Daily Readings by Wild at Heart

Above all else, guard your heart. We usually hear this with a sense of "Keep an eye on that heart of yours," in the way you'd warn a deputy watching over some dangerous outlaw, or a bad dog the neighbors let run. "Don't let him out of your sight." Having so long believed our hearts are evil, we assume the warning is to keep us out of trouble. So we lock up our hearts and throw away the key and then try to get on with our living. But that isn't the spirit of the command at all. It doesn't say guard your heart because it's criminal; it says guard your heart because it is the wellspring of your life, because it is a treasure, because everything else depends on it. How kind of God to give us this warning, like someone's entrusting to a friend something precious to him, with the words: "Be careful with this — it means a lot to me."Above all else? Good grief — we don't even do it once in a while. We might as well leave our life savings on the seat of the car with the windows rolled down — we're that careless with our hearts. "If not for my careless heart," sang Roy Orbison, and it might be the anthem for our lives. Things would be different. I would be farther along. My faith would be much deeper. My relationships so much better. My life would be on the path God meant for me ... if not for my careless heart. We live completely backward. "All else" is above our hearts. I'll wager that caring for your heart isn't even a category you think in. "Let's see — I've got to get the kids to soccer, the car needs to be dropped off at the shop, and I need to take a couple of hours for my heart this week." It probably sounds unbiblical, even after all we've covered.Seriously now—what do you do on a daily basis to care for your heart? Okay, that wasn't fair. How about weekly? Monthly? Want more? Order your copy of Waking the Dead today

The renewal of all things is meant to be the center of our view of the world, our hopes, and our tangible expectations as we plan our lives going forward. The phrase bucket list comes from the expression “kick the bucket,” the day we give it all up. A bucket list means those things we hope to do before we die. Meaning, it’s now or never, baby. Bucket list mentality is very revealing and even more tragic, because it betrays our belief that this life really is our only chance. After all — we think the earth is destroyed and we go to the pews in the sky. No wonder the human race grows more desperate in our search for kingdom counterfeits.What is it, my readers, that you hope to hang on to? If you love your athletic condition, surely you realize it cannot go on forever; eventually your body will succumb to age and your performance will diminish every year. Inexorably. If you relish your mind, you understand that your mind will dim with age; even if you dodge the great leveler dementia, you will forget many things, and may eventually have the mental capacity of a small child. And the people you love? You will lose them or they you; your very life is but a passing breeze, “each of us is but a breath” (Psalm 39:5 NLT). The fall and winter of your life will come; they are perhaps upon many of you even now. There is no holding back that winter.You understand, dear friends, that you will say good-bye to everyone you love and everything you hold dear.I am not a fatalist, not even a pessimist. I find joy in many things. I am practically a hedonist in my love for life. A novel based on the life of Vincent van Gogh bears a title I used to swear by: Lust for Life. But if we are going to embrace the hope God is so lavishly extending us, we must be honest about the nature of this life. As Henri Nouwen admitted,Our life is a short time in expectation, a time in which sadness and joy kiss each other at every moment. There is a quality of sadness that pervades all the moments of our lives. It seems that there is no such thing as a clear-cut pure joy, but that even in the most happy moments of our existence we sense a tinge of sadness. In every satisfaction, there is an awareness of limitations. In every success, there is the fear of jealousy. Behind every smile, there is a tear. In every embrace, there is loneliness. In every friendship, distance. And in all forms of light, there is the knowledge of surrounding darkness. Want more? Order your copy of All Things New today

God gives Adam some instructions on the care of creation and his role in the unfolding story. It's pretty basic, and very generous (see Gen. 2:16-17). But notice what God doesn't tell Adam. There is no warning or instruction over what is about to occur: the Temptation of Eve. This is just staggering. Notably missing from the dialogue between Adam and God is something like this:"Adam, one more thing. A week from Tuesday, about four in the afternoon, you and Eve are going to be down in the orchard and something dangerous is going to happen. Adam, are you listening? The eternal destiny of the human race hangs on this moment. Now, here's what I want you to do ..." He doesn't tell him. He doesn't even mention it, so far as we know. Good grief — why not?! Because God believes in Adam. This is what he's designed to do — to come through in a pinch. Adam doesn't need play-by-play instructions because this is what Adam is for. It's already there, everything he needs, in his design, in his heart. Needless to say, the story doesn't go well. Adam fails; he fails Eve and the rest of humanity.Let me ask you a question: Where is Adam, while the serpent is tempting Eve? He's standing right there: "She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, too" (Gen. 3:6 NLT). The Hebrew for "with her" means right there, elbow to elbow. Adam isn't away in another part of the forest; he has no alibi. He is standing right there, watching the whole thing unravel. What does he do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He says not a word, doesn't lift a finger. He won't risk, he won't fight, and he won't rescue Eve.Our first father — the first real man — gave in to paralysis. He denied his very nature and went passive. And every man after him, every son of Adam, carries in his heart now the same failure. Every man repeats the sin of Adam, every day. We won't risk, we won't fight, and we won't rescue Eve. We truly are a chip off the old block. Want more? Order your copy of Wild at Heart today

Why did Nicodemus visit Jesus at night? Fear of what his peers would do if they found out. He wasn’t alone in this; John says that “many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue” (John 12:42). They chose job security over Jesus. This fear is a mighty powerful force.The fear of man. Peer pressure. What will others think? This can get deadly.This fear runs deep in the human race. It is ancient, Genesis 3:10 stuff — “I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” The fear of exposure. It is far more powerful than we like to admit — the origin of every fig leaf and fashion trend. It’s what gives power to culture. We long to be praised. We dread exposure. Want more? Order your copy of Beautiful Outlaw today

I realize that many dear followers of Christ have been taught that God only speaks to his sons and daughters through the Bible. The irony of that theology is this: that’s not what the Bible teaches! The Scriptures are filled with stories of God speaking to his people — intimately, personally. Adam and Eve spoke with God. As did Abraham, Moses, and Elijah. So did Noah, Gideon, Aaron, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ananias, and the apostle Paul. On and on the examples go. In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked. The Lord said, “Go up.” David asked, “Where shall I go?” “To Hebron,” the Lord answered.” (2 Sam. 2:1) Over and over again, the Scriptures provide doctrine and example that we are meant to hear God’s voice: He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. (Isa. 50:4)Want more? Order your copy of Moving Mountains today

I love the story of a certain man whom Jesus interfered with, much to his initial chagrin. Remember when Jesus met the man possessed with many demons in Luke 8? So they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in the tombs outside the town. As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (vv. 26–28 NLT) The man in this true story was tormented by demons to the point that it was impossible for him to live a healthy life. He was isolated from his family and friends, not able to work or do anything other than endure the excruciating torment. And after many years of this, Jesus showed up. When He did, the man came running naked to Him (that must have been a little unnerving — at least for the disciples), shouting, “What are You doing here? Why are You interfering with me? This is my life. I’m fine. Leave me alone!” Huh. We all know he wasn’t fine. His life had not been his own for quite some time. In fact, it wasn’t him at all who was shouting at Jesus to go away but the inner tormenting demons compelled by fear. And Jesus, mighty Love incarnate, refused to leave. Instead He interfered; He intervened. Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, all sixty-four square miles, to get to this one man. And He has crossed galaxies and heavenly realms to get to you. He passed through unimaginable opposition and endured unfathomable suffering to get to you. To mess with you. He has come, and He is coming still. To save us. To heal us. To help us. To love us. To guide and comfort us. And to interfere with our lives — particularly in the places we do not want Him to. Yes, it can be uncomfortable, but remember who Jesus is. He has the right to interfere. Want more? Order your copy of Defiant Joy today

Now, you wouldn’t think that morality would ever become popular in the world, but there is a certain kind of “goodness” that is actually quite hip these days. Issues such as the size of your carbon footprint (and therefore the car you drive), where your coffee and chocolate come from, how your vegetables are grown or your fish is caught, the kind of shoes you wear — these are the causes du jour. Before I continue, let me say clearly I think these things are important. I don’t think they are as important as other issues, but I think they are important. I do my shopping at these kinds of stores.But what I want to point out is the softness of popular “goodness.” Recycling can make you feel like “Hey, I’m a good person,” while you ignore the fact that you’ve abandoned your children through your latest divorce. This is human nature: to find a morality that is comfortable and convenient and let it suffice for holiness. But it is not. So you ride your bike to work, or drive a hybrid car — but you have the sexual discretion of an alley cat. Yes, you gave clothing to the homeless — but you hate Republicans; you have hatred in your heart. A classic example would be the popular bumper sticker “Mean People Suck.” Um…meaning you, then, who put this mean-spirited bumper sticker on your car. Want more? Order your copy of Free to Live today

You can’t save the world. You can’t even carry it.“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25–26). Jesus is quite serious about turning everything over to him, actually. So let’s repeat the invitation:Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. (Matthew 11:28–30 THE MESSAGE)Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you. (THE MESSAGE)These aren’t suggestions. The Bible is not a book of suggestions.You’ve got to release the world; you’ve got to release people, crises, trauma, intrigue, all of it. There has to be sometime in your day where you just let it all go. All the tragedy of the world, the heartbreak, the latest shooting, earthquake — the soul was never meant to endure this. The soul was never meant to inhabit a world like this. It’s way too much. Your soul is finite. You cannot carry the sorrows of the world. Only God can do that. Only he is infinite. Somewhere, sometime in your day, you’ve just got to release it. You’ve got to let it go.We need to make this clear — the invitation of God is an unburdened life. Come, you who are heavy laden. Cast your cares upon him. Live carefree before God. It’s practically a party invitation. One of the least understood disciplines of the spiritual life. And therefore a wonderful place of discovery for each of us, and a truly liberating opportunity to experience more of God in our everyday experience. Want more? Order your copy of Get Your Life Back today

The book “Killing Lions” is a conversation between John and Sam Eldredge about the trials young men face. [John] Do you feel that you can handle life? A woman? Your finances? Crisis when it hits? “I can handle this,” is the practical daily expression of a validated man. [Sam] Bit by bit it’s happening. Last summer Susie and I had the opportunity to climb Mount Whitney (tallest peak in the contiguous 48) with some friends who had been planning on it for some time. We weren’t sure we would be able to go since all the spots were filled, so we didn’t really train for it. Then two days before the climb, the call came that two spots had opened up. I was jittery to say the least. I felt like the low man on the totem pole, the one who didn’t train, who was the least athletic (or so I felt), and I dreaded the coming weekend. Shame was crouching at the door: You’re going to wimp out. You can’t handle this. You won’t be able to summit. When the climb actually came, the group decided to do the whole thing in one day; starting at base camp at 4:00 a.m. we would summit by early afternoon and be back down in time for dinner. Six hours into the climb we asked a group coming down if we were doing well, if we were even getting close. They laughed at us. We had four hours to go. After ten grueling hours I was the first to summit. My group had been afflicted with altitude sickness, fatigue, and disorientation. By the end I was the only one who felt good enough to keep walking around on top; in fact, Susie and our friend Ryan both fell asleep immediately. At the end of the day I felt so validated, so strong. I had surprised myself and the members of our group by leading the way to the top. Want more? Order your copy of Killing Lions today

Today’s Daily Reading is an excerpt from Morgan Snyder's book Becoming a King:How we arrange our days and spend our time is central to becoming the kind of king to whom God can entrust his creative power. It is this slow and steady exercise — or better said, consistent practicing over time — that produces the kind of king God intends us to become.What is the relationship between the kind of human Jesus was on earth and how he spent his time? We can draw from several foundational truths expressed through his life. We know he spent time in solitude.We can infer that he spent time in study, given his upbringing as a Jewish man and his agility with the Scriptures.We know he spent lots of time outdoors.We know he spent time with his close friends.We know he spent time fasting and feasting.We know he willingly offers himself as our Teacher.Therefore, is it possible that learning from Jesus how to spend our time could be transformative in the process of our becoming? Want more? Order your copy of Becoming a King today

We, too, live in a world that triggers our souls into vigilance far too often. The complexity of modern life is mind-boggling. Thanks to the smartphone and the web, you are confronted on a daily basis with more information than any previous generation had to deal with! And it’s not just information; it’s the suffering of the entire planet, in minute detail, served up on your feed daily. Add to this the pace at which most of us are required to live our lives. It leaves very little room for that sigh and the experiences that bring it.We live in a spiritual and emotional state equivalent to horses on the plains during the late Pleistocene.This morning I can’t tell whether my soul is more in fight or flight. But I do know this — I don’t like the state I’m in. I didn’t sleep well last night (one of the many consequences of living in a hypercharged world), and after I finally conked out, I overslept, woke up late, and ever since I’ve felt behind on everything.I rushed through breakfast, dashed out the door to get to some meetings, and now I’m rattled. I don’t like that feeling and I don’t like the consequences. When I’m rattled, I’m easily irritated with people. I didn’t have the patience to listen to what my wife was trying to say this morning. I find it hard to hear from God, and I don’t like feeling untethered from him.I notice now in my rattled state that I want to eat something fatty and sugary; I want something that’s going to make me feel better now. When we’re unsettled, unnerved, unhinged, it’s human nature to seek a sense of equilibrium, stability, and I find myself wondering — how many addictions begin here, with just wanting a little comfort? Get out of the rattled place and soothe ourselves with “a little something?”We live in a crazy-making world. So much stimulation rushes at us with such unrelenting fury, we are overstimulated most of the time. Things that nourish us — a lingering conversation, a leisurely stroll through the park, time to savor both making and then enjoying dinner — these are being lost at an alarming rate; we simply don’t have room for them. Honestly, I think most people live their daily lives along a spectrum from slightly rattled to completely fried as their normal state of being.In the late morning, I finally do what I should have from the beginning — I pause, get quiet, settle down. I give myself permission to simply pause, a little breathing room to come back to myself and God. My breathing returns to normal (I didn’t even notice I was holding my breath). A little bit of space begins to clear around me. Want more? Order your copy of Get Your Life Back today

Hearing from God flows out of our relationship. That relationship was established for us by Jesus Christ. “Therefore, since we have been justified [made right with God] through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand” (Romans 5:1). Whatever we might be feeling, we do have relationship with God now, because we belong to him. And our relationship is secure. “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39).I am God’s. He is mine.Because we do have relationship with God secured for us by Jesus Christ and all he has done, we can now grow in developing that relationship. We can, on the basis of what is objectively true, move into an experience of God in our lives that deepens over time. And that includes learning to hear his voice. Prayer not as making speeches to God, a one-sided conversation, but as the act of talking to and hearing from God. A two-sided conversation. It is a rich inheritance we have. Want more? Order your copy of Walking With God today

The warrior is hardwired into every man. This is true because he is made in the image of God, who is the Great Warrior. Like Father, like son. It is also true because it constitutes a great part of man’s mission here on earth — to join the Great Warrior in his battle against evil. It is this aggressive nature that will enable us to overcome the passivity and paralysis we inherited from Adam. In fact, we are siding with one or the other — the warrior or the paralyzed man — in every decision we make, every day. Encouraging the warrior as it begins to come into full force in a young man’s life will be a great help to him as the years unfold, for you and I know how hard the battle is if we’ve spent years in passivity.I am not saying every man must join the military, though that is a noble calling; there are many ways for the warrior to emerge. Over the ages the pen has proved mightier than the sword, as the old saying goes. What I am saying is that there is an inherent aggressiveness written in the masculine soul. So it shouldn’t surprise us — though many parents are still a bit unnerved — when you see the warrior emerge in the boy when he is very young. As for the stage of the warrior, I believe it begins in the late teens — about the time we send a young man to war. When God tells Moses to arrange the fleeing slaves into tribes, he has them “number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army” (Num. 1:3 NIV). So here it is marked at age twenty, and that seems confirmed in so many revolutions fueled by young men.The heart of the warrior says, “I will not let evil have its way. There are some things that cannot be endured. I’ve got to do something. There is freedom to be had.” The heart of the warrior says, “I will put myself on the line for you.” That is why it must come before the lover stage, for he will need to do that time and time again in his marriage, and it is passivity that has broken the heart of many women. The warrior nature is fierce, and brave, ready to confront evil, ready to go into battle. This is the time for a young man to stop saying, “Why is life so hard?” He takes the hardness as the call to fight, to rise up, take it on. He learns to “set his face like a flint,” as Jesus had to do to fulfill his life’s great mission (Isa. 50:7). Want more? Order your copy of Fathered by God today

The story that is the Sacred Romance begins not with God alone, the Author at his desk, but God in relationship, intimacy beyond our wildest imagination, heroic intimacy. The Trinity is at the center of the universe; perfect relationship is the heart of all reality. Think of your best moments of love or friendship or creative partnership, the best times with family or friends around the dinner table, your richest conversations, the acts of simple kindness that sometimes seem like the only things that make life worth living. Like the shimmer of sunlight on a lake, these are reflections of the love that flows among the Trinity. We long for intimacy because we are made in the image of perfect intimacy. Still, what we don't have and may never have known is often a more powerful reminder of what ought to be.Our story begins with the hero in love. As Frederick Buechner reminds us, "God does not need the Creation in order to have something to love because within himself love happens."And yet, what kind of love? There are selfish forms of love, relationships that create closed systems, impenetrable to outsiders. Real love creates a generous openness. Have you ever been so caught up in something that you just had to share it? When you are walking alone in the woods, something takes your breath away — a sunset, a waterfall, the simple song of a bird — and you think, If only my beloved were here. The best things in life were meant to be shared. That is why married lovers want to increase their joy by having children. And so it is with God. "Father," Jesus says, "I want those you gave me to be with me, right where I am. I want them to be one heart and mind with us" (John 17). Overflowing with the generosity that comes from the abundance of real love, he creates us to share in the joy of this heroic intimacy.Want more? Order your copy of The Sacred Romance today

Today’s Daily Reading is an excerpt from Morgan Snyder's book, Becoming a KingToday’s headlines are replete with stories of dethroned monarchs, religious or secular. Scripture is as well. Though the characters change, the story line remains the same: broken, unfinished, uninitiated men causing injury to the lives of others with the mishandling of power. Think of the men who have held positions of authority over you in your own story. When did they use their power to meet their own unharnessed need for validation rather than offer their strength in the service of love? Coaches, teachers, pastors, bosses working out their core desire to feel powerful at the expense of those entrusted to their care. The list is long, and the damage is real. Kings of this world are notorious for using the talent of young men to serve their own needs to build their kingdom. More sobering, when I survey my own domain and all that has been entrusted to my care, I see that my own mishandling of power has wounded those I love most. Though in ways I am growing and maturing in my capacity to love well, the harm I’ve caused others is undeniable and long-standing. I am not yet the man I was made to become. Both in acts of commission, where my power has hurt others, and in acts of omission, where I have failed to engage, to bring a genuine strength in love, I have brought harm. Even this morning I found myself needing to pause and invite my wife to sit face-to-face, heart-to-heart, so that I could take renewed responsibility for places where I have failed to bring into our story the strength and love she deserves. And so we return to the question, when can you trust a man with power? Want more? Order your copy of Becoming a King today

When the apostles needed the help of some good men to shepherd the exploding new church, they chose men "full of the Spirit and wisdom" (Acts 6:3). The two go together; we need them both. We need to walk by the inspiration of the Spirit, and we need wisdom as well. Wisdom and Revelation. Early on in our journey, I think we should lean more into wisdom. It takes time to learn to walk with God in a deeply intimate way, and many challenges face us before we are accustomed to the way of the heart. We must practice our chords; we must do our drills.For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.Then you will understand what is right and just and fair — every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. (Proverbs 1:32-33; 2:9-11)We seek wisdom because the trail is narrow and hard to find. It is a cruel thing to tell someone to follow their dreams without also warning them what hell will come against them. Want more? Order your copy of Waking The Dead today

All masculine initiation is ultimately spiritual. The tests and challenges, the joys and adventures are all designed to awaken a man’s soul, draw him into contact with the masculine in himself, in other men, in the world, and in God, as Father. I make no distinction between taking a boy or a man on an adventure and, say, teaching that man to pray. The adventure — rightly framed — can be a powerful experience of God. And prayer or Bible study — rightly framed — is meant to be the same. Most boys and men share the perception that God is found in church, and that the rest of life is ... just the rest of life. It’s the old Gnostic heresy, the division of the sacred and the profane. The tragedy of this is that the rest of life seems far more attractive to them than church, and thus God seems removed and even opposed to the things that make them come alive.But as Christians, we believe God embraces the physical world, that he loves Creation as we do, pronounced it very good (Gen. 1:31), that he speaks through it and uses it to teach us many things. We’ve lost many boys and men from the church because we’ve given them an unspeakably boring spirituality, implying that God is most interested in things like hymnals and baptismal founts. We’ve made the spiritual very small, and sanctimonious, robed and often effeminate. And yet, most of the stories of men encountering God in the Bible do not take place in church(!). Moses is met in the desert, in a burning bush. Jacob wrestles with God in the wilderness also, in the dead of night. David wrote most of his psalms out under the stars. Paul is met on the desolate dirt road between Jerusalem and Damascus. And most of the stories of Jesus with his disciples don’t take place in church. Not even indoors. We have got to recover the wildness of spirituality — especially masculine spirituality. Want more? Order your copy of Fathered by God today

Our acts of remembering must therefore involve both essential truths and dramatic narrative. I believe we need to hold the creeds in one hand and our favorite forms of art in the other. There are films, books, poems, songs, and paintings I return to again and again for some deep reason in my heart. Taking a closer look, I see that they all tell me about some part of the Sacred Romance. They help wake me to a deeper remembrance. As Don Hudson has said, “Art is, in the final analysis, a window on heaven.”Now that we are on our way, Satan will do everything he can to steal the Romance. One way he does this is to leave us only propositions, or worse, “principles,” like “the management techniques of Jesus” or “the marketing methods of Jesus.” The heart cannot live on facts and principles alone; it speaks the language of story, and we must rehearse the truths of our faith in a way that captures the heart and not just the mind.Let us return again to that central scene and see what it is the author of Hebrews wants us to see in order to follow our Hero in the race ahead. How did Jesus sustain his passionate heart in the face of brutal opposition? He never lost sight of where he was headed. He had a vision for the future that was grounded in the past. In the story of the Last Supper, we are told that Jesus knew “he had come from God and was returning to God,” and lived his life of selfless love to the end. He remembered both where he had come from and where he was going (John 13:3). And so must we. Want more? Order your copy of The Sacred Romance today

There is a widespread belief in the church that to be a Christian somehow satisfies our every desire. As one camp song has it, “I’m inright, outright, upright, downright happy all day long.” What complete nonsense! Augustine emphasized, “The whole life of the good Christian is a holy longing. What you desire ardently, as yet you do not see.” So, “let us long because we are to be filled ... That is our life, to be exercised by longing.” There’s the mystery again. Longing leads to fullness somewhere down the road. Meanwhile, being content is not the same thing as being full.Paul said he had “learned the secret of being content” (Phil. 4:12), and many Christians assume he no longer experienced the thirst of his soul. But earlier in the same epistle, the old saint said that he had not obtained his soul’s desire, or “already been made perfect.” Quite the contrary. He described himself as pressing on, “straining toward what is ahead” (3:12–14). These are not the words of a man who no longer experienced longing because he had arrived. They are the account of a man propelled on his life quest by his desire.Contentment is not freedom from desire, but freedom of desire. Being content is not pretending that everything is the way you wish it would be; it is not acting as though you have no wishes. Rather, it is no longer being ruled by your desires. Want more? Order your copy of The Journey of Desire today

I am loved. Deeply and truly loved.“I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). If all the pain of the world were gathered together, and sorted by cause into great basins, the vast majority of tears would fill an ocean entitled, “Unloved.” Because love is the deepest longing of the human heart — however hard we might try to pretend otherwise. When things get painful in our marriage, the arrows that pierce our hearts carry some message of You are not loved. The arrows might be Rejection, or Anger, Betrayal, or Blaming, or even Silence. But the message is You are no longer loved; you never really have been. We’ve got to anchor our heart in the one sure Love. You are now, you always have been, and you will forever be loved. It might help to say that to yourself, every day. Maybe every hour. This is the boat that carries your heart right across that ocean of pain to the safe haven of God.Want more? Order your copy of Love & War today

Once more, lend a mythic eye to your situation. Let your heart ponder this:You awake to find yourself in the middle of a great and terrible war. It is, in fact, our most desperate hour. Your King and dearest Friend calls you forth. Awake, come fully alive, your good heart set free and blazing for him and for those yet to be rescued. You have a glory that is needed. You are given a quest, a mission that will take you deep into the heart of the kingdom of darkness, to break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron so that your people might be set free from their bleak prisons. He asks that you heal them. Of course, you will face many dangers; you will be hunted.Would you try and do this alone?Something stronger than Fate has chosen you. Evil will hunt you. And so a Fellowship must protect you.Honestly, though he is a very brave and true Hobbit, Frodo hasn't a chance without Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. He will need his friends. And you will need yours. You must cling to those you have, you must search wide and far for those you do not yet have. You must not go alone. From the beginning, right there in Eden, the Enemy's strategy has relied upon a simple aim: Divide, and conquer. Get them isolated, and take them out.You see this sort of thing at the center of every great story. Dorothy takes her journey with the Scarecrow, the Tinman, the Lion, and of course, Toto. Maximus rallies his little band and triumphs over the greatest empire on earth. When Captain John Miller is sent deep behind enemy lines to save Private Ryan, he goes in with a squad of men. And, of course, Jesus had the Twelve. This is written so deeply on our hearts: You must not go alone. The Scriptures are full of such warnings, but until we see our desperate situation, we hear it as an optional religious assembly for an hour on Sunday mornings.Imagine you are surrounded by a small company of friends who know you well (characters, to be sure, but they love you, and you have come to love them). They understand that we are all at war, know that the purposes of God are to bring a man or woman fully alive, and are living by sheer necessity and joy in the Four Streams. They fight for you, and you for them. Imagine you could have a little fellowship of the heart. Would you want it, if it were available?That is our destiny. Want more? Order your copy of Waking The Dead today

Does God have a good heart? When we think of God as Author, the Grand Chess Player, the Mind Behind It All, we doubt his heart. As Melville said, "The reason the mass of men fear God and at bottom dislike him is because they rather distrust his heart, and fancy him all brain, like a watch." Do you relate to the author when reading a novel or watching a film? Caught up in the action, do you even think about the author? We identify with the characters in the story precisely because they are in the story. They face life as we do, on the ground, and their struggles win our sympathy because they are our struggles also. We love the hero because he is one of us, and yet somehow rises above the fray to be better and wiser and more loving as we hope one day we might prove to be.The Author lies behind, beyond. His omniscience and omnipotence may be what creates the drama, but they are also what separates us from him. Power and knowledge don't qualify for heart. Indeed, the worst sort of villain is the kind who executes his plans with cold and calculated precision. He is detached; he has no heart. If we picture God as the mastermind behind the story — calling the shots while we, like Job, endure the calamities — we can't help but feel at times what C. S. Lewis was bold enough to put words to: "We're the rats in the cosmic laboratory." Sure, he may have our good in mind, but that still makes him the "vivisectionist" — the experimenter.We root for the hero and heroine, even come to love them, because they are living in the drama. They feel the heartache, they suffer loss and summon courage and shed their own blood in their struggles against evil. What if ? Just what if we saw God not as Author, the cosmic mastermind behind all human experience, but as the central character in the larger story? What could we learn about his heart? Want more? Order your copy of The Sacred Romance today

A friend of mine wanted to teach English as a second language in an Asian country, as a way of becoming a sort of undercover missionary. A beautiful dream, one that I'm sure she would have been excellent in fulfilling. But she rushed to the field unprepared in many ways. I don't mean finances and language skills; I mean in the ways of the heart. Lurking down in her soul were some deep and unresolved issues that would set her up for a fall: among them shame and guilt from an abusive past. The team she joined was totally unfamiliar with the new heart, and they doubted its goodness; as with too many Christian ministries, shame and guilt were often used as motivators. Their old covenant theology would play right into Susan's issues, shut down her young heart. Finally, she was unpracticed in spiritual warfare, ill-equipped for what hell would throw at her. The devil is a master at shame and guilt. She went; she got hammered; she came home, defeated. Her friends wonder if she'll ever try it again.The disaster could have been avoided. Wisdom was crying out: do not rush the field (Luke 14:31); train yourself to discern good and evil (Heb. 5:14); live as though your life is at stake, and the enemy is waiting to outwit you (Matt. 10:16). God has given us all sorts of counsel and direction in his written Word; thank God, we have it written down in black and white. We would do well to be familiar with it, study it with all the intensity of the men who studied the maps of the Normandy coastline before they hit the beaches on D-Day. The more that wisdom enters our hearts, the more we will be able to trust our hearts in difficult situations. Notice that wisdom is not cramming our head with principles. It is developing a discerning heart. What made Solomon such a sharp guy was his wise and discerning heart (1 Kings 3:9).We don't seek wisdom because it's a good idea; we seek wisdom because we're dead if we don't. Want more? Order your copy of Waking the Dead today

First, where does Jesus Christ now reside, in the life of the believer? Inside us; more precisely, in our hearts: “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3:14–17). So we should expect to experience Christ within us, as well as “with us,” or alongside us.Next, is there any aspect of our personal history that is beyond the reach of Jesus Christ? Never. “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Ps. 139:16). Would the faculty of our memory be a realm beyond the understanding of Jesus Christ, or — more important — beyond his access? No. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13). So, Jesus within us is also Lord of our memory.Finally, if our relationship with Christ or our witness for him in this world is being hindered because a part of our soul is not yet fully under his loving rule, would Jesus want to address that? Of course he would. Remember his fierce intention. Want more? Order your copy of Beautiful Outlaw today

Many people have the vague but ominous idea that God destroys the current reality and creates a new “heavenly” one. But that is not what Scripture actually says.For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. (Romans 8:19–23 NLT) Paul teaches us that creation—meaning the earth and the animal kingdom—longs for the day of its redemption, when “it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay” (v. 21). Clearly that does not imply destruction; far from it. Paul anticipated a joyful day when creation shares in the eternity of the children of God: The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. (Romans 8:19–21 The Message) The glorious times ahead, when all things are made new. Want more? Order your copy of All Things New today

And then, alas, there is the church. Christianity, as it currently exists, has done some terrible things to men. When all is said and done, I think most men in the church believe that God put them on the earth to be a good boy. The problem with men, we are told, is that they don't know how to keep their promises, be spiritual leaders, talk to their wives, or raise their children. But if they will try real hard they can reach the lofty summit of becoming ... a nice guy. That's what we hold up as models of Christian maturity: Really Nice Guys. We don't smoke, drink, or swear; that's what makes us men. Now let me ask my male readers: In all your boyhood dreams growing up, did you ever dream of becoming a Nice Guy? (Ladies, was the Prince of your dreams dashing ... or merely nice?)Really now—do I overstate my case? Walk into most churches in America, have a look around, and ask yourself this question: What is a Christian man? Don't listen to what is said, look at what you find there. There is no doubt about it. You'd have to admit a Christian man is ... bored. At a recent church retreat I was talking with a guy in his fifties, listening really, about his own journey as a man. "I've pretty much tried for the last twenty years to be a good man as the church defines it." Intrigued, I asked him to say what he thought that was. He paused for a long moment. "Dutiful," he said. "And separated from his heart." A perfect description, I thought. Sadly, right on the mark. Want more? Order your copy of Wild at Heart today

“All mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer.” (Isaiah 49:26)Once upon a time the earth was whole and beautiful, shimmering like an emerald, filled with glory, bursting with anticipation. Such wonders waiting to be unveiled, such adventures waiting to be yours. Creation was like a fairy tale, a great legend—only true.Once upon a time we were whole and beautiful too, glorious, striding through the Garden like the sons and daughters of God. We were holy and powerful; we ruled the earth and animal kingdom with loving-kindness.But Eden was vulnerable; something dark slithered in the shadows. Something most foul and sinister. Banished from heaven, Satan and his fallen warriors came seeking revenge.If the coming Restoration is to be fulfilled on the earth and in your life, Satan and his armies must be destroyed. He must never be allowed in again.You are letting the great stories awaken your imagination to the coming kingdom, fill your heart with brilliant images and hopeful expectation. Seize the moment crucial to the climax of every story and the redemption you long to see: that glorious moment when evil is defeated.———————————Think back to the movies you love—you should go watch the scene again when the enemy is defeated, and let it remind you of the day your true enemy is cast down. Forever. Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

Hopefully you will find a few folks who walk with God to also walk with you through the seasons of your life. But honesty — and Scripture — forces me to admit they are a rare breed. Few there are who find it. All the more reason for you to make the number less scarce, by becoming someone who walks with God and teaches others how.Look to those who have walked with God down through the ages. Certainly that is why the Bible is given to us. If God had intended it to be a textbook of doctrine, well then, he would have written it like one. But its not; it's overwhelmingly a book of stories—tales of men and women who walked with God. Approach the Scriptures not so much as a manual of Christian principles but as the testimony of God's friends on what it means to walk with him through a thousand different episodes. When you are at war, when you are in love, when you have sinned, when you have been given a great gift — this is how you walk with God. Do you see what a different mindset this is? It's really quite exciting.And there are those who have walked with God since the canon of Scripture closed. Here is an Athanasius, a Bonaventure, a Julian of Norwich, a Brother Lawrence, a Tozer — here is how they walked with God. When it comes to time and place, temperament and situation, they could not be more different. Julian lived in a cloister; Tozer lived in Chicago. Athanasius fled to the desert; Lawrence worked in the kitchen. But there is a flavor, a tang, an authenticity to their writings which underlies whatever it is they are trying at the moment to say. Here is someone who knew God, really knew him. This is what its like to walk with God, and that is what its like as well. Want more? Order your copy of Waking The Dead today

By the grace of God, we cannot quite pull it off. In the quiet moments of the day we sense a nagging within, a discontentment, a hunger for something else. But because we have not solved the riddle of our existence, we assume that something is wrong—not with life, but with us. Everyone else seems to be getting on with things. What's wrong with me? We feel guilty about our chronic disappointment. Why can't I just learn to be happier in my job, in my marriage, in my church, in my group of friends? You see, even while we are doing other things, "getting on with life," we still have an eye out for the life we secretly want. When someone seems to have gotten it together, we wonder, How did he do it? Maybe if we read the same book, spent time with him, went to his church, things would come together for us as well. You see, we can never entirely give up our quest. Gerald May reminds us,When the desire is too much to bear, we often bury it beneath frenzied thoughts and activities or escape it by dulling our immediate consciousness of living. It is possible to run away from the desire for years, even decades, at a time, but we cannot eradicate it entirely. It keeps touching us in little glimpses and hints in our dreams, our hopes, our unguarded moments. (The Awakened Heart)He says that even though we sleep, our desire does not. "It is who we are." We are desire. It is the essence of the human soul, the secret of our existence. Absolutely nothing of human greatness is ever accomplished without it. Desire fuels our search for the life we prize. The same old thing is not enough. It never will be.Want more? Order your copy of The Journey of Desire today

If you woke each morning and your heart leapt with hope, knowing that the renewal of all things was just around the corner — might even come today — you would be one happy person. If you knew in every fiber of your being that nothing is lost, that everything will be restored to you and then some, you would be armored against discouragement and despair. If your heart’s imagination were filled with rich expectations of all the goodness coming to you, your confidence would be contagious; you would be unstoppable, revolutionary. Friends — don’t you let anyone or anything cheat you of this hope; it is your spiritual lifeline. You have barely begun to take hold of it. Do not let anything diminish the beauty, power, and significance of this hope above all hopes. Jesus lived the way he did in this world, for this world, because his hope was set beyond this world; that is the secret of his life. “Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed — that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God” (Hebrews 12:2 The Message). Oh yes, we need to make this practical. We need to take this hope so seriously we sell everything to buy this field. We must make this utterly real and tangible, so that over time our souls are truly anchored by it. Of all things we could do that would be the most practical, that has the most staggering implications. Want more? Order your copy of All Things New today

And so Screwtape reveals the Enemy's ploy — first make humans flabby, with small passions and desires, then offer a sop to those diminished passions so that their experience is one of contentment. They know nothing of great joy or great sorrow. They are merely nice.Christianity has come to the point where we believe that there is no higher aspiration for the human soul than to be nice. We are producing a generation of men and women whose greatest virtue is that they don't offend anyone. Then we wonder why there is not more passion for Christ. How can we hunger and thirst after righteousness if we have ceased hungering and thirsting altogether?As C. S. Lewis said, "We castrate the gelding and bid him be fruitful."The greatest enemy of holiness is not passion; it is apathy. Look at Jesus. He was no milksop. His life was charged with passion. After he drove the crooks from the temple, "his disciples remembered that it is written: 'Zeal for your house will consume me'" (John 2:17). This isn't quite the pictures we have in Sunday school, Jesus with a lamb and a child or two, looking for all the world like Mr. Rogers with a beard. The world's nicest guy. He was something far more powerful. He was holy. Want more? Order your copy of The Journey of Desire today

Entering into the Sacred Romance begins with eyes to see and ears to hear. Where would we be today if Eve had looked at the serpent with different eyes, if she had seen at once that the beautiful creature with the charming voice and the reasonable proposition was in fact a fallen angel bent on the annihilation of the human race? Failure to see things as they truly are resulted in unspeakable tragedy. From that point on, the theme of blindness runs throughout Scripture. It's not merely a matter of failing to recognize temptation when we meet it; like Elisha's servant, we often fail to see the drama of redemption as well (2 Kings 6:15-17).Needless to say, Elisha's servant suddenly saw from a whole different perspective. I (John) think it's safe to assume he also experienced a bit of emotional relief— a recovery of heart. What for him had undoubtedly been a harrowing encounter became an exciting adventure.The apostle Paul experienced an even greater surprise on the road to Damascus. Thinking he was doing God a favor, he was hell-bent on crushing a tiny religious movement called the Way. But he had the plot and the characters completely confused. Paul, known at that time as Saul, was playing the role of Defender of the Faith, when in fact he was Persecutor of Christ. It took a bout of blindness to bring things into focus, and when the scales fell from his eyes, he never saw things the same way again. Paul later explained to the Romans that human sin and suffering are the result of foolish and darkened hearts, brought on by a refusal to see the Sacred Romance. It should come as no surprise that his most fervent prayer for the saints was that the scales would fall from the eyes of our hearts so that we might not miss the Sacred Romance (Eph. 1:18-19). Want more? Order your copy of The Sacred Romance today

Adam was given the earth to rule, but when the test came — he folded. He didn’t speak, didn’t act on Eve’s behalf. Satan was there, attacking his wife, threatening the whole kingdom, and Adam didn’t do jack squat. He fell through his acquiescence, through his silence and passivity. That was how Satan became “the prince of this earth,” as Jesus called him. And why John said, “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19 NASB). Might I point out that many men fail as kings through abdication, through some sort of passivity? They refuse to take the role, or they refuse to make the tough decisions. Refuse to lead their people in battle. They look for a comfortable life. The other extreme, after Adam’s fall, is tyranny. Kings like Pharaoh and Saul and Herod. Men who use their power in order to control and manipulate. The pastor who won’t share the pulpit with anyone. The CEO who won’t take advice. The father who keeps his family cowed in fear. If a man would be a good king, he would do well to keep in mind these two extremes. The earth was given to man, but Satan usurped the throne, as Scar does in The Lion King, as Commodus does in Gladiator, as does Absalom, who seized David’s throne. Jesus came to win it back — to throw down the usurper, to break the claims of his rule, which were based entirely upon the sin of man. Through his absolute obedience to God and through his sacrificial death, he did indeed break every claim Satan might make to the kingdoms of this earth (see Col. 2:13–15). Now, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given” to Jesus (Matt. 28:18 niv). And you, my brother, have been given that same authority. “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 2:6 NIV). To be seated with Christ in the heavenlies means that we share in his authority. He makes it plain in Luke 10:19: “I have given you authority ... to overcome all the power of the enemy” (NIV). Learning to live in this authority, to bring the kingdom of God to our little kingdoms on earth, that is what it means to become a true king. Want more? Order your copy of Fathered by God today

This is not to say the heart is only swirling emotion, mixed motives, and dark desire, without thought or reason. Far from it. According to Scripture, the heart is also where we do our deepest thinking. "Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their hearts," is a common phrase in the Gospels. This might be most surprising for those who have accepted the Great Modern Mistake that "the mind equals reason and the heart equals emotion." Most people believe that. I heard it again, just last night, from a very astute and devoted young man. "The mind is our reason; the heart is emotion," he said. What popular nonsense. Solomon is remembered as the wisest man ever, and it was not because of the size of his brain. Rather, when God invited him to ask for anything in all the world, Solomon asked for a wise and discerning heart (1 Kings 3:9).Our deepest thoughts are held in our hearts. Scripture itself claims to be "sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). Not the feelings of the heart, the thoughts of the heart. Remember, when the shepherds reported the news that a company of angels had brought them out in the field, Mary "pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19), as you do when some news of great import keeps you up in the middle of the night. If you have a fear of heights, no amount of reasoning will get you to go bungee jumping. And if you are asked why you're paralyzed at the thought of it, you won't be able to explain. It is not rational, but it is your conviction nonetheless. Thus, the writer of Proverbs preempts Freud by about two thousand years when he says, "As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7 KJV). It is the thoughts and intents of the heart that shape a person's life. Want more? Order your copy of Waking the Dead today

Forgive God? This idea is going to cause some readers to freak out. Just listen for a moment. If you are holding something in your heart against Jesus — the loss of someone you love, a painful memory from your past, simply the way your life has turned out — if you are holding that against Jesus, well, then, it is between you and Jesus. And no amount of ignoring it or being faithful in other areas of your life is going to make it go away. In order to move forward, you are going to need to forgive Jesus for whatever these things are. “But Jesus doesn’t need our forgiveness!” you protest. I didn’t say he did. I said that you need to forgive Jesus — you need it. Let me be clear: To forgive a person, we pardon a wrong done to us; "Forgiving" Jesus means to release the hurt and resentment we hold against him. This comes before understanding. We don’t often know why things have happened the way they have in our lives. What we do know is that we were hurt, and part of that hurt is toward Jesus, because in our hearts we believe he let it happen. Again, this is not the time for sifting theological nuances, but this is why it is so important for you to look at the world the way Jesus did — as a vicious battle with evil. When you understand you have an enemy that has hated your guts ever since you were a child, it will help you not to blame this stuff on God. Anyhow, the facts are it happened, we are hurt that it happened, and part of us believes Jesus could have done something about it and didn’t. That is why we need to forgive him. We do so in order that this part of us can draw near him again, and receive his love. Perhaps part of the fruit of that restoration will be that Jesus will then be able to explain to us why things happened the way they did. This is often the case. But whether we receive this or not, we know we need Jesus far more than we need understanding. And so we forgive. Restoration. That is our Jesus. Want more? Order your copy of Beautiful Outlaw today

Her child was snatched away from the dragon. ... Then there was war in heaven. (Revelation 12:5, 7 NLT) I would pay good money to have a nativity scene with Revelation 12 included. Not only would it capture the imagination, but it would also better prepare us to celebrate the holidays and to go on to live the Story Christmas invites us into.Your vision of the nativity was shaped by classic Christmas cards and lovely crèche displays. And while I still love those tableaus very much, I’m convinced they’re an almost total rewrite of the story. I understand this traditional imagery is probably dear to you, but friend, it’s also profoundly deceiving by creating all sorts of warm expectations—many quite subconscious—of what the nature of the Christian life is going to be like.But war in heaven the instant Jesus was born—this is an essential part of the Story. Yes — Christmas is the glow of candlelight, and a baby sleeping in a manger. It is starlight, shepherds in a field. But Christmas is also an invasion. The kingdom of God striking at the heart of the kingdom of darkness with violent repercussions. And victory.———————————Christmas is meant to remind us each year of the Great Story we live in. Not something cute and quaint from time gone by, but the most epic Story unfolding right now, all around us. What will help you remember that this year? Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

The incarnation is one of the greatest treasures of our faith. The world keeps pushing God away, feeling more comfortable with him up in the heavens somewhere. But in the coming of Jesus he draws near. Incredibly near. He takes on our humanity. How could he possibly get closer? He nurses at Mary’s breast.One of my favorite Christmas meditations comes from this passage by Chesterton (he is speaking of Bethlehem, and what it held in its foothills that fateful night):The strange kings fade into a far country and the mountains resound no more with the feet of the shepherds; and only the night and the cavern lie in fold upon fold over something more human than humanity.Savor that passage for a moment. The manger Mary used as a cradle held something more human than humanity? Do you think of Jesus as the most human human-being who ever lived?It’s true.The ravages of sin, neglect, abuse, and a thousand addictions have left us all a shadow of what we were meant to be. Jesus is humanity in its truest form. His favorite title for himself was the Son of Man. Not of God—of man. Too much “heavens” stuff pushes Jesus away. His humanity brings him close again. Want more? Order your copy of Beautiful Outlaw today

The best thing you can do at this point is simply begin to love Jesus.Just love him.It will open up your heart and soul to experiencing him, and to receiving his life. Just begin to make a practice of loving Jesus. As I’m driving in my car, I will simply tell him, “I love you.” Not once, like a sneeze, but over and over again: “I love, I love you, I love you.” It turns my whole being toward him in love. When I wake up and the sunshine is pouring through the window, I’ll say, “I love you.” I’ll look at a photograph of some fond memory, or some beautiful place, and I’ll say, “I love you.” A breeze will caress my face ever so gently, and I’ll turn into it and say, “I love you.” Anytime something makes me laugh. When I see a chipmunk or a wave, when I enjoy a movie. I love you, I love you, I love you. Find a few worship songs that lift your heart. Linger with them, play them over and over, and simply tell Jesus you love him. Put them on your iPod; play them in your car. The more you practice this, the richer it becomes. Want more? Order your copy of Beautiful Outlaw today

A slave feels reluctant to pray; they feel they have no right to ask, and so their prayers are modest and respectful. They spend more time asking forgiveness than they do praying for abundance. An orphan is not reluctant to pray; they feel desperate. But their prayers feel more like begging than anything else. But not sons; sons know who they are. Mine were just home for the holiday; all three of them. They are young men now, out making their way in the world. And as is fitting to their stage in life, they are living on limited means. But when they come home, they get to feast. The refrigerator and pantry is theirs to pillage and they don’t have to ask permission. When we go out to dinner, there is no question that dad will take care of the bill. For they are sons—they get to live under their father’s blessing; they get to drink from the abundance of my house (Ps. 36:8). And when the holidays were over and they packed up and left, they took with them my best shoes, my best sunglasses, some of my favorite books, climbing gear, and cigars—with my absolute pleasure and blessing. Luke was the last to go; he was hoping to pillage some of my travel gear for an upcoming trip. I said, “You are my son—everything I have is yours. Plunder as you will.” This is how sons get to live; this is how a father feels toward his sons. Want more? Order your copy of Moving Mountains today

Everyone is trying to find their way to joy, and if not joy, at least happiness. That’s a good desire, by the way: It fuels our search. It keeps us moving forward. Folks who give up even wanting to be happy are deep into what might be called depression. But in Christendom there seems to be this perennial debate about how to get there. One camp, rising in popularity for obvious reasons, promises a life above and beyond suffering. If we just worship/believe/proclaim/whatever, we can live in the fullness of the kingdom of God right now! We don’t have to be sick/poor/hurting. Victory is ours! There is a way around the suffering! The other camp—often in reaction to these bold claims—tries very hard to say that no, the promises of God are mostly for later. The healing, the breakthrough, the victory is later. After you die. In heaven. Some of the advocates of this position are very, very dear saints, who, unable to find breakthrough, have made a theology of their own disappointment. I just want to point out two things: First, suffering is guaranteed to the saints. Jesus says to the disciples and to us, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). Second, joy is clearly promised to the children of God in this life. Jesus said to His disciples, “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full” (John 16:24 nasb). It’s not an either/or situation, thank God. Because, as much as many of us have tried, we don’t seem to be able to rid the world of suffering just by worshipping longer or praying harder or whatever the magic method is supposed to be. I believe a great deal of breakthrough and healing is available in this life. The history of the church is filled with such stories. I also believe joy and breakthrough are not opposed to suffering but are available in the midst of it. Suffering is not a failure of faith on our part; its presence does not mean the absence of the promises of God. We can live with suffering and joy simultaneously. How does this work? Joy is deeply rooted in the availability of God and His kingdom right here, right now. Sometimes we find breakthrough. Sometimes we find a deeper knowing of God in our suffering. But neither breakthrough nor suffering is ultimately the point. The joy that Paul discovered, the joy that Jesus knew and invited us into, begins in a deeper experience of God, whatever our situation might be. Want more? Order your copy of Defiant Joy today

The angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” (Luke 2:13–14 NLT)As I reflect upon the mystery of the incarnation, and the great invasion of the kingdom that began under cover of darkness in a remote village in the Middle East, so many wonders flood my heart. The wild plan of God to come the way he did, where he did, when he did, as he did. The great battle in the heavens. The immense cost. The staggering series of events that began to unfold. It really is breathtaking, more than any other story ever told.But above all, what I wanted to offer you this Christmas is this one simple thought: It worked.God came for you, and all that he planned and all he intended in Jesus Christ has come true. The rule of evil has been broken. You are ransomed. Your life is now filled with the life of God. The kingdom of God has broken through. Redemption is unfolding all over the earth, and will come to a glorious climax with the return of Jesus. Sin no longer reigns over you. Restoration is yours, now. And so many other glories.It worked. Hold on to that truth this Christmas, dear friend.———————————This glorious victory needs to be celebrated! How can you celebrate this wonderful truth today? Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

Walk into any large mall, museum, amusement park, university, or hospital, and you will typically meet at once a very large map with the famous red star and the encouraging words "You are here". These maps are offered to visitors as ways to orient themselves to their situation, get some perspective on things. This is the Big Picture. This is where you are in that picture. Hopefully you now know where to go. You have your bearings.Oh, that we had something like this for our lives."This is the Story in which you have found yourself. Here is how it got started. Here is where it went wrong. Here is what will happen next. Now this—this is the role you've been given. If you want to fulfill your destiny, this is what you must do. These are your cues. And here is how things are going to turn out in the end."We can.We can discover the Story. Maybe not with perfect clarity, maybe not in the detail that you would like, but in greater clarity than most of us now have, and that would be worth the price of admission. I mean, to have some clarity would be gold right now. Wouldn't it? Want more? Order your copy of Epic today

When I consider all that is at stake in this journey I am on, how vulnerable are my heart and the hearts of those I love, I am moved to fall on my face and cry out to God for the grace to remember. George MacDonald says it better in poetry:Were there but some deep, holy spell, wherebyAlways I should remember thee ...Lord, see thou to it, take thou remembrance’s load:Only when I bethink me can I cry;Remember thou, and prick me with love’s goad.When I can no more stir my soul to move,And life is but the ashes of a fire;When I can but remember that my heartOnce used to live and love, long and aspire—Oh, be thou then the first, the one thou art;Be thou the calling, before all answering love,And in me wake hope, fear, boundless desire.(Diary of an Old Soul )The final burden of remembrance does not rest on us; if it did, we should all despair. Jesus is called the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Rom. 12:2). He is the One who put the romance in our hearts and the One who first opened our eyes to see that our deepest desire is fulfilled in him. He started us on the journey, even though we may for long seasons forget him, he does not forget us.I am always with you;you hold me by my right hand.You guide me with your counsel,and afterward you will take me into glory ...My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the strength of my heartand my portion forever. (Ps. 73:23–24, 26) Want more? Order your copy of The Sacred Romance today

As we love him, experience him, allow his life to fill ours, the personality of Jesus transforms our personalities. The timid become bold and the bold become patient and the patient become fierce and the uptight become free and the religious become scandalously good. “They looked to Him and were radiant” (Psalm 34:5 NASB). They looked to Jesus and became like him. Loving Jesus helps us to become what human beings were meant to be. As Athanasius said, “He became what we are that we might become what he is.” We aren’t the only ones who need this desperately; the world needs this to happen in us.Want more? Order your copy of Beautiful Outlaw today

Every age has a certain spirit or mood or climate to it. Ours is busyness. We’re all running like lemmings from sunup to way past sundown. What’s with all the energy drinks? There must be dozens now. RocketFuel. CrankYouUp. Not to mention the coffeehouses on every corner. Why do we need all this caffeine? And why do so many of us now need sleep aids to rest at night? Our grandparents didn’t. We thought the age of technology would make life simpler, easier. It has us by the throat. We need to operate at the speed of computers. Seriously, I’m irritated that my e-mail takes four seconds to boot up now, when it used to take ten. I realize I’m not the first to put this down on paper. People have been making this observation for a long time. We are running around like ants do when you kick in their hill, like rats on a wheel, like Carroll’s Mad Hatter. And for some reason, we either believe we can’t stop or we don’t want to. Like the prodigal son, we are not going to do a thing about this until we wake one day to realize we are sick of it and we want a different life. Till then, the life of not living but getting things done has its benefits. For one, it provides us with an illusion of security — I am tackling life, I am staying on top of things. It’s a false security, but we don’t believe that. We believe it’s our only road to security. Stay on top of things. We might not be so honest as to say, “God doesn’t seem particularly involved in taking care of these things for me, so I have to do it.” But that is our underlying conviction. After all, if we believed God was going to take care of all that concerns us, we wouldn’t kill ourselves trying to hold our world up. Want more? Order your copy of Walking With God today

Parents will often wonder where their toddlers learned to lie or how they came into the world so self-centered. It doesn’t need to be taught to them; it is inherent to human nature. Paul makes clear in Romans, “Sin entered the world through one man ... through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners” (5:12, 19). Of course, I am simply restating the doctrine of original sin, a core tenet of Christianity essential to Scripture.But that is not the end of the Story, thank God. The first Adam was only “a pattern of the one to come” (Rom. 5:14). He would foreshadow another man, the head of a new race, the firstborn of a new creation, whose life would mean transformation to those who would become joined to him: “For just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man [Christ, the Last Adam] the many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19).A man comes down from heaven, slips into our world unnoticed, as Neo does in The Matrix, as Maximus does in Gladiator, as Wallace does in Braveheart. Yet he is no ordinary man, and his mission no ordinary mission. He comes as a substitute, a representative, as the destroyer of one system and the seed of something new. His death and resurrection break the power of the Matrix, release the prisoners, set the captives free. It is a historic fact. It really happened. And it is more than history. It is mythic in the first degree. Lewis said, “By becoming fact, it does not cease to be myth; that is the miracle.” Want more? Order your copy of Waking the Dead today

The armies of Israel have drawn up against the armies of the Philistines, but not a single shot has been fired from any bow. The reason, of course, is Goliath, a mercenary of tremendous size and strength, renowned for his skill in combat. He's killed many men bare-handed, and no one wants to be next. David is barely a teen when he goes to the camp and sees what is going on. He offers to fight the giant, at which point he is brought before the king, who in turn attempts to dissuade the lad. Saul says, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth" (1 Sam. 17:33 NIV). Sound advice, the likes of which I wager any of us would offer under the same circumstances. David replies:Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. (verses 34-37 NIV)Being a shepherd David learned lessons here that would carry him the rest of his life. The life of the shepherd was not a sweet little life with lambs around. It was a hard job, out in the field, months camping out in the wild on your own. And it had its effect. There is a settled confidence in the boy-he knows he has what it takes. But it is not an arrogance-he knows that God has been with him. He will charge Goliath, and take his best shot, trusting God will do the rest. That "knowing" is what we are after and it only comes through experience. And may I also point out that the experiences David speaks of here were physical in nature, they were dangerous, and they required courage.Want more? Order your copy of Fathered by God today

They will call him Immanuel, which means “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:23 NLT)I was listening to a few refrains from “O Holy Night”: “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices” and something deep in my spirit said, O yes, dear Jesus, we need hope. Come for this weary world. Actually, this world is more than weary, it’s coming apart at the seams. Something deep is unraveling. I wonder if you’ve felt it too. The barrenness of spirit, a desolation creeping across the earth.You can see this through the great ache of social concern—the rallying to offer a helping hand, which is easier than offering Jesus. Now, we are to care for the poor and the oppressed. Yes. But let me ask: What is the unique contribution of Christianity to this weary world? It’s not social concern. It is Jesus and his kingdom. God didn’t offer the shepherds a grant for their micro economics, or the little outcast family an apartment. He offered them a Savior. He offered them himself. There’s simply no other way to save this weary, unraveling world.Think again about the gift in the manger. God saw what the world most desperately needed, and what he chose to give us was ... himself. To care for the world is to offer Jesus Christ. This is the message of Christmas. “Let every heart prepare him room.” Then heaven and nature will sing. Then will break the new and glorious morn. Jesus, may your hope and glory come.———————————Father — I receive the gift of Christmas. I receive the gift of Jesus Christ and all it means for my life. Thank you, with all my heart. Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

He enables us to love. He gives us the greatest treasure in all creation: a heart. For he intends that we should be his intimate allies, to borrow Dan Allender's phrase, who join in the Sacred Circle of intimacy that is the core of the universe, to share in this great Romance.Just as we have lost our wonder at the world around us, we have forgotten what a treasure the human heart is. All of the happiness we have ever known and all of the happiness we hope to find is unreachable without a heart. You could not live or love or laugh or cry had God not given you a heart.And with that heart comes something that just staggers me.God gives us the freedom to reject him.He gives to each of us a will of our own.Good grief, why? He knows what free-willed creatures can do. He has already suffered one massive betrayal in the rebellion of the angels. He knows how we will use our freedom, what misery and suffering, what hell will be unleashed on earth because of our choices. Why? Is he out of his mind?The answer is as simple and staggering as this: if you want a world where love is real, you must allow each person the freedom to choose. Want more? Order your copy of Epic today

Fear causes us to make agreements like, “I cannot trust you will stay, so I will do everything in my power to make you stay.” Or “I cannot trust that I will not be hurt, so I will keep my distance from everyone.” Or “I cannot trust that you will not be hurt, so I will do my best to keep you as safe as possible in every conceivable way.” Yet God wants us to trust. To trust Him. God is nothing if not trustworthy: He is good. He is faithful. He is for us. Everything He has done has been out of love for us. We can see this even in the extravagance of the world He created and placed us in. Look around. Look at the beauty and the splendor of creation. Look at the majesty presented in the sunrise, in the sunset, and in the stars; the sky is strewn with abundant glory. Look even at the Colorado River flowing with endless whimsy, wonder, and strength. And look at your-self. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, a vessel of the Holy Spirit, the very dwelling place of God, because He loves you and wants to share your life with you every single moment. God is our partner. He is our ally. He is our friend. He is our helper. We can trust Him. And because we can trust Him, we no longer have to live in fear. We can step out in trust, in faith, and live with His strength. Where is He inviting you to trust Him? With your family? With your lack of one? With an adventure, a move, a class, a friendship, a kayak trip? Where is He asking you to step out in faith and go forward not in your own strength but His? In your own healing? In pursuing more of His life for you, in you? No matter what area of your life God is calling you to trust Him with, know that because of His trustworthiness, you don’t have to be afraid. You can pray, “Jesus, come and uproot my fear. Replace it with a revelation of Your goodness. Overwhelm my fear with Your love. Come into the gap in my soul between what I profess to believe and what I truly do. I want to know You. Deeply. Truly. In the way that lends itself to easily trusting You. Come for me again, oh Faithful Friend.” Want more? Order your copy of Defiant Joy today