One day when I was sixteen years old I was talking to my mom. I was depressed. I told her, “I don’t have any friends. With the guys who used to be my friends when we were younger, now it’s like I can’t relate to them or the things they talk about. They want to…
What does it really mean to know Christ today? Knowing Christ is not mere head knowledge about the Bible and Christian doctrine. Nor is it just having emotions. To know the Lord Jesus Christ certainly includes intelligent thinking and having feelings, but it is primarily a spiritual experience with the reality of the living God.…
“Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to [his disciples], ‘Come [away] with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.” (Mark 6:31-32; “Come away” is…
An ancient tool for helping us learn to practice God’s presence and grow in a more intimate relationship with the Lord is called the Examen of Consciousness or simply “The Examen.” The Examen? If you’re not familiar with it then it probably doesn’t sound appealing! The idea of being examined is something most of us want to…
People all around us today in our world and even in our churches “perish for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Knowing Christ is what brings us real life today and into eternity. In the ministry of Soul Shepherding we refer to knowing Christ as “Intimacy with Jesus” and we believe it is the most important…
Many people write to me asking for help understanding their experience of the Jesus burn. I too feel this at times. Have you experienced the “Jesus burn”? Do you know what it’s like to feel God’s presence in your body? Perhaps your heart has been warmed by God’s peace. Or on the back of your…
Behold the Lord was the topic for this month’s edition of Thirst! To behold the Lord is a special way of praying the Scripture that fosters ongoing intimacy with Jesus. We shared in an experience of meditating on Psalm 28 and Philippians 3:7-14.
“Jesus is anointed by a sinful woman” is an unlikely title for a worship service today. But it is this woman, not a religious person, who shows us that the heart of worship is adoration and affection for the Lord Jesus Christ.
“But Martha was distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40, ESV). Do these words haunt you? They do me. Like Martha I have given my life to serve the Lord. My life is filled with acts of service that I do for Christ. I’m sure that you too are intentional about serving God by caring for…
Christ came to meet me in the garden of my soul, but I was busy. He was longing to share fragrances of love with me, but I was distracted tending to someone else’s garden. Maybe you know this experience? Maybe like me you are someone who cares for other people as a pastor, counselor, caregiver,…