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Why God’s Fire Falls on Surrendered Altars I have learned that there is a terrifying difference between studying the fire of God and carrying it. A person can study revival and still remain cold. A person can preach on prayer and still avoid the secret place. A person can sing about the Holy Spirit and still live almost untouched by His power. A person can know the language of burning and yet never become the altar upon which the fire falls. That thought has searched me deepl

The Secret Jesus Gave to a Fruitful Life I have learned that one of the greatest deceptions in the Christian life is the belief that fruitfulness comes from trying harder. For years, many of us have been taught, directly or indirectly, that the answer to spiritual weakness is more effort. Try harder. Pray longer. Read more. Do better. Be stronger. Fix yourself. Push through. Discipline your emotions. Control your thoughts. Produce more. Serve more. Give more. Become more. And

I have learned that some of the greatest battles of my life did not begin around me. They began within me. For years, it was easier to blame the obvious things. I could blame difficult circumstances. I could blame toxic people. I could blame the wounds of my past, the pressure of temptation, the disappointments of life, or even the attacks of the enemy. And sometimes there was truth in those things. People do wound us. Circumstances do test us. The devil does attack us. But t

From Eden to Revelation, the Bible Is the Story of God Refusing to Abandon His Dwelling Place The Bible does not begin with man trying to find God. It begins with God dwelling with man. That one truth ruins shallow religion. Before there was a temple, before there was a priesthood, before there was sacrifice, before there was a mountain covered in fire, before there was an ark, a veil, or a Holy of Holies, there was a garden. And in that garden, God was not distant. He was pr

An enemy cannot truly betray me. An enemy can attack me. A stranger can insult me. A critic can misunderstand me. Someone outside my circle can wound me from a distance. But betrayal is different. Betrayal does not usually come through the front gate wearing the face of hostility. Betrayal comes from the table. It comes through proximity. It requires trust. It requires access. It requires relationship. It requires history. It requires that I opened my heart, lowered my guard,

Chosen by Grace While Still Being Changed by Glory I have asked the Lord this question more than once: why did You choose me? Not the polished version of me. Not the version people see when I am preaching, praying, encouraging, writing, serving, or trying to appear spiritually strong. I mean the real me. The me God sees when no one else is in the room. The me with thoughts still being purified, motives still being searched, emotions still being healed, and weaknesses still be

How I Examine My Life Daily to Know Whether I Am Walking in the Spirit I have learned that I cannot measure my spiritual condition by what I feel in worship, what I preach from a platform, what gifts operate through me, or how confidently I speak about God. I must examine the fruit. Every day, I return to Galatians 5:22–23 and allow the Holy Spirit to place my life beside the standard of His Word: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, go

WHEN THE WEIGHT OF GOD ENTERS THE ROOM Glory Is Not Decoration—It Is the Substance That Rearranges Everything I have become convinced that many of us have spoken about the glory of God without fully understanding what we are asking for. We sing about glory. We pray for glory. We declare that we want the glory to fall. We ask God to fill our churches, invade our gatherings, touch our cities, and reveal Himself among us. Yet I sometimes wonder whether we have imagined glory pri

I have become convinced that one of the most familiar statements Jesus ever made is also one of the most misunderstood: “The kingdom of God is within you.” I have heard those words presented as though Jesus were telling humanity to look inward and discover some hidden greatness buried beneath the surface. I have seen the verse reduced to a slogan about self-belief, personal potential and inner enlightenment. It can sound inspiring. It can make us feel powerful. It can even ca

Taking Every Thought Captive and Breaking the Patterns That Keep Us Bound I have become convinced that everything the Lord places within my life will eventually be tested. Every word He gives me will be tested. Every conviction He awakens within me will be tested. Every declaration I make in His presence will eventually be confronted by circumstances that demand an answer. It is one thing for me to speak about righteousness when everything is peaceful. It is another thing to

Coming Boldly, But Not Carelessly I am convinced that one of the greatest invitations ever given to the believer is also one of the most misunderstood. Scripture tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. That is not a small invitation. That is not religious poetry. That is not a decorative verse to hang on the wall when life is gentle and predictable. It is a summons from heaven. It is the voice of the Fat

The Difference Between Serving God and Secretly Serving Myself I have learned that one of the most dangerous things in the Christian life is not always rebellion that looks obvious. Sometimes the most dangerous thing is building something that looks spiritual while the motive underneath it is still deeply personal. It is possible to preach about the kingdom of God while quietly protecting my own kingdom. It is possible to serve, give, lead, build, organize, travel, minister,

I have become convinced that one of the greatest questions a believer can ever answer is not simply, “Do I believe in God?” but, “Does God truly come first?” This deeper inquiry invites us to reflect on the priorities we set in our lives and challenges us to evaluate how our faith influences our daily decisions, relationships, and overall life direction. It is a question that transcends mere acknowledgment of God's existence and delves into the essence of our commitment to Hi

Testing Whether We Are Truly Walking in the Spirit The longer I walk with the Lord, the more convinced I become that fruitfulness is not first measured by what I do publicly, but by what is being formed in me privately. It is possible to be busy for God and still need God to search the heart. It is possible to preach truth, lead meetings, counsel others, pray for people, and still have areas within us where the Holy Spirit is calling us back into alignment. That realization d

I do not believe the enemy wastes ammunition on churches that pose no threat. A church can have meetings, songs, programs, sermons, committees, calendars, and still not disturb the kingdom of darkness very much. But when a church begins to pray with fire, preach Christ without apology, love people deeply, cast out darkness, heal the broken, restore families, disciple believers, reach the lost, and lift up the name of Jesus above every other name, hell notices. And when hell n

I am convinced that many believers are not defeated because they do not love God. They are worn down because they are carrying weights God never asked them to carry. Not always sin. Not always rebellion. Not always something obvious or immoral. Sometimes it is simply weight. The weight of finances. The weight of family. The weight of relationships. The weight of health. The weight of uncertainty. The weight of responsibility. The weight of what might happen. The weight of wha

Total and Complete Surrender to Christ Not My Will, But Yours Be Done The longer I walk with Christ, the more convinced I become that one of the greatest battles in the Christian life is not simply the battle against sin, temptation, darkness, or the enemy. The deepest battle is the battle of ownership. Who truly owns my life? Is it Christ, or is it still me? This is where surrender begins. Not with a song. Not with a tearful moment at an altar. Not with spiritual language th

Mastering Sin Through Consuming Love for Jesus Christ Before sin becomes an action, it first seeks permission. It crouches at the door of the heart, waiting for anger to open it, jealousy to welcome it, bitterness to feed it, or self-will to justify it. This is what we see in the life of Cain. His sin did not begin in the field. It began when he allowed what was inside him to master him. Before Cain ever rose up against Abel, God came to him with mercy and warning. The Lord d

Why understanding can inform us, but only love can transform us As I was meditating before the Lord this morning, I felt a deep impression rise within my spirit concerning the message of my upcoming book, Consuming Love. It was not simply another thought. It was not merely another sermon idea. It felt like the Lord was drawing my attention back to the very center of the Christian life. We can receive counseling. We can gain knowledge. We can study theology. We can understand

What Happens When Heaven Lays Its Weight Upon Flesh I have become convinced that one true touch of the glory of God can do what years of human striving could never accomplish. When God’s glory touches a human being, something eternal enters something fragile. Heaven lays its weight upon dust. The holy presence of God comes upon weakness, brokenness, fear, shame, limitation, and human inability — and suddenly the person begins to change. Not because they tried harder. Not beca