The Christmas gospel shows us how very fun God is. Appreciating the Lord’s fun-natured personality can have a huge positive impact on our life and ministry to others. We expect God to be a judge, holy, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present, eternal, and totally loving. But is God really fun? That sounds nice, but it seems…
When I knew Robert H. Schuller from afar I judged him negatively. I was writing a thesis paper on integrating Christian spirituality and psychology and I criticized the “Self-Esteem Theology” of the famous television preacher and author. A few months before I finished that paper and graduated from college I was shocked to learn on my…
In Psalm 29 David praises the God of glory whose voice thunders over the waters and flashes like lightening. Like the waves of the sea God speaks with crashing authority and soothing gentleness at the same time. When God speaks proud cedars fall and little calves skip with joy. Skip with Joy in God’s Presence! We…
Is your heart smiling? Are you appreciating that God is with you? The risen Christ is beside you as you read these words. You can see Jesus’ smiling face in your heart! Smile with Jesus So take a deep breath to behold Christ in your heart… Smile as you breathe out! What joy it is…
Jesus smiles. Yes!!! Don’t you love this picture of Jesus smiling so warmly? It’s my favorite. It reminds me that Jesus delights in the Father and in us too! It’s hidden from many people, but the smile of Jesus is everywhere in the Gospels. Jesus “rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit” (10:21, NASB). John shows…
In my teaching, counseling, and leading of retreats I find that pastors, ministry leaders, and others greatly benefit from learning how to use a Breath Prayer approach to meditating on a phrase from the Bible. I’m not surprised because this has been so helpful to me personally. A Breath Prayer is Like a Smile to…
Nothing restores our souls like the smile of God upon us! When you look up do you see God smiling warmly at you? Asaph does. And in Psalm 80 he prays for us that we too would look up into the heavens and appreciate the joyful sunshine of God’s smile over us. It’s just a…
