Snow at higher elevations- 2 inches at my house, but rain at the bottom of the mountain. At lower elevations we have a grit and grime. It clings to our shoes and boots and vehicles. But the higher you go the cleaner things become. The breathtaking purity of a blanket of fresh snow is in stark contrast to driving rain on grimy streets. There is a spiritual principle to be learned from this. God is ...  Read More

The light shines in the darkness. Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I preached by candlelight to hundreds of people in a totally dark room. This was not by design. As I began to preach, the fire alarms went off. I told people to remain seated. Then the power went off. We had wind gusts in the area that exceeded 100 miles per hour, and we could hear the heavy gusts battering our building. A...  Read More

While Georgia and Alabama and Texas are getting snow, Alaska is getting rain. The first 3 months of our winter have been strange, but we still have several months left. With temperatures around 40°, I'm seeing people in shorts and t-shirts.  Undoubtedly, the snow will come. Strangely, I love this time of year. It's filled with expectation- with anticipation. Each day the sun rises a bit higher in ...  Read More

California is burning. Is it simply God's judgment upon the nucleus of the most evil entertainment industry in history? Some think so. Without question there is an enormous failure of leadership. Not only were warnings ignored (for years) from the professional firefighters, but the Governor of California also slashed the firefighting budget. This was important to make sure that there was money for...  Read More

Turning around was a hard decision. Climbing with a pack and rifle is never easy. The ridgeline that I wanted to hunt went on for miles. I'd been climbing all morning. Here I was just a few feet away, but the crevasse in front of me was impassable (translated 'impossible'). Whether I'm hiking or climbing, I always experience a sense of disappointment when I'm forced to stop and turn around. This i...  Read More

I'd never seen anything like it. The narrow ridgeline, often almost razor thin, suddenly stopped as though the mountain had simply split open. There was perhaps a 3 foot gap, and then the ridge began again. Even carrying a pack and rifle, with a little momentum I had no doubt that I could leap across it. But I was sheep hunting. I knew there was NO way I could come back across that precarious gap ...  Read More

The battles you face will never be won by 'committee.' Sure, seek wise counsel. Of course you want to learn and prepare. But when it comes to doing what is right- when it comes to standing firm for Jesus- the opinion of the crowd simply doesn't matter. The Israelite king and his entire army were quaking with fear. Day after day, they were frozen by indecision. But get this- a refusal to make a dec...  Read More

38° and rain? In January? After breaking records for snowfall in October, this has been a strange winter. Trying to drive home yesterday we were fishtailing and sliding everywhere on our side roads. We didn't even make it to the first hill. One of our neighbors braved it, and then called me to say the steep hills were actually in better shape than the flat roads. We tried again and made it home. W...  Read More

While Jesus commanded, "Therefore go," he also commanded us to 'stop.' The disciples weren't ALWAYS actively sharing their faith. Jesus knew they needed time to LEARN. You see, knowledge takes us from faith to FAITH. In other words, you can be 100%, sold-out, all-in regarding your faith, and yet somehow knowledge ADDS TO and INCREASES our faith. We need time to learn, but we also need time to YEAR...  Read More

Much of my life recently has been spent traveling. An unexpected trip to sit with grieving loved ones, a rescheduled conference, Christmas with my parents, preaching at a cousin's funeral, and a ministry trip with Upward Sports have seemed to come one right after another. While I am thankful that God has given me both blessings and opportunities to bless others, I am also anxious to be 'home' with...  Read More

Yesterday (for the first time in my life) I watched a professional bass fishing tournament on television. I had no idea that there was such a thing as 'Major League Fishing.' These men had the right EQUIPMENT, had a lot of TRAINING and EXPERIENCE, and were entirely FOCUSED on catching fish. I imagine that's what a few of the disciples were like when they first met Jesus. They also were fishermen- ...  Read More

Some people equate age with wisdom. While it's true that more years equals more experience and that experience can make us smarter and improve our skills, does age make us wise? Not according to God. He tells us, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." In other words, the 5 year old who loves Jesus, has far greater wisdom than our current President and our list of top billionaires in Am...  Read More