How do I have an authentic, meaningful relationship with God?

A couple of weeks ago, we asked my blog readers to submit questions for me to answer. I answered five of them at a recent filming, and today’s blog and the next four posts will be my answers to those questions.

One of the questions asked was, “I have accepted Christ as my Savior. How do I begin to have a authentic meaningful relationship with God? Besides going to church. I mean on a more personal one on one basis."

Is God calling you to missions in 2010?

I have the highest regard for the cause of world missions, and the greatest respect for Action International, one of many fine missions groups. While Doug Nichols is making this request, these ten qualities express what many other missions are looking for, too. Ask yourself if you or someone you know fits this profile, and ask God whether He wants you to step out in faith and follow Him to bring Christ to people in another part of the world. And note also how nearly all of the ten qualities are exactly what we should each develop, whether we serve God overseas or right where we are now.

Building a Biblical Worldview

Acts 17:11 says that "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." We should come to God's Word with "great eagerness." If we're more eager to watch a sitcom or the evening news than to read God's Word, inevitably our worldview will be more influenced by sitcoms and the evening news than by God.

We should "search" the Scriptures—we must probe deeply, not just skim the surface and quote verses ...

A Commencement Address to Live By

It’s graduation time, and I’d encourage you to be discerning as you hear the message being sent to graduates. Often it is ridiculously overblown and flattering and ego-massaging. Much is said about how great the graduates are; little is said about their need to serve others. Read these words from J. Budziszewski, author of one of my favorite books for high school graduates, How to Stay Christian in College. (This commencement charge was given by the fictional character Professor Theophilus, at an unofficial graduation ceremony held by churches for graduates from "Post-Everything University.")

Stewarding Your Time

In light of my recent post on biblical illiteracy, I wanted to give some practical suggestions for being a better steward of the time God gives us each day, especially for making time for the study of God's Word.

I encourage you to keep track of how you spend your time for one week. You can use this time management sheet (PDF) to keep track of everything you do in a day, but most specifically what you do with your discretionary time.

For example, write down time spent:

Sleeping
Driving
Stores, shopping
Eating (will be easy to keep track ...

What should I do to be successful in following Christ?

A. W. Tozer wrote "Every soul belongs to God, and exists by His pleasure. God being who and what He is and we being who and what we are, the only thinkable relation between us is one of full Lordship on His part and complete submission on ours."

Psalm 1 says this:

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers [Paraphrase: Blessed is the man who does not so abide in his culture that the ways of his culture abide ...

Planned Neglect: Saying No to Good Things So We Can Say Yes to the Best

I've recently been overwhelmed with seemingly endless opportunities to do good things. I've been weighing what to say yes to and what to say no to. Seems like every year of my life I have to say no to more good things. (Young mothers and fathers may relate to this, as those children need a lot of attention, as do your marriages, and there's no end to the things, both bad and good, that could distract you from either or both.)

Just today I backed out of two things I'd said I thought I could do ...

What Does a Cross Bearer Look Like?

A friend recently asked me, "What would be some of the characteristics of the life of a person who is bearing their cross? (Matthew 16) What does this cross-bearer look like?"

It got me thinking. I'd love to hear some of your thoughts in the comments. Here are some of mine:

Join the Rebelution

In our last EPM quarterly newsletter I included an excerpt from Alex Harris’s The Myth of Adolescence. I’ve known the Harris family for many years. Gregg and Sono have been used of God to raise extraordinary children. Not just the ones you’ve heard of either, though you’ve likely heard of the oldest, Josh, author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, A New Attitude Toward Romance and Relationships.

In the past few years I’ve gotten to know Alex and Brett Harris. These are two solid young men who love Jesus and desire to follow Him passionately. Their ...

The Blessing of Gratitude, the Curse of Complaining

The child in this picture is NOT one of my grandchildren. But he pretty much captures what a lot of us, older and younger, behave like when we don’t get our way. (And have you noticed, we often DON’T get our way…which is actually good.)

Below IS my grandson, Tyler, who even though he is balancing on his head a log that weighs maybe four hundred pounds, maintains a cheerful demeanor. (Though he is feeling the weight on his eyelids.) I’m not bragging, but I’d like to see YOUR grandchild do this!