So you have this situation where you can't read someone very well.  This happens to everyone, unless you're a complete hermit or you think you're God's gift to the world.  Frankly, the cues you look for just aren't there.  You start to get insecure and frustrated.  You've given what you thought were proper cues onlyContinue reading "Forbearance is one of the great keys to life!"

When you reach out to God in prayer and reflection, do you ever struggle with conquering   the ideas and images that come to your mind?  For me, some days the struggle is powerful, and I am amazed at how much of my sinful man remains.  One of my favorite devotional writers, a retired physicsContinue reading "Constant Vigilance or there’s no victory!"

I talked with a man who told me about all the external sexual triggers that hit him every day.  He said he finds it so frustrating -- at least that's what he said -- to be constantly barraged by explicit and erotic sexual images.  And yet, he's so accustomed to letting the triggers set hisContinue reading "Reducing External Sexual Triggers"

Since the Champaign-Urbana Vineyard men's retreat last weekend, several men have confessed that they struggle powerfully with objectifying women.  It has become a deeply ingrained habit that started for them at a young age.  You can objectify women you have never met, and sad to say, you can objectify your own wife.  The spectrum ofContinue reading "Crucify the Flesh … again and again and again"

Men who have not felt the pull of sexually-driven behaviors, have not really entered the fight.  One of the great battle stories in the Bible is in Revelation 12 where "there was war in heaven.  Michael and the angels under his command fought the dragon and his angels.  And the dragon lost the battle andContinue reading "The battle of Sexual sobriety"

I have always admired the faith and spunk of the prolific British writer and intellectual Dorothy Sayers (1883-1957).  Years back a friend gave me Sayers' A Man Born To be King.   These are plays about the birth and life of Jesus.  In the heart of her writing, Sayers always stressed four ideas.  They always causeContinue reading "Only God can redeem the time"

The road to sexual purity and sexual sobriety is a long road of obedience and accountability.  There's no way around it.  This past weekend more than 100 men came to a men's retreat at the Vineyard called "Warriors and Worshipers."We wounded soldiers -- all determined to stay in the fight -- spent a lot ofContinue reading "Objectifying women is a deeply ingrained habit!"

I have come to trust and enjoy the work done by the Barna Research group.  Barna's group has just  surveyed nearly 627 Protestant pastors, asking them to assess the level of commitment among their church members.  Most pastors call the commitment of their church members very high.  Just imagine the graphic I've included as aContinue reading "Can I truly assess your commitment?"