Mark Batterson

When we don’t pace ourselves, we tend to miss divine appointments right and left. In fact, they seem like human interruptions. We get so consumed with trying to get where we think God wants us to go that we put on spiritual blinders and miss the Goose trails He wants to take us down. The…

In the beginning, God made man in His image. Man has been making God in his image ever since. Call it naturalism. Call it anthropomorphism. Call it idolatry. Call it what you will. The result of this spiritual inversion is a god who is about our size and looks an awful lot like us. And…

There comes a time when you have to face your fears and take a stand for what is right. That is what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did. They risked their lives when they refused to bow down to a ninety foot idol. I’ve got to be honest. I would have been tempted to rationalize compromise…

Faith Allergies Lion chasers experience the same fears as everyone else. I bet Benaiah was afraid of the boogeyman as a kid. But lion chasers have learned to face those fears. They have unlearned the fear of uncertainty, the fear of risk, the fear of looking foolish, and the countless other fears that could hold…

I’ve forgotten most of the sermons I’ve heard, and I’m sure our congregation has forgotten most of mine. But every once in a while, there is a moment of revelation in the middle of a message that is life altering. That’s what I experienced listening to an old sermon by Dr. Charles Crabtree titled “God’s…

You cannot make choices for others. And if your heart has been broken by an abusive parent or a rebellious child or an ex-spouse, that might be what you need to hear. You shouldn’t take responsibility for someone else’s sins, but you are able to choose your response. You are, in fact, a choice architect. …

There is a subtext to the story of the Good Samaritan that is easily overlooked, and it has to do with money management. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you…

A hundred years ago, a pair of English ornithologists took some birds from their mother’s nest on the island of Skokholm off the coast of Wales. They tagged those birds and transported them to various places far from home. Then they released them to see whether those birds could find their way home. One of…

We live in a culture where tolerance has been elevated above truth. It’s considered wrong to say that something is wrong, and I think that’s wrong.

How did Job survive hell on earth? “He fell to the ground in worship.” If you want to make it through the tough times, you have to give God the sacrifice of praise. I know that’s easier said than done, but there’s no other way. And the hardest praise is often the highest praise. That’s…