Ask our family just about any question pertaining to the Andy Griffith show, and I’ll be embarrassed to admit how much we know. Our Andy Griffith Trivia Game is played with alacrity. We simply know way too much. We own all eight seasons and love the nuances of each. Floyd, Thelma Lou, Gomer and cousin…

Today is like any other. The sun rises. The winds blow. Rain falls. Rain does not fall. People are born. They laugh. They cry. They dance. They die. Today “chronos” time is as it has been since You gave it beginning, and will be as it is until you bring things to an end. Today…

Matthew 6:9-13 “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” Some things to think about: Here’s a startling even troubling truth: our relationship with God is conditioned on our relationship with other people.  We are invited to bring our sins before Jesus.  When we confess them he forgives us freely (I…

Does it ever seem as if God speaks in riddles? Do you ever wonder why he doesn’t just come out and write words across the sky for us? In Nine Ways God Always Speaks, we wonder too, and we speculate on God’s answer: God is so much bigger and more amazing than we can comprehend,…

Are ways we can increase our likelihood of hearing God speak? In Nine Ways God Always Speaks, I [Mark] offer the following: What’s the difference between those who hear him and those who don’t? It’s as simple as how they listen. We know what you’re thinking. “I listen, but I never hear him.” Okay, we…

Here’s the introductory paragraphs to Nine Ways God Always Speaks, my [Mark’s] second book, co-written with Jennifer Schuchmann. Yes, we talk to God in prayer. Does God talk back? Some things are too good to be true: living to be 101; winning the lottery; hearing God speak.   Despite the fact that these things are…

David is God’s friend. God is David’s friend. This intimate Psalm written three thousand of years ago outlines for us what we can expect from God in this relationship. Prayer is based on the certain facts we know about God. We’re not shooting blindly into the emptiness of heaven! We talk directly and clearly knowing…

David is banking on his friendship with God for everything. Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
       for I am trusting you.
    Show me where to walk,
       for I give myself to you.
  9 Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;
       I run to you to hide me. Psalm 143:8-9 He acknowledges that every…

God invites honesty from his friends. We can be – must be – transparent. And God not only tolerates us shooting straight, he honors it. When we know where we stand with him – as intimate friends – we can bring all our pains, sorrows, troubles, desires and passions. Friendship welcomes truth. As God’s friends…

St. Augustine didn’t trust his physical body. Prior to his conversion to Christianity Augustine had lived to please and indulge his own appetites. For the rest of his life on earth he considered his “flesh” as the enemy of his soul. I believe Augustine overreacted a bit. After all, God created our bodies, and called…

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