Fast and Furious

There’s a great line from the movie, The Fast and the Furious: “I live my life a quarter mile at a time.”  Dr. Eric Maisel writes, “Recovery requires daily exercises and paying daily attention to your life’s purposes.” If you desire long-term sobriety, I offer this advice – Stop it! Let me explain. While long-term…

Life Jackets

As a storm raged, the captain realized his ship was sinking fast. He called out, “Anyone here know how to pray?” One man stepped forward. “Aye, Captain, I know how to pray.” “Good,” said the captain. “You pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets. We’re one short.”  In life – and…

Where Football Began

What we in America call “football” has its roots in European rugby and what we call “soccer.” Imported to the states in the 1800s, these games evolved into what would eventually become the National Football League, which recently celebrated its 55th annual Super Bowl. Tom Brady has won 50 of those Super Bowls. The modern…

Charles Reilly

On this day in history – April 29, 1892, Charlie Reilly did something that had never been done in a baseball game before. He was baseball’s first pinch hitter. We all need a pinch hitter at some point.  At some point in every hitter’s career, they come out for a pinch hitter. There are times…

Humiliations

Writing The True Christian Life, John Calvin said, “Warned by such evidences of their spiritual illness, believers profit by their humiliations. Robbed of their foolish confidence in the flesh, they take refuge in the grace of God. And when they have done so, they experience the nearness of the divine protection which is to them…

When They Were Alone

I recently came upon this gem from the Book that bears my name. “When they were alone, Jesus explained all things to his disciples” (Mark 4:34).  Think on that for a second or two . . .  Okay, time’s up. Allow me to expound. The disciples had a front row seat to Jesus’ miracles, healings,…

Keep Punching

Relapse is a trickle that becomes a stream that becomes a river. The key is to catch it while it is still just a trickle. Any of us is susceptible to relapse. Take this verse to heart: “Let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).  In my book, Life…

Hogan’s Hero

Bob Crane played Colonel Hogan in the 1960s comedy series, Hogan’s Heroes. Crane lived the life of a faithful family man. He was married and had five children.  But there was more to Crane’s life than his fans, friends, and family knew. He was living the compartmentalized life of a sex addict. On June 29,…

Manna

Your past performance is no guarantee of future success. If Jesus was sitting there with you in place of your device, he would say what he has already said: “Take no thought about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take thought about the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the trouble thereof” (Matthew 6:34). Translation:…

Mess Up, Clean Up

God loves the worst of us on our worst days just as much as he loved Billy Graham on his best day. Oswald Chambers wrote, “The miracle of the redemptive reality of God is that the worst of the vilest offenders can never exhaust the depths of his love.” The great apostle said it like…