The commercialism of Christmas is in high gear.  Amazon trucks are rolling.  Malls are packed.  Trees and tinsel prepare for the Christmas Day “loot.”

There is a “presence,” an atmosphere in Christmas that’s about a lot more than Santa Claus.

HERE, FOR ME, IS THE “PRESENCE” OF CHRISTMAS:

There has got to be a reason for Easter. I think I found it: It’s because of “the way.”

The power of “one easy thought” is well-known in the athletic and business world. What is the “one easy thought” that will help us expand our prayer life this coming year?

Impatience is at the root of most bad decisions. Here are six ways to prevent impatience from controlling the direction of your life.

Miracles don’t just happen! Somebody has to get their “feet wet” and “step in” to new territory.

Strength has three components: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Which one are you feeling the most weakness in?

You need to succeed. The method you use to achieve success may differ from what you think. Hear this:  “The longer you do the right thing in the right way without changing, the greater your chance of success.”

Do you wonder why you end up in situations you didn’t want to be in?  It may be that you didn’t “mind your own business.”

Nothing challenges a Christian more than the ability to forgive quickly.

How do you honestly get over an offense?  Is forgiving and forgetting the same thing?

Moses was a great leader. However, he suffered from very low self-esteem, and his past failures haunted him and kept him hiding in the desert. How did he overcome inadequacy/

Everyone is facing transitions. How you navigate them is critical to your future.

Let me tell you about how two people can affect hundreds of thousands of people…

Joy always seems so temporary. God, however has a daily joy, a lifetime joy, and an eternal joy!

Insecurity is a silent enemy.

It ruins your relationships. It limits your leadership. It shows up in every decision. In essence, it is coloring your entire world.
How do you recognize it and conquer it?

“Judge not.”

No Biblical phrase has been more overused (or abused).  Was Jesus actually saying we should have no discernment?  What actually DID He mean and how do we steer clear of breaking His commandment?

Here are the 8 signs of judgmentalism and how we overcome it in our own lives:

Have you ever had the feeling of being overwhelmed, fearful of the worst, looking impossibility right in the face?

“Take courage.”

Some see grace as your constant “get out of jail free” pass.  We all do, of course, need grace day-by-day for all our failures and shortcomings.

Everybody sets goals, especially in a new year. Some are attainable and some are hopeless. By now, many have abandoned their goals for the year and some never set any! As a pastor for over 40 years, I learned how to set goals that were motivated by faith.

We all reach a point where we need to take a break. Jesus told His disciples to come apart and rest for a while. Someone said once, "if you don’t come apart you will surely come apart!" Perhaps you are at a point that you have become compulsive.

Everyone is in a panic. We operate more on adrenaline than anointing! We have pressures, commitments, deadlines, obligations, possessions and relationships that require continual maintenance. It reminds me of my first time snow skiing (a big deal for a Louisiana resident). I made it fine on the ski lift, but the moment my skis turned “south” I realized the first principle of snow skiing: “It is downhill and slightly out of control!”