Life Ministries Today

05/28/2026

Years ago, during one of the most broken seasons of my life, I prayed over a group of hurting men at a retreat:
“Lord, remove their struggles. Take away their pain. Fix their situations.”
In the middle of my prayer, my counselor stopped me and said:
“No… don’t pray that.”
At the time, I didn’t understand.
But I do now.
Because the very brokenness I wanted God to remove from my own life became the place where Jesus transformed me.
Sometimes the fire reveals what comfort never could:
our deep self-reliance, hidden pride, and desperate need for dependence on Him.
I would have never chosen that season.
But looking back now, what a gift it was.
Brokenness became the doorway to surrender.
And surrender became the doorway to freedom.
There are things we only learn in the fire.
My newest Substack post:
“The Prayer My Counselor Stopped”

When Brokenness Becomes the Doorway to Surrender, Dependence, and the Discovery That Jesus Himself Is Our Life

05/28/2026

The Prayer My Counselor Stopped

Years ago, during one of the most broken seasons of my life, I was sitting in counseling with a man God used deeply in my healing and transformation.

Not long after, I went with him to a men’s retreat where many hurting men had gathered — men carrying wounds, struggles, addictions, fears, and deep battles.

At one point, my counselor asked me to pray over the group.

I began praying the only way I knew how at the time:

“Lord, remove their struggles.
Take away their pain.
Fix their situations.”

In the middle of my prayer, my counselor gently stopped me.

He said:
“No… don’t pray that.”

I remember feeling confused. Honestly, I didn’t understand at all.

But I do now.

Because the very brokenness I wanted God to remove from my own life became the place where Jesus transformed me.

Before brokenness, I believed I was trusting God.
But in many ways, I was still trusting myself.

My plans.
My strength.
My understanding.
My ability to hold life together.

And like many people, it worked…
until it didn’t.

Then came the fire.

The kind of fire that strips away illusions.
The kind that exposes self-reliance.
The kind that reveals how desperately we need Jesus not merely as doctrine, but as Life itself.

I would have never chosen that season.
Never asked for it.
Never wanted it.

But looking back now, what a gift it was.

Because brokenness became the doorway to surrender.
And surrender became the doorway to freedom.

Sometimes the greatest mercy of God is not removing the pressure immediately, but using it to awaken us to our deepest need for Him.

We pray for escape.
But often God is after transformation.

Not punishment.
Not abandonment.
Redemption.

There are things we only learn in the fire.

The fire teaches us:
Jesus is enough.
Jesus is near.
Jesus is our strength.
Jesus is our peace.
Jesus is our life.

And many of us do not truly discover dependence on Him until every other thing we leaned on begins to shake.

I still pray for healing.
I still pray for comfort.
I still pray for God’s intervention.

But now I also pray:
“Lord, do not waste this pain.”
“Reveal Yourself through it.”
“Use this fire to bring forth life.”

Because sometimes the greatest spiritual awakening begins where self-sufficiency finally ends.

05/27/2026

Some of the deepest trust we ever learn doesn’t grow in easy seasons.

It grows in the painful ones.

The seasons we never would have chosen.

The ones filled with unanswered questions, unexpected heartache, and moments where we simply don’t understand what God is doing.

I’ve learned that broken seasons reveal what we truly believe.

Not what we say we believe…

but what we cling to when life hurts.

And while pain rarely comes with easy answers, Jesus has often met me there in ways I could not have known any other way.

His presence.

His peace.

His faithfulness.

Sometimes that becomes the miracle.

Part 5 of my series:

How Trust Grows in Jesus
Trusting God in Broken Seasons

Read below👇

When God allows what we would never choose

05/22/2026

Knowing Him, Not Just Knowing About Him

I keep seeing multitudes of new Bible studies, Bible apps, teachings, and checklists for how to live the Christian life. And many of them are good and helpful.

But what is often missing is an intimate, loving relationship with Jesus Himself.

That was my story for much of my life. I focused more on the knowledge of Jesus than the person of Jesus. But how could I truly love Him if I didn’t really know Him?

Now I realize something deeper:
We do not even possess the ability in our natural man to truly love Jesus the way He deserves to be loved.

The flesh can admire Him.
Study Him.
Talk about Him.
Teach about Him.

But genuine love for Jesus is supernatural.

It is Christ in us.

Jesus said:

“Apart from Me you can do nothing.”
— John 15:5

And Paul wrote:

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
— Galatians 2:20

The Christian life is not us striving through human effort to become more loving, spiritual, or devoted. It is Christ expressing His own life through us as we abide in Him.

Even our love for Jesus flows from Him first loving us.

“We love Him because He first loved us.”
— 1 John 4:19

I think Satan is comfortable with Christians endlessly accumulating knowledge—as long as they never become captivated by Jesus Himself.

As long as faith stays informational instead of relational.
As long as Jesus remains a subject to study instead of the One we adore.

But when Christ reveals Himself within us, everything changes.

Affection awakens.
Hunger awakens.
Love awakens.

Not manufactured love.
Not religious performance.
His life flowing through us.

And once you truly fall in love with Jesus, life will never be the same.

I’ve also realized that if men struggle with the idea of being “in love with Jesus” because He was a man, they may still be viewing things through the lens of the world rather than the Spirit. I once thought that way too. But when I truly encountered Him, that thought disappeared.

“There is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
— Galatians 3:28

The body of Christ is not about worldly categories. It is about union with Him.

Everything in this world seems acceptable…except becoming fully captivated by Jesus.

Because once Jesus becomes your life instead of merely your theology, everything changes.

05/21/2026

For a long time, I confused spiritual growth with spiritual effort.

I chased knowledge, depth, and “spiritual things,” thinking that’s where life was found. I believed if I just learned more, did more, studied more, or tried harder, I would finally experience peace and transformation.

But what changed everything for me was realizing this simple yet life-changing truth:

Jesus Christ Himself is the Christian life.

When I stopped primarily seeking spiritual “things” and began seeking Jesus Himself, something shifted deep within me. Peace replaced striving. Rest replaced exhaustion. I began to see that everything the Father desires to give us is already found in His Son.

This quote from Frank Viola in the book From Eternity to Here resonates deeply with me:

“I had grossly confused spiritual growth with acquiring spiritual things… I later discovered that spiritual growth is nothing more than having Christ formed within (Gal. 4:19).”

The freedom of the gospel is not striving to become spiritual.

It is Christ living His life in us.

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” — Colossians 1:27

Christ really is everything.

05/21/2026

The Church Centered on Jesus

Frank Viola reminds us that the greatest calling of Christian leaders is not simply to teach principles, programs, or religious activity—but to reveal the beauty and majesty of Jesus Christ. The church was never meant to revolve around “Christian things,” but around knowing, loving, encountering, and expressing Christ Himself.

Jesus is the center of everything:
• the Bridegroom of the bride,
• the foundation and cornerstone of the house,
• the Head of the body,
• and the firstborn of the family of God.

When believers truly see Christ for who He is, everything changes. The pursuit of the church becomes not performance, but intimacy with Him. Like Paul in Philippians 3, we begin to count everything else as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus.

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection…” — Philippians 3:10 (KJV)

May the church once again be captivated by a breathtaking vision of Jesus Christ—the One who alone satisfies the deepest longing of the human heart.

— Summarized from From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God by Frank Viola

05/19/2026

OVERCOMING THE BATTLE WITHIN

“But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” — Romans 7:17 (NKJV)

One of the most honest moments in Scripture is when Paul describes the war taking place inside of him. He loved God. He desired holiness. Yet he still experienced a deep struggle within.

Romans 7:17 reveals something incredibly important:

The Christian struggle is not merely about trying harder to become better. There is a sinful nature within the flesh that opposes the life of God.

Many believers live exhausted because they think victory comes through more self-effort, stronger willpower, or better performance. But Paul’s words expose the weakness of trusting ourselves. The flesh cannot overcome the flesh.

This passage is not permission to sin. It is an invitation to dependence.

The answer to the battle within is not found in striving harder… but in Jesus Himself.

Romans 7 leads directly into Romans 8 where we discover the life-changing truth that victory comes through the Holy Spirit and abiding in Christ. True transformation begins when we stop looking to ourselves as the source and begin resting in Christ living His life through us.

The struggle is real.
But so is the Savior.

“And a new name is…
Jesus.”

05/19/2026

“The Battle Within”

Paul reveals something deeply honest in Romans 7:17: our struggle with sin is more than isolated mistakes or weak willpower. There is an inward battle taking place within every human heart. Sin is not merely something we do outwardly — it is a power working within us, opposing the life and love of God.

This shifts the focus from simple self-condemnation (“I am bad”) to recognizing the deeper problem: sin dwelling within us. Like a spiritual virus, sin distorts our thoughts, desires, and actions. We often excuse behaviors like anger, gossip, pride, or dishonesty as personality traits, pressure from culture, or survival instincts. But Paul exposes the deeper reality — there is an inner conflict that only Christ can overcome.

The good news is that this truth is not meant to leave us hopeless, but humble and dependent upon Jesus. We were never meant to defeat sin through self-effort alone. The battle drives us toward grace, toward surrender, and toward the ongoing work of Christ within us.

Our greatest need is not simply better behavior — it is a Savior.

📖 Romans 7:17

Credit: Adapted from A Year with Romans by Jan van den Berg

05/18/2026

When Jesus Became My Focus, Everything Changed

For years I focused heavily on what many call the “spiritual disciplines” — Bible studies, prayer meetings, service, church involvement, ministry activity. And while all of those things are good and important, something still felt deeply missing in me.

I often had little peace.

What I eventually realized is this:

Jesus Himself is our lifeline.

Not merely the disciplines.

The disciplines matter greatly, but they were never meant to replace intimacy with Christ. They were meant to lead us to Him and flow from Him.

I had spent years trying to do things for Jesus while missing what it meant to live from Jesus.

Everything began changing when my focus shifted toward Him personally.

When I began thinking on things above…
When I began setting my mind on where I am seated in Christ…
When I began meditating on His love, His finished work, and His indwelling life…

That is when my mind truly began to be renewed.

📖 “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” — Colossians 3:2 (NKJV)

📖 “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” — Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

After that, prayer changed.
Scripture changed.
Service changed.
Fellowship changed.

Those things no longer felt like checklists to earn peace with God. They became an overflow of Christ expressing His life through me.

Jesus never said:
“Without disciplines you can do nothing.”

He said:

📖 “Without Me you can do nothing.” — John 15:5 (NKJV)

I think many believers genuinely love God but quietly feel exhausted because they have been taught primarily to do Christian things instead of abiding in Christ Himself.

The Christian life is not mainly about activity for Jesus.

It is about union with Jesus.

And from that union…
everything else flows.

05/17/2026

I’ve learned that one of the biggest reasons trust feels so difficult is because many of us are trying to control what only God can carry.

We call it responsibility.

We call it preparation.

We call it wisdom.

But often…it’s fear wearing a disguise.

I know this struggle well.

And Jesus has been teaching me that real peace begins when I loosen my grip.

Part 2 of my series: How Trust Grows in Jesus

Read below👇

The hidden addiction to control

05/16/2026

Two Paths. One Choice. Eternal Direction.

Jesus teaches that every person must choose between two paths: the narrow gate and the broad gate (Matthew 7:13–14). The broad path is easy, comfortable, and widely traveled, but it ultimately leads to destruction. It represents a life of compromise, convenience, and superficial faith—where people seek ease, avoid commitment, and drift into lukewarm Christianity.

In contrast, the narrow path is difficult and less popular, but it leads to true life. It is marked by sacrifice, humility, and servanthood—choosing to follow Jesus wholeheartedly rather than pursuing personal comfort or recognition. This path requires intentional commitment, a willingness to serve others, and a rejection of shortcuts or manipulation.

The message is a call to genuine discipleship: not a casual or convenient faith, but a surrendered life that reflects the heart and values of Christ.

Credit: Adapted from Kingdom Influencer: The King, The Kingdom, And The Kingdom Message by Stan Belyshev.