Madonna, American singer-songwriter, said in a Vanity Fair magazine: “All of my will has always been to conquer some horrible feeling of inadequacy. I’m always struggling with that fear. . . . My drive in life is from this horrible fear of being mediocre. And that’s always pushing me, pushing me. Because even though I’ve…

Judd Apatow is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, and incidentally, was born in Flushing, NY. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Judd Apatow responded to the interviewer’s statement: “You’ve said that as an entertainer, all the success in the world won’t heal you.” Apatow replied, “It doesn’t do anything. There is a great…

Being in an airport recently, I stepped onto a moving sidewalk. I walked through the airport a little faster than walking on my own power. I was still walking, but I could walk with ease because of the force underneath me propelling me forward. Walking in the Spirit is like that. Paul urged us: “Since…

Henri Nouwen said, “I cannot continuously say no to this or no to that, unless there is something ten times more attractive to choose. Saying no to my lust, my greed, my needs, and the world’s powers takes an enormous amount of energy. The only hope is to find something so obviously real and attractive…

True or False: Freedom means you can do anything you want. Answer: False. Oh sure, you’re free to choose to disobey the law. But then you’d have to cover it up, keep it a secret, and most likely pay for it later. You’re also free to tell a lie. But then you’d have to keep…

A young man asked, “I am in earnest about forsaking ‘the world’ and following Christ. But I am puzzled about worldly things. What is it I must forsake?” “Colored clothes, for one thing. Get rid of everything in your wardrobe that is not white. Stop sleeping on a soft pillow. Sell your musical instruments and…

Sin pulls us down. Christ lifts us up. We affirm, “Christ died for me.” This is called substitution, because we should have died for our sins. But God in his great love for us sent Jesus as the perfect sacrifice to die in our place. We also affirm, “I died in Christ.” This is called…

We all struggle with faulty software and broken coding. Our interior software tells us what we believe about ourselves and manages everything we think, say, and do. And it’s faulty. Our interior software says things like: • “I have to be perfect to be acceptable.” • “I can’t do anything right and people get upset.”…

“Who are you?” “I’m David Smith.” “Oh, that’s your name. But who are you?” “I’m a pastor.” “No, that’s what you do.” “I’m a Caucasian male.” “No, that’s your ethnicity, your gender. Who are you?” “I’m with the Christian and Missionary Alliance.” “No, that’s your denomination.” I could add my height and weight. The color…

During a war, as enemy forces advanced, Baker Company was cut off from the rest of their battalion. No word was heard from them for several hours though headquarters repeatedly tried to contact them. Finally a faint signal was received. Straining to hear, the commander asked, “Baker Company, do you read me?” “This is Baker…