Beliefs of the Heart

02/25/2026

After a tech meltdown pushed me past my limits, I learned this: God’s work in me begins where my ability ends.

10/15/2025

Are we worshiping our legacy more than our Lord?
In a culture obsessed with making a mark, Sam challenges the modern Christian pursuit of impact as a subtle form of idolatry. From the Tower of Babel to John the Baptist, this thought-provoking piece explores how true worship is found not in self-promotion but in surrender.

A few years ago, I published, The Impact of Intimate Theology. My point was that belting out worship songs is, at most, only a shadow of true worship. Because our worship practices too often miss the deepest worship object: which is whatever brings us most life (what we dream about as we wait on hol...

05/09/2025

What is the profound significance of the resurrection?

When I was thirteen, I attended a church retreat in the middle of a frigid January. It was five degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-20° C). A low bridge crossed a four-foot-deep stream. A few friends and I wrestled a bit as we crossed the bridge, and I was pushed off into the stream. I plunged …

04/09/2025

Explore the profound reasons behind Jesus' arrival at a specific moment in history. Dive into the depths of idolatry, self-justification, and the ultimate need for God's love. Why did Jesus come THEN?

God forbids us to have anything to do with idols. His prohibition against foreign gods is the single most repeated command in all of Scripture: But we live in a world that ignores God’s foremost command because we think it is irrelevant. After all, when was the last time you spied your neighbor sa...

02/19/2025

In a world where traditions evolve, one practice seems to be fading away. Discover the thought-provoking journey of confession in modern churches. Why has this age-old ritual disappeared, and what does it mean for our spiritual lives?

A charismatic church once asked me to review their liturgy. Oh, they didn’t use the word “liturgy,” because they claimed they had no liturgy, they just “followed the leading of the Lord.” (But let me tell you, while they may have hated the word “liturgy,” they loved their traditions.) ...

02/12/2025

Several years ago, a friend called me to talk about an internationally known Christian leader who lived near him. During the “great recession” of 2008, this leader advised (and then pressured) my friend to liquidate his retirement account and to invest all that money in silver. In January 2009, ...

02/05/2025

Are your New Year's resolutions bringing you closer to God or pushing you further away? Dive into the concept of a transcendent pursuit and discover profound changes in your spiritual journey!

Fifteen years ago, my friend Gary Barkalow and I shared our frustrations (at least our disenchantment) with traditional New Year’s Resolutions. We decided to take time that year (and each January since) to seek something deeper, an understanding of God’s activity in our lives, to see where God i...

01/28/2025

This is the first time I've podcasted about a spiritual practice that I began doing fifteen years in place of an annual New Year's Resolution. And I believe it sets my heart on the Lord in ways that a New Year's Resolution never did.Here are some ...

12/13/2024

Years ago I read an article that describe how out thoughts, feelings, desires and tastes are influenced by factors completely out of our control. And usually by factors and environments of which we are completely ignorant.And I think it perfectly ...

12/02/2024

In this episode, I talk of a business experience I had when our company tried to break into the software market in France. And I talk about how we did so by showing solutions to problems that people faced.All the while, our competitors simply ooh'...

10/30/2024

The idea of "spiritual warfare" is a long-standing principle of the Christian life: knowing that there are enemies of God who delight in battling His chosen people. Psalm 83 says:Those who hate you raise their heads. They formulate cunning plans a...

10/09/2024

Ten years ago, a Christian friend described how he was beginning to bring the gospel to his softball team. He had just joined the local league, partly for the fun of the game and partly to meet non-believers outside his Christian bubble. However, he felt uncomfortable with his teammates’ cussing d...