I want to be like Jesus. I want to be like Him in my thinking. I want to be like Him in my behavior. One of the key ways for me to become like Christ is by knowing God's Word and applying it in my life. God's Word is a gift to us. It contains…

I spend quite a bit of time each day in the practice of contemplation. I define contemplation simply as "holy thinking." In contemplation, I deliberately reflect on God and on my life. God often speaks to me (not audibly, of course) through my times of contemplation. He may give me an encouragement that I need to hear. He may…

What if I told you that you could be my friend but there was a catch: you had to obey whatever I say? That would be weird, right? I don't think you'd want to be my friend. Friendships aren't usually predicated on requirements to obey somebody.

On most days of the week I try to read a lot of Scripture. In fact, I usually read up to 9 passages of Scripture on most days—3 passages assigned by Common Prayer (www.commonprayer.net) and 6 chapters assigned by myself (4 from the Old Testament and 2 from the New).

We want things to happen right away—right here and right now. Many things have been created and designed to make life as convenient and as efficient as possible for us. And if something isn't this way, we might get a little frustrated by that. We get a little frustrated when…

I give myself a big break every Saturday. I call it my "cheat day" where I allow myself to slow down and be less intense with life. In particular, I allow myself to be less intense with my spiritual exercises. On most days, I try to be…

My son, who is currently in the toddler stage, woke up much earlier than usual this morning and started crying. He's usually a very good sleeper and he patiently plays in his room when my wife and I are not up yet to get him. He rarely wakes up so early…

It's no secret that developing any discipline in life takes a lot of time, effort, and hard work whether that's exercising, studying, writing, cleaning, cooking, or spiritual activities such as praying, reading God's Word, and contemplating. Acquiring any new habit is no…

We all have needs. We need food, water, clothing, and shelter to survive. We need to take care of our families and protect them. But around the world, it's becoming increasingly hard to meet these needs due to…

Following Jesus is hard work. Although salvation is free for us who believe (it was hard work for Jesus, however), following Jesus will cost us something. This is what Jesus had to say about the cost of discipleship (following Him): "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matt. 16:24 ESV). I never have to…