Category: Jesus

“Do You Truly Love Me?”

Years ago I had a personal encounter with a passage from Scripture unlike any I’d had before. I realize that sounds dramatic. All I can say is, it’s the truth. In addition, it has a message for us in our current socially-isolated, safely-distanced world. In 1990 I was working at a terrific mission agency which […]

“Do You Truly Love Me?”
Children of Light

Children of Light

We are entering the Season of Light, the Light Festival, the Christmas season when so much of the world decorates trees, wreathes, streetlamps, and even homes, with spectacular displays of light. Even those parts of the world that may not traditionally be Christian do so. There is an evident way in which the world loves […]

Shame Returns, The Sequel

shameMan, am I vulnerable to Shame!

Those who know me, have heard me speak, or have read some of my blog posts, know I have a passion to see men (and women) freed from Shame. (I even capitalize the dang word because of its significance.)

I’m often reminded that the root of my passion about this subject is my own vulnerability to the message of self-condemnation, and disappointment in self, that rears its head on a regular basis.

Shame is the message that, not only did I do something wrong, but there is something wrong with who I am. Guilt is conviction about our behavior; Shame is condemnation about our identity. Conviction comes from the voice of the Holy Spirit. Shame is the condemning lie from the Enemy.

I know all of this. Yet I am still vulnerable. My guess is I’m not the only one. Because Shame returns.

Name Above All Names

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” -Juliet trying to convince Romeo that names don’t really have much significance. While it’s true, a rose would still have its attractive qualities even if it were called “dandelion,” most of us hold special significance to some names. My middle name is Morgan, the same […]

Keeping Score

I know a lot of men who get wrapped up in performance—work, sports, even community service or church attendance; competitiveness in any arena. This hard work can reveal an admirable sense of drive, responsibility and commitment. It can also reveal an underlying belief that our performance defines our significance. Or earns us points. For some […]

Truth or Love?

Do we see ourselves as being men primarily committed to telling the truth, or men primarily committed to building relationships? Often it feels like the two are mutually exclusive: telling to whole truth might permanently harm a friendship. In Ephesians 4:15 we are urged to speak the truth in love. Apparently it IS possible. Experience […]

Disappointed For You, Not In You

Ask just about any Christian man what God thinks of him and he’ll reply, “He loves me.” We learned this a long time ago; and it’s true. But with most men, if you were to probe a little further to explore if there are any other feelings God has toward them, they would add…”He’s disappointed […]