Category: Christian Life

  • Riding Solo: Trusting God Through Your Deployment

    “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32 [ESV]) Do you remember learning to ride a bike? Perhaps you learned by yourself. Perhaps someone taught you. Either way, at some point, the…

  • Church Leader, Start a Deploying Well Group

    “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15 [ESV]) There is a lot of weeping associated with military deployments. And, perhaps surprisingly, there is a lot of rejoicing as well. We do well to experience this weeping and rejoicing in community with one another. This is why I encourage you to…

  • Deploy Well: A Guide for the Long Days of Deployment

    “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.” (Ephesians 5:15 [ESV]) I trust that you have put some time in preparing for the spiritual journey that lies ahead of you on this military deployment. I encourage you to continue the work as you walk through this deployment. Continue to prioritize your…

  • Find your rhythms

    “He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.” (Proverbs 5:23 [ESV]) I was shocked the first time I read that passage. A lack of discipline leads to death? Really? On second reading, I knew it to be true. The one who knows the truth and yet dies…

  • Weekly Check In

    “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God… For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day…” (Exodus 20:9-10, 11 [ESV]) There is something beautiful about…

  • Finding Strength in Suffering: A Journey of Hope

    “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5 [ESV]) People have been going off to war for at least 5,000…

  • Quiet Strength: Honoring Uncle Jack’s Example

    In our day, there are a lot of voices- few examples. There are a lot of critics- few “in the arena.” My Uncle Jack (1942-2025) was a quiet, humble example of a godly man that I had the privilege of knowing my entire life. Uncle Jack was a U.S. Marine Officer- the first Marine I…

  • Process Your Military Deployment

    You did it! I assume you are reading this article because you have recently completed or are about to complete your military deployment. Congratulations! The first thing I want you to hear is Jesus’ encouragement to his disciples in Mark 6, “Come away with me… and rest a while.” Jump right into the first article.…

  • Come Away and Rest a While

    “And [Jesus] said to [his disciples], “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31 [ESV]) As you return from a military deployment (or your spouse returns) it is important to realize that you have just endured a significant challenge. Picture yourself completing a marathon. You have crossed the finish…

  • Putting Off the Old Self, Walk in the New Life You Have in Christ

    The title of this article was the transformational aim of the sermon I preached this past Sunday on Ephesians 4:17-32 at my home church, Pillar Church of Jacksonville. This article is what I call a “Cutting Room Floor” article. These are ideas or further helps that had to be cut from the sermon to keep…