I heard Emma Stark recently say, “You can’t just pray for yourself and call it “intimacy with God.”

To draw close to Him is to hear Him and to participate in His omnipotent heart of raging love for people, cities and nations. While He’s concerned for us as individuals (which I emphasize a lot), a crucial part of real intimacy (as in with any healthy marriage) is to listen to what’s on His heart and…

“Jesus, you’re worth it.” These are the words I managed to whisper through tears in the the darkness—not one time—but countless times over the past 16 years.

Notice the title reads “The Deserts” (plural), not “The Desert.”

One desert, even if it’s large, is never enough to refine us and purify us in the way He deserves…

Have you ever run a long distance race? Endurance is no joke.

I ran cross-country in high school, and the last kilometer of races was always the most difficult. And the apostle Paul likens the Christian life to a race.

What’s the point of this day, Passover?

A simple yet profound question.

As we reflect on the slain Lamb, who shed His blood for us this day, why did He go through with it? What drove Him, in His heart, to bear the most excruciating death imaginable and hang naked on a tree for crimes he never committed?

Studies have shown that approximately 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail. Many people have written about techniques to achieving our big goals, including naming them differently, approaching them differently and viewing them differently. But I believe we need to look at this issue through a different lens.

Three thousand miles. Five thousand miles. Your car can travel pretty far—often several months or more—without an oil change. Vehicles are wonderful gifts and have remarkably developed over the past century.

But I have a newsflash for you…

That day started so slow yet ended so sweet

A beautiful message a child could repeat

But two roads diverged in a yellow wood

And I was placed on the narrow one that is good

You’re climbing Everest.

You’ve been training for years. Dreaming about it for decades.

A wealth of information has been devoured.

Now, after two months of climbing…

“Persecution in America and Canada? That’ll never happen!” said millions of people ten years ago.

Now that it’s taking place in a limited fashion, people are shocked. “But this is an hour of glory!”

For sure! But…