ Abram was real interested in it too. The irony is that the chapter begins with God's promise to bless him and bless others through him. Next thing you know, Abram is having Sarai, his wife, lie to the Egyptians and tell them that Abram is really her brother. I am not throwing rocks at Abr

I went to the gym yesterday to prepare for a heavy supper, but I ended up coming face-to-face with a version of myself I haven’t thought about in twenty years. At my gym, the music bumps from a huge floor speaker. Yesterday’s playlist could have been titled “Phillip’s Sophomore Through Senior Years of College.” To top it off, one of my old college buddies—someone I rarely see—walked in right as the music started digging up memories I had buried deep. Looking at my friend and