Reading the Bible is like eating kale… April 28, 2025 Reading the Bible can feel a bit like eating kale: You know it’s good for you, it’s packed with nutrients… but if you don’t prepare it the right way for you, you’ll avoid eating it.   I like how Lacey makes kale chips in the oven — they are delicious and filling. Like kale, Scripture isn’t a one-recipe deal. Whether you sauté it, blend it, or drown it in ranch (spiritually speaking), there are several ways to take it that can fit your life and personality.   Here are three solid, Spirit-led options to help Scripture become a consistent part of your life — not just a you have to choke down because it’s healthy:   1. Eye Reading – Pick a Translation That Speaks to You “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” – Psalm 119.105   Some people love the precise, word-for-word approach of the NASB (https://www.bible.com/bible/100/JHN.1.NASB1995) or ESV (https://www.bible.com/bible/59/JHN.1.ESV) ...READ POST

The Most Boringly Powerful Christian Answer To Your Problem April 21, 2025 You know what almost never trends on social media? Faithfulness.   It’s not flashy. It doesn’t look like a miracle. It’s not the highlight reel you want to post. But when it comes to following Jesus, the most powerful, transformative tool in your spiritual arsenal might just be this: showing up again tomorrow.   No magic prayer fixes everything overnight. There’s no Bible verse, worship song, or Bible study that zaps away every struggle in a single sitting. Most of the Christian life isn’t a highlight — it’s a habit. A holy, gritty, non-glamorous habit of just showing up.   Here’s how to keep going when everything in you wants a shortcut:   1. Keep Your Eyes on Jesus “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…” (Hebrews 12.1–2) Don’t let your progress, your pain, or your lack of results be your measure. Let Him be your focus.   2. Show Up, Even ...READ POST

You don’t appreciate breathing… until you can’t April 14, 2025 Most of you know I have cystic fibrosis, a genetic, terminal disease that results in an overproduction of thick, sticky mucus. This mucus affects most of my body’s organs and systems, including the lungs. As a result, I spend anywhere from 2-4 hours a day doing respiratory treatments that help clear my lungs and prevent infection. When I am exhausted, I usually skip one of these therapies. In the first few hours, I feel fine. However, by hour 12 after not doing a treatment, my chest is heavy, my energy is drained, and I am short of breath. You see, my therapies are not just for when symptoms flare up — they are to prevent them from flaring up in the first place.   Our daily times of solitude with Jesus work the same way. We might feel okay in the moment, but without that regular, daily “spiritual therapy” — praise & ...READ POST

Feel Under Attack? Here’s How to Win. April 7, 2025 A few months ago, I learned a painful lesson in tool selection. I was using a multi-tool saw with a flat-head screwdriver as a pry-bar (because that seemed like a creative and “outside-the-box” thinking I am generally good at). Something was stuck in a hole I had drilled, and I figured I could just quickly wedge it out. I was very, very wrong.   Problem one: The multi-tool saw didn’t have a locking mechanism, which meant it folded shut under any amount of misapplied pressure.   Problem two: The serrated blade was extremely sharp (which is usually a good thing when you’re actually attempting to cut something). So, when I applied pressure the saw snapped closed — past (read: “through”) the tip of my finger — I realized two things very quickly: I was using the wrong tool and the tip of my finger (including nail) had been quickly and cleanly sheared off (except ...READ POST

So… Why Isn’t Everything Fixed Yet? March 31, 2025 Imagine being diagnosed with a life-threatening tumor. The surgeon removes it, and you’re declared cancer-free. But even though the disease is gone, your body still needs time to heal. The battle is over, but the process isn’t finished.   That’s exactly where we stand in Jesus as believers. He has already fulfilled everything the Scriptures prophesied — sin is defeated, death has lost its sting, and we are fully redeemed. But we’re still in the “recovery” period, longing for the final restoration of all things.   Romans 8.16-25 reminds us that creation itself groans for the day when everything will be made right. We have been saved, but we still wait with eager hope for the full realization of our redemption. So how do we live in this tension?   Rest in What’s Already Done Your sin is forgiven, your future is secure, and you belong to Christ. “For in hope we have been saved” (Romans 8.24). ...READ POST

Are you flawed? March 24, 2025 Peloton bikes are great — if your goal is to spend thousands of dollars to sweat buckets while also not going anywhere. But if you actually want to go somewhere, give me a motorized bike any day. Seriously, why would I pedal like Lance Armstrong without steroids trying to win the Tour de France, yet literally go nowhere when I could ride an electric-powered bike around town with the optional seat backrest and front/rear baskets to carry by computer bag and groceries? (hypothetically speaking, of course.)   Yet, that’s exactly how so many of us live — striving, pushing, and exhausting ourselves while trying to be “empowered” by success, attraction, money, marriage, kids, health, food, or achievements. It might look like progress (read: “success”), but it’s just pressure without real movement (read: “maturity” or “fulfillment”). The truth is, real fulfillment comes from living how we were designed — sacrificially dependent on the ...READ POST

Selling Life Insurance to Dead People is Dumb March 17, 2025 I have several friends who work in sales — car salesmen, realtors, insurance agents, and cybersecurity. Their job is all about finding the right audience and making a compelling pitch. I can’t imagine how I would respond if one of them came to me and said, “I’ve discovered the perfect clientele — people who will never argue, never walk away, or hang up the phone. I’m heading to a cemetery, setting up a table, and selling to those buried there.”   Absolutely absurd, right? No matter how good my friends are at selling, dead people can’t buy anything. And yet, that’s exactly how sin treats Christians. It keeps trying to sell us its lies — as if we were still capable of buying them. But in Christ, we are dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6.11). Sin has no power over us… unless ...READ POST

Faith Isn’t Safe — And That’s a Good Thing March 10, 2025 Remember that scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzBQamQpk0) where Indy has to step out over what looks like a bottomless pit? The map says there’s a bridge, but he can’t see it. He hesitates, takes a deep breath, and then… he steps out. The bridge was there all along. That’s faith. It’s not seeing the whole plan but trusting the One who does.   Faith in Jesus isn’t about playing it safe — it’s about risking comfort, growing in maturity, and enduring trials, all of which are refined through suffering and opposition. Here’s how to recognize where fear, self-sufficiency, or wrong beliefs may be holding you back from fully trusting the Holy Spirit:   Ask: Where Am I Playing It Safe? Faith grows when we step beyond our comfort zone and trust God. Are you avoiding risks because of fear? “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of ...READ POST

You Become Like Who You’re Around March 3, 2025 When I was first learning to teach, I mimicked the preachers and teachers I admired most — right down to their clothes, glasses, cadence, and gestures. If they paced the stage a certain way, so did I. If they used dramatic pauses and contemplative questions, I threw them in too. I thought I was being original, but really, I was just a reflection of those who had allowed to influence me. If you want a good laugh, click the following link to watch one of my earliest recorded teachings from 2010: https://cultivaterelationships.com/teachings/20100314-an-introduction-to-prayer/   Whether we realize it or not, we become like the people we admire and spend time with. The question is — are we choosing the right people to shape us? Here’s how to seek out and learn from the right people:   Find Godly Examples to Follow – Look for people whose lives reflect a dependence upon the Holy Spirit (in ...READ POST

The Art of a Spirit-Led Apology February 24, 2025 When I was first married, I hated apologizing for something that seemingly wasn’t my fault. For instance, when my wife and I would walk past each other, and her foot happened to fall under mine, she would look at me, indignant that I wouldn’t apologize for stepping on her foot. I would gaze back at her and explain that since I didn’t intentionally step on her foot, I had nothing to apologize for.   This didn’t go well for me.   To my wife, it came off that I was more interested in being right than the fact that I had just hurt her (whether intentionally or not). My reluctance stemmed from childhood; I felt my dad apologized too casually, and I wanted my apologies to be sincere and meaningful. Over time, I’ve learned that motive doesn’t negate effect — if I’ve hurt someone (regardless of intent), an apology is often the first step ...READ POST