I’ve been going to church for close to 50 years. I spent over 30 of those years as a senior pastor. And I think I’ve heard it all. Well, almost all. There are a few things I’ve never heard in church. “Your sermon was too short.” “I’ve decided to give the church the $500/month I…
One of the least likely people was awarded the right to be among the first to see the resurrected Christ. Mary Magdalene stood in the empty tomb. And then we read this intriguing verse: “She turned around and saw Jesus, but she did not recognize him” (John 20:14). Now, it would be so easy to…
It was perhaps the most bizarre play in the history of college football. Rice University squared off against mighty Alabama on January 1, 1954, in the Cotton Bowl. Dicky Maegle was an All-American halfback for Rice. Taking the ball at his own five-yard-line, he broke free along the Alabama sideline. As he passed the 50-yard-line,…
Jordan Michael Geller likes tennis shoes – lots of them. Jordan owns the world’s largest collection of sneakers, with more than 2,500 pairs. You can check them out at his ShoeZeum, a shrine to Nike that includes one of every model of Air Jordans ever made, in Las Vegas. Mr. Geller isn’t the only person…
Are you married to a person in denial? Maybe it’s you who is in denial. How do you know if your sexual compulsivity rises to the level of addiction, really? In his article, “Sex Addiction 101,” Robert Weiss helps the porn user understand the magnitude of his problem. He writes, “The simple truth is that…
Jerry never learned to read or write, but he somehow always found a way to get by. After coming to Christ, he went to his pastor, looking for a job. His pastor offered him the janitor’s job at the church. But when he discovered that Jerry couldn’t read or write, he told him he did…
A marathon is 26 miles, 385 yards. Each year, more than 800 marathons are held throughout the world. Larger marathons can draw tens of thousands of participants. And every one of those runners has two things on his or her mind during the entire race – pain and the finish line. Life is a marathon.…
One day at a time. We hear that at 12-Step meetings all the time. And it’s true. We can only claim sobriety one day at a time. That may be as important a truism as you will ever hear in the recovery world. For validation of this principle, we need look no further than that…
I am a card-carrying member of PPA – People Pleasers Anonymous. I suspect most of us are. And making others happy is generally a good thing, up to a point. But as addicts, we can cross that point, almost without notice. Norman Vincent Peale said, “The problem with most of us is that we’d rather…
Justin Timberlake delivered this line in The Social Network (2010): “A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.” Paul wrote, “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Money can present challenges for anyone. But that is especially true for the sex addict. I’m sure you…