Did you ever play hide and seek, when the adrenaline of the invisible becoming visible could send an electrical current through your body? Peter wrote about the adrenaline of the invisible becoming visible: “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him […]

My dad always said, “The strongest steel is made in the hottest fire.” Trials provide us opportunities for strength in Christ. Peter taught: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so your faith — of greater […]

Where do you find hope? When we surrender our old pattern of desiring life apart from God into the hands of the Restorer, we receive living hope: an inheritance of abundant life now and eternal life in the future. We see this in Peter’s first letter to those on Restoration Road: “Praise be to the […]

Is there any sin that you need to confess? Too often, we hold on to wayward desires, mulling them over in what we believe to be a safe place in our minds. All the while, we die a little inside. However, confession restores us. “Confess” means “to agree with God,” from His perspective, that our […]

Our journey toward authenticity unfolds on Restoration Road. Like every automobile, we began as a clay mold. In the Garden of Eden, God breathed life into the dust to make man in His image. Unfortunately, we all fall short of His original design, proudly pursuing the satisfaction of our desires in self-restoration attempts apart from […]

Just like a classic car, authentic restoration occurs in three steps. We surrender the old, surrender the pieces, and surrender the new. We’ve looked at surrendering the old and the pieces. Now, let’s pursue what it means to surrender the new. After the pieces of the collector car are restored, the rolling sculpture is reassembled, […]

Just like a classic car, authentic restoration occurs in three steps. We surrender the old, surrender the pieces, and surrender the new. Let’s explore surrendering the pieces. When he receives a rust bucket, a car restorer’s first action is to take it apart, piece-by-piece. Next, the smallest components of the automobile are individually and meticulously […]

Just like a classic car, authentic restoration occurs in three steps. First, we surrender the old. Second, we surrender the pieces. Finally, we surrender the new. Let’s talk about the first step, surrendering the old. When a car collector determines that his vehicle needs restoration, he surrenders his old basket case to the restorer, saying, […]

Have your self-restoration attempts left you feeling dissatisfied and unrestored? Have you tried a hair transplant, a facelift, or Botox, binging, purging, restricting, over-exercising, or cutting? Have you attempted to fulfill your desire for restoration through a smoke, a toke, a drink, a line, or a pop of a pill? Have you purchased a new […]

Have you ever considered the relationships on the other side of your expenses? If not, take a moment to reflect on the names and faces on the other side of your needs and wants. Have you generously used your resources to serve them, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms, or have you used […]

Having a greedy perspective toward my treasure led to me having less. Like the prodigal son, money slipped like sand through my fingers. Ironically, when I had less than nothing, I was finally ready to surrender my treasure to the Restorer. This meant that I would have to undertake many humbling face-to-face meetings and telephone […]

If you were raised in the church, you probably encountered the ongoing debate over tithes and offerings. Tithe means, “tenth.” You may ask yourself, “Do I tithe off the gross or the net? Do I have to give to a church, or can I give to another non-profit? Is it acceptable to spend my treasure […]

In order to be restored to authenticity, we need to surrender our treasure. We can get one rather obvious indication of how we’re managing our treasure by looking at our checking accounts. Our checkbook registers reveal the costs of our needs: mortgage or rent payments, school tuition, groceries, utilities, gas for our cars, and the […]

I was often stonehearted until I surrendered my heart to God. That led to the restoration of my talent to be used to advance His heart in others. One example of the Restorer renewing my talent occurred at our Labor Day Weekend kickoff press conference luncheon held at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum. Each year […]

In order to be restored to authenticity, we need to surrender our talent. Talent is our unique identity. From that identity flows our passions. We must discover and develop our unique expression of Christ in us to advance His message of restoration in the lives of each person we encounter. CPA’s need to discover how […]

Do you often feel interrupted by emails, calls, or people stopping in to see you? The most sacred commodity to each one of us is our time, and we never seem to have enough of it. However, a wise man once said, “Time is the only true democracy.” Each of us has the same amount […]

In order to be restored to authenticity, we need to surrender our time. Paul referenced this as, “Redeeming the time” (Ephesians 5:16 KJV). The NIV translates this phrase, “making the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:16 NIV). Paul had at least two choices for his word, time: chronos or kairos. Chronos is where we get […]

When it comes to interpersonal conflict, what is fair? Fairness includes straight paths. Solomon taught emerging leaders: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Solomon also passed along his father’s advice, saying, […]

Are you locked inside the thought that life consists in the abundance of your possessions? Do you want to accumulate one more car, boat, house, collectible, business, or zero on the end of your investment account? Jesus warned: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist […]

Do you respond to God’s generosity and to the needs of others with generosity in kind? What have you done with the three resources of your life when no one was looking that changed the circumstances of someone else? When have you given your time, talent, or treasure to someone who offered nothing in return? […]