The most holy place you will ever be is in the presence of God, wherever you find that. The old prophet said of the Lord, “He will be a holy place” (Isaiah 8:14). The Hebrew root word for “holy” is qadosh; the Greek word is hagios. Both words, form the Old and New Testaments, mean…
You can take God’s promises to the bank. Imagine that I gave you a check for a thousand dollars. Would you withhold your thanks until the check cleared the bank? No, you would express gratitude right away, assuming the check wouldn’t bounce, based on what you know about my character. God’s promises are better than…
Nothing matters more than the people you choose to spend time with. Author Jim Rohn said that we become the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Solomon concluded, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Proverbs 13:20). There are certain people you…
Epictetus said, “We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.” Life must be lived in the moment. Every day, you will face challenges that can make or break you. British theologian John Blanchard nailed it: “For daily needs, there’s daily grace. For sudden needs, there’s sudden grace.…
It’s harder to eat one Oreo than none. Is there something you need to say no to? In many instances, abstinence is easier than moderation. Why? It requires less willpower because you rely on a strong decision making process in advance. Moderation is a slippery slope. In my experience, it’s harder to eat one Oreo…
If you want to be sober for the next year, stay sober for the next day. How did God do his work in the Old Testament? When the Israelites were fighting for their very lives, staving off the enemy, God stepped in. They did all they could, then God did what only he could do.…
The opposite of addiction is community. And today, that’s a problem, because most people aren’t too good at personal connection. Case in point: the average person checks his phone 96 times a day. There is nothing more annoying than sitting with someone, trying to hold a meaningful conversation, while they keep checking their phone. The…
Award-winning actor Jim Carrey once wrote himself a check for $10 million – when he had nothing. Early in his acting career, when no one else believed in Carrey, he believed in himself. So one day, he wrote a check to himself in the amount of $10 million, postdated five years. He was telling himself,…
As a young pastor, I read everything I could find about the great evangelist of the 19th century, D.L. Moody. I was once blessed to touch the pulpit he used in Chicago. To me, that was like touching the bat Babe Ruth used to hit his last home run. In Moody’s biography, I read an…
Recovery is the result of good habits, done over and over and over and over. Aristotle said, “Quality is not an act; it is a habit.” And Will Durant added, “We are what we repeatedly do.” Let me give you a simple formula for establishing new habits, which are key to your long-term sobriety. Think…