As a recovering perfectionist, I have attempted to control every outcome in my life. Consequently, I’ve learned that I need to yield my heart to God in order to yield the outcomes to Him. Joshua said it this way: “Throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD” […]

Our emotions represent the spiritual heart chamber of our feelings. These are the multiple reflectors of the light in us. A simple way to categorize our feelings is: mad, sad, glad or afraid. In order to fully surrender our hearts to the Father, we must feel like it. We must want to bend our knees […]

The spirit is the lead heart chamber of our prayers. The Bible refers to the spirit as the lamp of God used to search our innermost beings (Proverbs 20:27). Prayer is the connection of our heart with God’s. In essence, it’s being online with the Creator. In order to humbly surrender our spirits to the […]

The intellect is the spiritual heart chamber of our minds, or our thoughts. In order to unlock the gate to wisdom, we must humble our minds to God. The humbled intellect is a light that illuminates our hearts. King Solomon said, “The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor” […]

The will is the spiritual heart chamber of our choices. Nearly every action is preceded by a choice. In order to experience wisdom in our lives, we must surrender the will, or our choices, to God (Proverbs 8:10). In essence, it is the flip of a switch. Jesus surrendered His will to the Father. Just […]

Just as the physical heart is comprised of four chambers, so the spiritual heart is comprised of four chambers remembered in the acronym, WISE: Will, Intellect, Spirit, and Emotions. To understand how they work, imagine filling out a bracket during the NCAA’s men’s basketball tournament. When you look at the two teams playing each game, […]

Jesus said, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5 NASB). This is Jewish phraseology for the blessings of God’s kingdom (Psalm 37:11). We find satisfaction, not through our harshness, but through our gentleness because gentleness restores relationships three dimensionally. First, gentleness restores our relationship with God. Jesus said that His […]

Something flawed inside each of us says that we can satisfy our desires by being harsh. Whether at the airline counter or the fast-food line, in the checkout aisle or the exit lane, on the basketball sidelines or on the telephone, we believe that harshness will satisfy our desires. Yet at the same time, harshness […]

Herod’s largest fortress was the Herodian, 45 acres of building constructed on 200 acres of land, the third-largest architectural find in the ancient world. The palace featured four towers, the highest stretching 120 feet into the air, sprawling 55 feet in diameter (a sign of his desire for control). In the end, Herod died out […]

Herod the Great built a series of palace fortresses that were designed to give him safe asylum if forced to flee the country to his homeland of Idumea (a sign of his desire for security). Indicative of his heart, he saw security in his fortresses and locked doors, keeping others out. In the end, Herod […]

Known for his great building programs, including the rebuilding of the Temple (a sign of his desire for contentment), Herod the Great built his first of a series of palace fortresses three miles southeast of Jesus’ birthplace in Bethlehem. Herod remained discontent. He killed his favorite of ten wives, three of his sons, and decreed […]

There might not have been another human being in Jesus’ time whose pride imprisoned him, both figuratively and literally, more than Herod the Great. He proudly held the title of Tetrarch of Judea (a sign of his desire for significance) 2,000 years ago when Jesus was born. Herod was known as the “King of the […]

In order to humble our hearts, we must continue to surrender our pride. In a great story tucked in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus contrasted the temple prayer of a proud Pharisee with that of a humble tax collector. The respected Pharisee exalted himself while the disrespected tax collector stood at a distance, refused to […]

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst…” 1 Timothy 1:15 I hate how difficult it is to hide a mess. Sure, you can shove the mess into a closet or under your bed… but I’ve found that only makes […]

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus affirmed to the world that in the kingdom of heaven, the humble are “in” and the proud are “out.” His first words were, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). Jesus was saying, “Satisfied are the humble.” Humble means “to be lower than, or to bend the […]

Have you noticed that the most valuable commodities in the world are locked in boxes? I was visiting a customer of mine who lived in a European castle with a bombproof box crafted below ground and secured with an elaborate combination lock. As my anticipation grew, he unlocked the door, revealing the world’s two most […]

Are you a perfectionist? My perfectionism drove me toward a need to be right all the time. As a result, I discovered that my need to be right all the time led to me being wrong much of the time. The more I tried to be perfect, the more imperfect I became. God calls us […]

Often times we sin by leaving good undone. Using a basketball illustration, we step up to the line with the basketball in our hands, knowing what to do, and refuse to take the shot. James noted, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” (James 4:17). When we […]

Anomia is a Greek word for sin that literally means “no law.” It is breaking the law, or committing a transgression-which is stepping over the line. Using a basketball illustration, this is missing on purpose, similar to the first sin in the Garden. Adam knew what was wrong, he understood the consequences, and he sinned […]

Adikia, a Greek word for sin, is twisting a wrong to make it right. Using a basketball analogy, twisting a wrong to make it right is missing the shot, then telling everyone that we made it. Adikia literally means “no righteousness.” John said that all unrighteousness is sin (1 John 5:17), and we must realize […]