A young boy went into a grocery store and asked for laundry detergent. The grocer asked, “Is this for your clothes?” “No,” said the boy. “It’s for my dog.” The grocer said, “This stuff isn’t made for dogs. It could kill him.” The boy took the detergent anyway. A few days later, he returned to…
A close friend runs the emergency room at a Midwest hospital. He recently told me about a 91-year-old man who came to the ER, not because he was sick, but because his wife was out of town. He didn’t want to spend the weekend alone. Imagine that – a man who would rather spend the…
Let’s talk about secrets. Oswald Chambers wrote, “We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation.” Dr. Grant Brenner writes about the effects of secrets on our well-being. “Secrecy reduces well-being, while sharing can increase satisfaction. Keeping secrets takes work and is fatiguing. Secrets make us lonely and sad. They…
Before Jesus taught us what to pray, he taught us how to pray. Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6). Let me highlight…
Addicts are funny. We have mastered the science of justification for just about any behavior. Our middle circle behaviors are written mostly in pencil, not ink. And it’s true – there are things we can “get away with” that don’t break our sobriety. They are acceptable. But not smart. G.K. Chesterton said, “We do not…
We choose people based on what they have already done. That’s true with the NFL draft, job openings, and marriage proposals. We don’t hire potential. Imagine a senior pastor telling his leadership team he has found the perfect student pastor. He describes the candidate thusly: “This young man is bright, has great leadership traits, and…
Humility. Addiction. What’s the connection between the two? Surprisingly, the connection is quite strong. We act out when we lose self-control, and we lose self-control when we become obsessed with ourselves. Psychologist Jeremy Dean writes, “Oddly, perhaps, studies have found that an obsession with the self can paradoxically lead to lower self-control.” So what’s the…
J.I. Packer wrote, “What makes life worthwhile is having a big objective, something that catches our imagination.” What catches your imagination? What is your grand purpose for living? What objective gets you out of bed each day? If you are in recovery, let me suggest a few objectives that you might find useful, all based…
Do you remember this verse from the New Testament? “We all, with unveiled face, are being transformed into the image of God” (2 Corinthians 3:18). That’s powerful! Did you catch the two words that tell us the requirement for being truly transformed by God? Unveiled face. We must remove the mask and be willing to…
A college student sent a letter back home to his parents. “Dear Mom and Dad, I was thrown out of college for smoking pot. I just got married, because I got my girlfriend pregnant. And I was arrested for stealing cash from work.” The student continued. “None of that is true. But what is true…