Our Purpose

Lord Radstock was staying in a hotel in Norway in the mid-nineteenth century. He heard a little child playing the piano downstairs in the hallway. She was making a terrible noise: ‘Plink... plonk... plink...’. It was driving him mad! A man came and sat beside her and began playing alongside her, filling in the gaps. The result was the most beautiful music. He later discovered that the man playing alongside was the girl’s father, Alexander Borodin, composer…

To live as an authentic, ransomed, and redeemed woman means to be real and present in this moment. If we continue to hide, much will be lost. We cannot have intimacy with God or anyone else if we stay hidden and offer only who we think we ought to be or what we believe is wanted. We cannot play the ezer role we were meant to play if we remain bound by shame and fear, presenting only to the world the face we have learned is safe. You have only one life to live. It would be…

What’s in Your Top Box? It’s a question I heard from Bill Hybels way back at the 2015 Global Leadership Summit. Bob Buford was asked the same question from a high-powered strategic planner he hired as he was considering how to move from success to significance in the second half of his life. I’ve asked that question of myself more than once during my 35-year career as a business owner, employee, leader, and now in ministry. It’s a question that each…

What is my purpose in life? Many people today are asking that question, but only those who have trusted Christ as Savior and Lord can ever discover the true answer. Our salvation is an act of God, and now we’re His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to accomplish what He has prepared for us to do. That is our purpose in life, and it has three components. Sanctification is simply ongoing growth in holiness. As we cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s work in our,…

It was the mid to late 1980s, and there were plenty of opportunities to make tons of money in real estate and a whole lot of other things. Real estate just happened to be my drug of choice—the thing that looked pretty, seductive and pleasurable but ended up being my ultimate demise. It was about my need for significance played out in a very public way. After all, who doesn’t admire a wealthy young man with a lot of flashy toys, including big waterfront homes and…

Does God have a good heart? When we think of God as Author, the Grand Chess Player, the Mind Behind It All, we doubt his heart. As Melville said, "The reason the mass of men fear God and at bottom dislike him is because they rather distrust his heart, and fancy him all brain, like a watch." Do you relate to the author when reading a novel or watching a film? Caught up in the action, do you even think about the author? We identify with the characters in the story…

Imagine for a moment a doorway or entrance to a cozy luxury waterfront hut in the Caribbean. Or a mountainside retreat with and grand staircase inside the entrance to a wide-open floorplan and two fireplaces flanking the sides. Wow. Regardless of the image, it symbolizes opportunity. God offers us a life full of opportunity and one well worth living. Sometimes though, it means trusting Him and venturing into the unknown. When we encounter such a door we need not be afraid…

Have you ever thought about what God will say to you after you’ve finished the course of your earthly life? The apostle Paul was imprisoned when he wrote the epistle known as Second Timothy, and he knew his life would soon be over. Since this letter contains his last words to the young man he mentored, we can assume that Paul was writing about matters he considered of highest priority. What a blessing, not just for Timothy but for also for us, that Paul took the…

God, You know my heart better than anyone. You know the dreams I have for the future, and the silent prayers I’ve prayed for years. You know what I am longing for, searching for, and waiting for. You know my dreams, but You have a plan. You make all things beautiful in their proper timing. You are faithful to keep Your promises. But so often, I forget this and grow discouraged when my situations don’t seem to change. In those moments, it’s easy to forget…