Why all the fascination with “Duck Dynasty” these days? Is it just another example of mindless cultural fluff, or is a profound spiritual message somehow involved? My purpose in this blog post is not to wade into the recent controversy about Phil Robertson's comments on homosexuality, but rather the larger cultural context: How can a believer "keep it real" and walk in God's truth in a politically correct world? 

       The A&E Network’s unlikely hit series is the second most watched original series on a cable channel. As you probably know by now, the show chronicles the Robertson clan, the rags-to-riches family that has turned making duck calls into a lucrative company called Duck Commander.

      On a recent media blitz in New York City, the bearded stars were asked by Matt Lauer on “The Today Show” whether “Duck Dynasty” episodes were “real” or scripted. Family patriarch Phil Robertson replied, “Most of the time we ad-lib. Think about it: Some TV producer out of L.A. is fixin’ to put words into our mouth? Gimme a break.”

      Jase, one of the Robertson sons, described the culture shock between the TV producers and the fiercely independent Louisianans: “They come up with ideas, and we just get to be ourselves in the situation.”

      Is that the secret to the amazing success of the Robertsons, after all—the fact that they “just get to be themselves”?

      In various other interviews, the Robertsons have discussed how crucial it is for them to “keep it real,” even in the face of constant pressure to compromise their faith and values. Success has its own temptations, but it would be deadly to the show’s success if the family tried to fit into some mold set by TV gurus.

      But I’ve admitted to some friends lately that I don’t always like “reality.” Yes, the truth will set us free (John 8:32), but first it often brings pain and dismay. I can see why some people prefer to live their whole life in a fantasy world.

      And have you ever wondered what people would see if YOUR life was a TV reality show? Would it be the most boring program ever, because you never do anything heroic or adventurous? Would you be embarrassed if hidden cameras caught a behind-the-scenes look at what’s really going on in your family or career?

      Perhaps the reality show cameras would reveal that your public persona is far different from who you truly are. As Jesus described the Pharisees, maybe you’re a hypocrite…a play actor…wearing a religious mask or “happy face” to hide your inner reality.

      Jesus once told a Samaritan woman who had bounced from one immoral relationship to another, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). There’s an important message here about whether we’re living lives that are authentic or phony.

      The Greek word translated “truth” is alētheia. In addition to meaning “truth” in terms of what is right and wrong (e.g., the truth of Scripture), alētheia has a much broader meaning. It can be translated as “reality,” and one Bible dictionary defines it as “candor of mind which is free from pretense, simulation, falsehood, or deceit.”

      Many people today are yearning for reality. Perhaps they’ve never classified themselves as a “seeker of truth,” but they’re tired of the phony, the fabricated, and the hyped.

      Yet, sadly, not everyone is ready to face the truth. Jack Nicholson’s character in “A Few Good Men” may have been right when he famously said, “You can’t HANDLE the truth!”

      Let’s be honest: At the same time as we applaud the “reality” of a program like “Duck Dynasty,” millions are also watching the un-reality of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”

      Do we even have a clue as to what is “real” anymore? Do we even care?

      As you’ve probably guessed, my concern isn’t whether the Robertsons or the Kardashians are living in reality or phoniness. My concern is for you and me.

      I pray you have some true friends who are helping you “keep it real”—people who refuse to allow you to drift into unreality and self-deception. Even though it’s unlikely you’ll ever be offered your own TV program, may the reality of Christ be evident in your life. Although people will be impacted little by what you PROFESS, they can be impacted greatly by the reality of what you POSSESS.

      While the Robertson clan has made a mark on the world through manufacturing duck calls, you probably won’t be attracting any ducks through your sincere walk with Jesus. But I predict you surely will succeed as a fisher of men (Matthew 4:19).

We don’t know the exact time frame of the journey made by “wise men from the East” in search of young King Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12). It may have been several months or even a few years after Jesus’ birth when they arrived at Herod’s palace and asked, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (v. 1)

But while some of the details of their journey may be unclear, there’s much we can learn from the wonderful example set by the magi:

1.   They made it a priority to pursue the Lord (v. 1). These men came from a great distance to encounter the Savior. They weren’t just casual believers, but were committed to having a personal encounter with the newborn King. In the same way, shouldn’t we make it a priority to pursue the Lord and spend time in His presence?

2.   They came to worship Him (v. 2). Right from the beginning, the magi made the purpose of their journey clear: “We have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” May that be our focus as well during this Christmas season. Instead of being distracted by all the trappings of the holidays, let’s take time to worship Jesus!

3.   Nothing could divert them from their mission (vs. 3-8). When God gives us a dream to pursue, we often have to deal with a “King Herod” who tries to distract us along the way. The magi truly proved to be “wise men,” able to discern that King Herod had no intention of furthering their mission. In the same way, we must avoid the influence of toxic people and naysayers during the holiday season.

4.   They not only worshiped Jesus with their words and their time, but they also worshiped Him with a generous offering. “When they had opened their treasures, they presented to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (v. 11). If we have a genuine encounter with our Savior, the King of Kings, how can we not honor Him with our possessions? True worship demands nothing less. Our treasure and our heart are always linked together (Matthew 6:21).

5.   They returned home “another way” (v. 12). Genuine worship will transform us and cause us to walk on a different path than we started on. If necessary, we’ll even be given supernatural direction or “divinely warned in a dream.” As you worship Jesus this holiday season, He wants to instruct you, change your life, and give you the breakthrough you need!

This Christmas, may the Lord give you a fresh revelation of His LOVE for you—love that took Him from the glories of Heaven to a dusty stable in Bethlehem…to a Cross on a Jerusalem hillside…to the right hand of God’s throne in Heaven…so that you might spend eternity with Him.

As temperatures plummet and the news is filled with reports of fierce winter storms up north, I find myself humming the old song, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” And I can’t stop thinking about a simple but profound truth I heard many years ago:

In life, we will either be a THERMOMETER or a THERMOSTAT.

      Thermometers merely reflect the temperatures around them. If it’s cold outside, a thermometer will let you know.

      It’s not hard to be a thermometer. You just have to report and reflect the conditions around you.

      Lots of people are like that. When you ask them hold things are going, they simply give you a weather report concerning their present circumstances. Allowing themselves to be controlled by external situations, their mood goes up and down according to what’s happening around them.

      However, some people have learned to be a thermostat instead. Rather than just accepting and reflecting the temperature around them, they have a way of changing the temperature in every situation they are in. When it’s cold outside, they warm things up. When conflicts arise and relationships get uncomfortably hot, they know how to generate cooling breezes.

      Jesus was a thermostat. Although He continually faced icy reactions from the religious establishment, He never allowed His heart to become cold.

      Yes, Jesus sometimes gave a weather report about the conditions He saw around Him. But He never left things like He found them. Instead of reflecting the animosity and unbelief He encountered, He brought compassion, faith, and healing.

      But Jesus warned about the temptation we would face to become mere thermometers, reflecting the surrounding culture rather than transforming it. “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold,” He told us (Matthew 24:12).

      What a tragic outcome Jesus is describing here. In a day of lawlessness, many people will become calloused and cynical. Surrounded by growing narcissism and self-centeredness, many will allow their love to become cold. Instead of being change agents, people will be like thermometers, swayed up and down by the changing world around them.  

      Jesus used the Greek word agape for love, so there’s a good chance He had believers in mind here. He was warning that we’ll surely face times when it’s “cold outside,” but we can’t let that change our disposition or ruin our day. Instead, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit, bringing His kindness and warmth into even the harshest weather around us.

      The good news is that we don’t have to be helpless victims as the cultural weather changes around us. As salt and light, we can be a positive force in setting the temperature, not just reflecting it.

I’ve realized two disturbing things about my “Gratitude Quotient” recently: (1) I’m not nearly as grateful as I should be for how God has blessed me; (2) Many of the things I’m now MOST grateful for are past events I wasn’t grateful for at all when they were taking place.

I call this second point “gratitude in retrospect.”

Perhaps you can relate. Have you gone through difficult times when it was extremely difficult to give thanks? But now, as you look back, you see that God was at work through it all. Gratitude (finally!) rises in your heart as you see how the painful events have been beautifully woven into the fabric of your life.

• Maybe you had a relationship breakup that broke your heart…but it paved the way for God to provide someone much better in your life.
• Maybe you faced a severe trial in your health…but it caused you to make lifestyle changes in your diet and exercise—and now you’re feeling better than ever.
• Maybe you lost a job you thought you’d have until retirement…but God opened (or will open) a new door that’s a much better fit for your gifts and passions.
• Maybe you’ve experienced a financial meltdown, such as foreclosure or bankruptcy…but you learned vital lessons that finally put you on the path of prosperity.

These are just a few examples of how “gratitude in retrospect” can occur. I first noticed this in my life a few years ago, when a friend suggested that I write a book about church splits. “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard,” was my initial thought. “Even though I’m an expert on church splits, who would ever be interested in a book about that?”

But my tech-savvy friend pointed out that 8,000 people every month do a Google search on the subject of church splits. “Wow. There must be a lot of people dealing with this,” I concluded.

As a result of that conversation, I wrote The Complete Guide to Church Splits: Prevention, Survival, and Recovery (you can download it at www.ChurchSplits.com).

But this event sparked something much bigger than just a new book project: I discovered that God had been a lot more faithful than I had given Him credit for. And I became much more grateful for the difficult things I’ve experienced in life—even though my gratitude was mostly in retrospect.

I’m still troubled by my struggle to be grateful at the same time as my trials are occurring. The Bible instructs us to give thanks “IN everything,” not just AFTER everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

I’m also sad that although I’ve given lip service to Romans 8:28 for decades, God’s amazing promise there is still not rooted as deeply in my life as it should be. Paul had gone through incredible trials (2 Corinthians 11:22-28), yet he said, “We KNOW that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

As the truth of Romans 8:28 becomes more a part of my life, I hope to become more grateful all the time—not just in retrospect. I want to become increasingly aware that God is always working to “connect the dots” in my life, creating a masterpiece I could never have imagined during my times of adversity.

So I pray you will join me in being grateful TODAY—no matter what the day brings…no matter what you may be going through. You may not understand it all today, but the Lord is working out His wonderful plan nevertheless.

I recently had the great privilege of speaking to a group of 80 giant killers. They don’t all realize they are giant killers, but they truly are.

Before I spoke, God spoke to me very distinctly: “This will be the most important message you’ve ever given!”

“Wow, Lord,” I replied. “So this will be the BEST message I’ve ever preached?”

“No, Jim! I didn’t say that,” He replied. “I said the most important message—there’s a difference.”

He explained that it would be my most important message because some of the most important people would be in the room—people who were hungry to hear the Word of God and change the world for Christ.

This is not a “church” group. They’re just a bunch of young people who meet in someone’s basement every Saturday night. People start arriving at 7:30 p.m., and the hosts have to kick everyone out at around midnight.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that revival is starting to break out. Lives are being changed. People are being set free from drugs and other addictions. There are testimonies of physical healings and of demons being cast out.

I hope my message to these giant killers was an encouragement, but I KNOW the group was a great encouragement to me. In fact, I think it’s given me a new vision for my life. Instead of knocking my head against the wall trying to change my fellow Baby Boomers, I want to find ways to pour my life into the coming generations.

There’s a Biblical principle here. We all know the Bible story about how David killed the Philistine giant Goliath (1 Samuel 17), yet that’s not where the story ends.

You see, there were more Philistine giants down the road, and they surfaced many years later. However, by this time, David was “weak and exhausted” (2 Samuel 21:15)—just like many of us Baby Boomers may be feeling today.

Things were looking bleak when one of these giants cornered David and was about to kill him. The old slingshot apparently wasn’t available anymore.

But never fear—God was raising up a new generation of giant killers. One of David’s young protégés, named Abishai, came to his rescue and killed the giant. No problem.

After that, David’s men told him he needed to remain in a support role, no longer on the frontlines of giant-killing. So, while the enemy giants continued to rise up against Israel, the young giant killers continued to rise up as well. Although none of them gained the fame of David, people like Sibbecai, Elhanan, and Jonathan killed their giants too.

What about you? Perhaps, like David, you’re feeling a little too old to slay giants like you used to. Yet I have good news: God can still use you to help raise up the new generation of giant killers.

Do you see how exciting this can be? When Goliath taunted the people of God, only David was available to slay him. But toward the end of David’s life, there were multiple giant killers ready for service. So, Baby Boomers, get ready for your new role—equipping giant killers for the thrilling work ahead (Ephesians 4:11-12).

I’ve been haunted lately by an old quote attributed to John Wesley, the famed English preacher and founder of Methodism:

“Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven upon the earth.”

My angst over this quote probably began when I entered the world of Twitter and began a daily count of my followers @BestBibleTweets. In just a week or so, I had gained more than 100 “followers,” yet somehow the world wasn’t shaking like Wesley described.

Another milestone came when I realized I had the same number of Twitter followers as the number of church members we had in the church I pastored in Ohio many years ago. It had taken our church an entire decade to reach that number of followers, but I did it on Twitter in slightly more than a month.

Yet the world still wasn’t shaking.

More milestones would soon follow, until I had thousands of Twitter followers in less than six months. I was certainly proud of my accomplishments…but still the world wasn’t shaking.

I forgot to mention that I also have more than 500 contacts on LinkedIn and almost 500 friends on Facebook. That’s cool, but I still find myself troubled by Wesley’s quote.

I can almost imagine Wesley appearing to me in a dream some night…

“Jim, how many disciples are you leading in the ways of Christ?” he might ask.

“Brother Wesley,” I would tell him, “I now have thousands of people following me on Twitter @BestBibleTweets and hundreds of friends reading my posts on Facebook.”

“Very impressive, Jim!” Wesley might say. “I sure wish I’d had technology like that to mold disciples in my generation. But tell me, are your followers truly growing in the grace and holiness of the Lord? Are you able to hold them accountable to the teachings of the Word? And are these ‘followers’ of yours bold in their faith and winning souls to Christ?”

Hmmm… How would I respond to such a troubling question? And how would YOU respond if Wesley inquired about your disciples?

Although I don’t plan to give up on the world of Twitter and Facebook, I’ve concluded that I would trade it all for just 100 people who “feared nothing but sin and desired nothing but God.” For as much as I love my Twitter flock, they are no substitute for true disciples. Nor can my Facebook friends match the level of face-to-face friendships God wants me to have.

Lord, we want to be world-shaking believers, able to raise up fully devoted followers who can cover the earth with Your glory!

It’s an oversimplification to say there are only two kinds of Christians in the U.S. today, but let me try to make a case for that view nevertheless.

      On the one side, there are “Charred Stone Believers,” most of whom are Baby Boomers like me. The “charred stone” imagery reflects the cynical words of Nehemiah’s critics: “Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” (Nehemiah 4:2)

      I meet these charred, burnt out Christians all the time. They typically came to Christ during the Jesus Movement or charismatic renewal, with exciting dreams of God restoring the church to its New Testament glory. Although they’ve had some great spiritual experiences from time to time, they’ve also been burned by disappointing circumstances and unfaithful leaders.

      Instead of seeing the glorious end-times church they once envisioned, my fellow Boomers often feel like their Christian lives are now piled on a rubbish heap of broken promises and unfulfilled dreams. As Nehemiah’s detractors pointed out, burned stones must be “revived” if they’re going to be of any value as building materials (NKJV). Some of these charred believers have dropped out of church life altogether, while others have resigned themselves to sitting on the back row, with little ongoing ministry in the body of Christ.

      However, I’m also beginning to meet another category of Christ-followers, which I call “New Wineskin Christians.” This new breed comes primarily from younger generations. Feeling little sense of obligation to attend “church” in the traditional sense, they would much rather BE the church. They’re rightfully bored and unimpressed with our focus on Sunday morning meetings instead of 24/7/365 spirituality.

      Young generations like the Millennials are looking for reality and community, not showmanship and hype. Life is about transformation and relationships rather than endless programs and pointless activities. They are yearning for a sense of purpose, but they’re skeptical that their purpose can be fulfilled within the four walls of a church. They’re usually more motivated by the prospect of being salt and light in the marketplace.

      Of course, there also are phony new wineskins, just as Satan always tries to counterfeit the work of God. An authentic wineskin is something organic and flexible. It stretches as the new wine ferments and expands. In contrast, some of our modern church wineskins seem more like plastic imitations. If you’ve ever tried to put fine wine into a plastic bottle or Styrofoam cup, you get the picture.

      Authentic wineskins are the creation of God, birthed by a move of His Spirit in people’s hearts. Fake wineskins are man-made knockoffs.

      Thankfully, God is faithful to raise up genuine New Wineskin Christians in every generation. In fact, once upon a time, those of us who are now charred stones were enthusiastically heralding that we were God’s new wineskin.

      Don’t get me wrong. I believe there is hope for the future—both for the Charred Stone Believers and the New Wineskin Christians. Through His resurrection power, God can revive the charred stones, making our later days even better than our former days.

      It’s also important for the New Wineskin Christians to recognize their need for the charred stones—not to control things, but to offer perspective and wisdom. Having gone through the fire, we’ve learned a few things along the way. Like the aged Simeon and Anna in the temple (Luke 2:25-38), God wants to use us to affirm and bless the new breed of Christ-followers He is birthing. As the old saying goes, it’s not time to retire, but to re-fire.

Grandma Buchan was a very wise woman, and she had a fascinating theory on church growth. Well, actually, her theory had to do with restaurants, but many of the same principles apply to churches.

      “Jimmy, I never go to a restaurant if the parking lot isn’t full,” she told me firmly one day.

      I had never thought about restaurants that way. In fact, it seemed to me that there should be other considerations.

      “But, Grandma, I don’t always like busy restaurants, because you have to wait longer for your food.”

      Granny couldn’t be dissuaded, though. “No, Jimmy, if a restaurant has a lot of customers, I know the food must be good.”

      At the time of our conversation, it never occurred to me to ask Grandma about her thoughts on church growth. But as a pastor, I later adapted her theorem: Churches tend to grown when they serve good spiritual food.

      There’s a lot to be said for this axiom. I remember when our college fellowship group was attracting members away from the very boring and very liberal chapel program on campus. The college chaplain wasn’t very happy about this, of course, but I told him that people were simply gravitating to where their needs were being met.

      I’ve been on the other end of this principle, too. What if you’re a pastor whose members are leaving to attend a church down the street? It’s particularly painful when you’ve poured your heart and soul into someone who then departs for greener pastures or a better show.

      If Granny were still alive, I would love to bring up some questions about how her theory applies to churches. For example, the McDonald’s drive-thru is almost always busy. But I surely can’t say the food is good, at least not nutritionally. Aren’t there churches just like that—serving food that’s high in sugar and fat, making people obese and clogging their spiritual arteries as the years go by?

      Yes, people tend to gravitate to what meet their needs, but they also can gravitate to junk food.

      How does this apply to your church? Is it just a feel-good congregation, or is it truly offering good spiritual nutrition? Is it a place of genuine relationship and accountability, or is it more akin to a McDonald’s drive-thru?

      As we can see in John chapter six, Jesus’ earthly ministry demonstrated both sides of Granny’s principle. On the one hand, huge multitudes were following Him, because He was serving good food, healing people, and meeting their needs.

      But toward the end of the chapter, the crowd was reduced down to the original 12 disciples. Why? Because Jesus wasn’t going to let His ministry become like a McDonald’s drive-thru. Rather than being content to entertain people or feed them junk food, He gave them some “hard sayings” that day: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (v. 53).

      So we need to allow God to deal with us on both sides of this issue. If few people are being attracted by our ministry, we must ask ourselves whether we’re truly serving good food.

      However, if huge crowds are coming, we may need to preach some “hard sayings” and see who the real disciples are. Let’s make sure our congregations aren’t just filled with drive-by Christians, coming for the junk food. Instead of just providing a momentary spiritual high, may our “worship experiences” promote long-term spiritual growth.

Thanks to National Public Radio, I learned something new recently: China has spent billions of dollars constructing buildings—and even entire cities—to replicate some of the world’s most renowned architecture.

      If you live in Beijing or Shanghai, you no longer have to travel to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, for there’s now a copycat version in your own country. If you’ve always wanted to visit Manhattan, you can see a replica nearby, complete with Rockefeller and Lincoln centers and even a Hudson River. And for those looking for something more serene, the gorgeous Austrian town of Hallstatt has been replicated in all its picturesque beauty.

      In most Western cultures, people look down on you for being a copycat. Not so in China. They take pride in their replicas, whether the replicas are of watches, electronics, missiles, or cities. Psychologically, it probably feels as if they have conquered the objects they’ve recreated.

      Personally, I would much rather visit the real Eiffel Tower than see a cheap imitation. And I’ve never been very attracted to Rolex watch knockoffs, because I know there really is a difference between the real and the counterfeit.

      If everyone followed the Chinese copycat philosophy, we would soon reach a point where nothing was real. Creativity and innovation would be a thing of the past, because all we’d ever do would be to copy from one another. In such a world, Steve Jobs could never have created Apple, because there was nothing yet to copy. It’s as if he saw something unseen to model his products after.

      But my biggest criticism of China’s copycat cities is this: The Chinese are seeking to copy the wrong things. Sure, Paris and Manhattan are iconic places in the human scheme of things. Yet why not shoot for a higher model these earthly places?

      Here’s what I mean…

      I think the Chinese ought to take some time to read Augustine of Hippo’s famous fifth-century book about the contrast between the City of God and the City of Man. While the well-intentioned Chinese builders are spending lots of time and money to duplicate the best architecture the world offers in the City of Man, a much better quest would be to reflect the “heavenly city whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10 TLB).

      Why try to copy each other and replicate earthly models, when our objective should be to model the kingdom of heaven? Yes, it’s certainly easier to reproduce Paris or Manhattan. But in the end, it’s much more rewarding to reflect God’s architecture instead of man’s.

      However, before we’re too hard on the Chinese, we should all ask ourselves some hard questions: What are we building? What model are we patterning our lives around? Are we living for earthly things or for God’s eternal kingdom?

      These questions are at the very heart of the prayer Jesus taught us to pray (Matthew 6:9-13). Our prayers and our lives should reflect a glorious quest for His kingdom to come and His will to be done—modeling on earth what is already happening in heaven. In the end, that’s the only city worth replicating.

      So go ahead and be a copycat. People shouldn’t have to go to heaven to see what it’s like. They should be able to look at your life and mine.

As you probably know, the capital of Syria is Damascus—the same place Saul was headed in Acts 9 when he had a life-changing encounter with the risen Jesus. And in case you haven’t been watching any news lately, Syria is the place President Obama is apparently headed too.

      Saul was on his way to Damascus to kill or persecute Christians. In contrast, President Obama seems poised to send cruise missiles into Syria as “a shot across the bow” to punish Syria’s president for allegedly using chemical weapons.

      Saul’s story took an unexpected turn: “When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?’” (vs. 3-4 MSG)

      After setting out on his mission full of pride and his own self-importance, Saul was knocked to the ground and struck blind by the intense searchlight of heaven. Someone had to take him by the hand and lead him the rest of way.

      We’ll soon see whether America is on a similar collision course. The good news is that Saul’s story had a happy ending. God not only restored his sight, but Saul—the self-righteous Pharisee and persecutor—was transformed into Paul, the apostle of grace.

      I love our country. But could it be that we, like Saul, are in need of a Damascus Road experience? Could it be that we’re on the wrong path, desperately in need of an encounter with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

      Time will tell whether the current events in Syria have any major prophetic significance. But 2 Chronicles 7:14 is true regardless: It’s always time for God’s people to humble ourselves and pray…to seek His face to turn from our wicked ways. If we do this, He has promised to hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land.

      And who could doubt that our land needs to be healed today?

      Why all the fascination with “Duck Dynasty” these days? Is it just another example of mindless cultural fluff, or is a profound spiritual message somehow involved?

      The A&E Network’s unlikely hit series is the second most watched original series on a cable channel. As you probably know by now, the show chronicles the Robertson clan, the rags-to-riches family that has turned making duck calls into a lucrative company called Duck Commander.

      On a recent media blitz in New York City, the bearded stars were asked by Matt Lauer on “The Today Show” whether “Duck Dynasty” episodes were “real” or scripted. Family patriarch Phil Robertson replied, “Most of the time we ad-lib. Think about it: Some TV producer out of L.A. is fixin’ to put words into our mouth? Gimme a break.”

      Jase, one of the Robertson sons, described the culture shock between the TV producers and the fiercely independent Louisianans: “They come up with ideas, and we just get to be ourselves in the situation.”

      Is that the secret to the amazing success of the Robertsons, after all—the fact that they “just get to be themselves”?

      In various other interviews, the Robertsons have discussed how crucial it is for them to “keep it real,” even in the face of constant pressure to compromise their faith and values. Success has its own temptations, but it would be deadly to the show’s success if the family tried to fit into some mold set by TV gurus.

      But I’ve admitted to some friends lately that I don’t always like “reality.” Yes, the truth will set us free (John 8:32), but first it often brings pain and dismay. I can see why some people prefer to live their whole life in a fantasy world.

      And have you ever wondered what people would see if YOUR life was a TV reality show? Would it be the most boring program ever, because you never do anything heroic or adventurous? Would you be embarrassed if hidden cameras caught a behind-the-scenes look at what’s really going on in your family or career?

      Perhaps the reality show cameras would reveal that your public persona is far different from who you truly are. As Jesus described the Pharisees, maybe you’re a hypocrite…a play actor…wearing a religious mask or “happy face” to hide your inner reality.

      Jesus once told a Samaritan woman who had bounced from one immoral relationship to another, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). There’s an important message here about whether we’re living lives that are authentic or phony.

      The Greek word translated “truth” is alētheia. In addition to meaning “truth” in terms of what is right and wrong (e.g., the truth of Scripture), alētheia has a much broader meaning. It can be translated as “reality,” and one Bible dictionary defines it as “candor of mind which is free from pretense, simulation, falsehood, or deceit.”

      Many people today are yearning for reality. Perhaps they’ve never classified themselves as a “seeker of truth,” but they’re tired of the phony, the fabricated, and the hyped.

      Yet, sadly, not everyone is ready to face the truth. Jack Nicholson’s character in “A Few Good Men” may have been right when he famously said, “You can’t HANDLE the truth!”

      Let’s be honest: At the same time as we applaud the “reality” of a program like “Duck Dynasty,” millions are also watching the un-reality of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”

      Do we even have a clue as to what is “real” anymore? Do we even care?

      As you’ve probably guessed, my concern isn’t whether the Robertsons or the Kardashians are living in reality or phoniness. My concern is for you and me.

      I pray you have some true friends who are helping you “keep it real”—people who refuse to allow you to drift into unreality and self-deception. Even though it’s unlikely you’ll ever be offered your own TV program, may the reality of Christ be evident in your life. Although people will be impacted little by what you PROFESS, they can be impacted greatly by the reality of what you POSSESS.

      While the Robertson clan has made a mark on the world through manufacturing duck calls, you probably won’t be attracting any ducks through your sincere walk with Jesus. But I predict you surely will succeed as a fisher of men (Matthew 4:19).

When I recently I hit 20,000 Twitter followers @BestBibleTweets, I started having eerie flashbacks of a conversation last year with a pastor friend named Steve. He had spent a considerable amount of time trying to build a social media “platform” to promote a book he had written. Some marketing guru apparently had told him that if he could gain 20,000 followers on Twitter, it would be a breeze to sell his book.

      It took several years, but finally Steve achieved his Twitter goal and was ready to launch the book. He was so excited. Steve was convinced his book would sweep the country, if not the world.

      Unfortunately, things didn’t work out so well. He had invested most of his life savings to design and print 10,000 books, figuring he could easily recoup his investment when the books sold.

      But within four or five months of launching the book, reality was beginning to set in. Instead of selling thousands of books, he had sold only hundreds. And he found himself giving away many copies of the book for free to friends and relatives.

      Steve was bewildered. He thought he had built a pretty impressive platform. But somehow the response from his Twitter followers and Facebook friends was lukewarm, at best.

      Meanwhile, Steve had withdrawn from most of his pastoral responsibilities so he could go on the road and promote the book. He spoke at some churches, did some book signings, and even was interviewed on a few local radio programs. But despite these noble efforts, he still had over 9,000 books stored in his garage.

      If you are looking for an easy moral to this story, I’m not sure I have one.

      I’ve seen lots of disillusionment over the years from those who sought a higher platform. Some of these people seemed very well-intentioned, with a sincere passion to impact the world with their message. But in other cases, the message seemed to get buried amid narcissism and self-promotion.

      I’m not against platforms. I’m glad to have an ever-growing tribe of followers on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I want to get my messages to an ever-wider audience.

      But I’m still wary of all of the social media hoopla. The Bible is clear that true promotion must come from the Lord, and nowhere else (Psalm 75:6-7). If you are trusting in something else or someone else to give you a platform, you’re likely to be greatly disappointed.

      The more I walk with the Lord, the more it seems like the safest “platform” is the one closest to the ground—where we humble ourselves before others to serve them and wash their feet (John 13). And doesn’t this kind of face-to-face, hands-on, behind-the-scenes ministry bear greater fruit in the long run than any lofty type of platform?

      When we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, will He really ask us how big our platform was? Or will He simply want to know whether we faithfully loved and served people with whatever platform we were given?

      Despite the clear words of Jesus, it seems we’re still prone to seek the place of honor at the banqueting table instead of the place of service (Luke 14:7-11). Meanwhile, Jesus’ model of leadership was to build a platform to lift others higher, not ourselves.

Recently my wife and I started watching the Fringe TV series on Netflix. The fictional show deals with unexplained supernatural and technological occurrences investigated by the FBI’s “fringe science” division. It turns out that many of the grisly events have been caused by a collision of parallel universes and alternate timelines.

      Having watched several seasons of Fringe, I can’t help but think of a pivotal but rarely discussed passage in Job 26:14: “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; and how faint a word we hear of Him!”

      After years of feeling the smug satisfaction of knowing he was an exceptionally upright and virtuous man, Job finally understood an awful truth: Although he had been doing all the right “religious” things, he was only on the outer edges of God’s plan for his life. Instead of having an intimate daily relationship with the Lord, he was only hearing God’s voice faintly and sporadically.

      During the climactic final scene of Job’s story, he admits to the Lord, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).

      People always wonder why Job had to go through such horrendous trials. Part of the answer is simply this: God wouldn’t allow Job to remain on the fringes.

      The Lord wanted to bless Job in new ways, beyond his wildest dreams. Yet none of that was possible if Job was content to stay on the fringes. He already had been blessed with great wealth, but God had a far greater dimension of abundance in mind for Job.

      There have been many times in my Christian life when I languished on the fringes of God’s ways. Perhaps you have too. Often when we’re on the fringes, we don’t even know it.

      Until the heat was on, Job didn’t have a clue about his true condition or what he was missing. He had fallen into the common trap of comparing himself to those around him, instead of comparing himself to God’s holiness. He was content to be “the greatest of all the people of the East” instead of great in God’s kingdom (Job 1:1-3).

      Just as in the Fringe series, Job’s ordeal stemmed from a collision of universes or kingdoms. God versus Satan. Good versus evil. Relationship versus religion. The judgmental assumptions of his friends versus God’s ultimate plan to bless him.

      But amid this horrific collision, God was working all things together for Job’s good (Romans 8:28). If it hadn’t been for his trials, Job might have never discovered he was living on the fringe.

      However, there’s a major difference between Fringe and the Bible. In the TV series, exciting “paranormal” events happen on the “fringe” of human experience. In contrast, when believers are content to stay on the fringe in their relationship with God, the exact opposite is true—life is boring and there’s little, if any, experience of the supernatural. A life on the fringe is a bland, powerless, and unfulfilling existence.

      Aren’t you tired of living on the fringes of God’s purposes? I am.

      It’s time to dive in and go deeper in your relationship with the Lord. Yes, you may experience turbulent and disturbing collisions between parallel kingdoms at times, but that’s where the fun is. It’s in the center of God’s will that you will find peace, satisfaction, and fruitfulness.

On the surface, it would seem that God’s words in Hosea 4:6 are no longer true. Can we really say today that people are “destroyed for lack of knowledge”?

Let’s take a closer look…

At first glance, it might seem that the very opposite of Hosea 4:6 is true today. Instead of being destroyed because of our LACK of knowledge, our culture is literally drowning in it. We’ve even had to coin an entirely new term for this: “metadata,” which Wikipedia defines as “data about data.”

In the 21^st century, it’s no longer good enough to have data or knowledge. We’ve gotten to the point where we must have data about data and knowledge about knowledge. (Note: In our Narcissistic Age, even the data has become narcissistic, in love with itself!)

In previous centuries, humankind mined precious commodities like diamonds or gold, but now our focus is on mining precious data instead. And make no mistake about it, it’s not just someone else’s data—it’s YOUR data!

Not content to follow obvious data like the clear warning signs leading up to the Boston bombings or Fort Hood massacre, the National Security Agency (NSA) is collecting the phone records and other information about millions of Americans (yes, YOUR records). Have you seen the pictures of NSA’s huge new $2 billion data storage center in Utah?

When our Founders attempted in the Fourth Amendment to guarantee that all citizens would be “secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” could they ever have envisioned what we face today?

Don’t be paranoid, but you really are under surveillance. Yet what did you expect? Did you really think you would find any privacy in the Age of Google, Facebook, and Verizon?

Yes, our world is drowning in knowledge, the kind of knowledge clearly predicted in Daniel 12:4 regarding the End Times:   I bet you never realized that metadata is one of the prophetic signposts of the Last Days.

In contrast with metadata, Hosea 4:6 is referring to an entirely different kind of knowledge. The NLT translation catches this well: “My people are being destroyed because they don't know ME.” That’s the kind of knowledge we need above all, but it’s increasingly hard to find today.

You see, when you’re drowning in metadata, it’s not easy to have an intimate relationship with the true and living God. You may get a cell call, text message, or email right when you are starting to pray and experience His presence. So let’s be honest: God’s “still small voice” is just too difficult to hear unless we consciously unplug from the world and periodically get away to a solitary place.

Mystics are hard to find in an Age of Metadata. But shouldn’t we take steps in that direction in order to draw near to God amid our noisy world?

Have you ever visited a narcissistic church? Even worse, do you attend—or perhaps lead—a congregation that is self-absorbed and in love with itself?

Not long ago, I had the unpleasant experience of visiting such a place. I had heard good things about this church, and I had high hopes for what I would find there. And lately I’ve been trying really hard to see the good and not be critical toward other believers.

Of course, you probably wonder how I knew the church was narcissistic. For one thing, the name of the church and the name of the pastor were mentioned about 10 or 15 times more than the name of Jesus. So even though there was considerable evidence that people were in love with their church, I had a much harder time finding evidence of their love for the Lord.

On one level, it’s certainly a good thing that people take pride in their church and their pastor. I’ve met some Christians who are ashamed to tell me where they go to church—a clear indicator that the church has low morale and a downward trajectory.

However, what about Paul’s statement to the Corinthians? “We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). When the church itself becomes the message, or our focal point is the pastor instead Jesus, it’s a sure sign we’ve become narcissistic. 

And although I realize churches may want to market themselves and let the surrounding community know they are there, shouldn’t we beware not to follow the motivation of the men who built the Tower of Babel: trying to make a name for ourselves? (Genesis 11:1-9)

After my visit to the narcissistic church, I’ve had to search my own heart and ask God to give me a sincere desire to see HIM lifted up: “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory” (Psalm 115:1). As John the Baptist recognized, Jesus only will increase if we allow ourselves to decrease (John 3:30). Help us, Lord.

I was grieved by one additional observation about the narcissistic church: There was absolutely no evidence of God’s presence or anything supernatural. In other words, everything that took place in the worship service could easily have been attributed to human effort instead of any involvement of the Holy Spirit. The singers sang, the musicians played, the preacher preached—but where was God in any of it?

You see, the church is called to be much more than a social club or humanitarian organization. If we’re no different than the Moose Club or Kiwanis, we’re in big trouble. Shouldn’t we reflect our glorious design to be “built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit”? (Ephesians 2:22)

Yes, I understand the need to be culturally relevant and able to reach “seekers” and unbelievers with the gospel. But shouldn’t the Holy Spirit be involved in the process? How will lost people be persuaded to become disciples of Jesus Christ if we’re content just to “play church”?

One of the signs of the End Times is that many people will be narcissistic, even in the church: “lovers of themselves…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1-7). So what’s the antidote for this terrible malady? My prayer since visiting the narcissistic church is that I will die to myself and fall in love with Jesus more than ever before.

I’ve also been praying for renewed evidence of the Holy Spirit’s fruit and power in my life. Shouldn’t we expect that Paul’s example would also be true of us today? “My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

Are you content with your Christian life right now? I’m surely not. Rather than allowing me to remain judgmental toward others, God is challenging me to deal with my own narcissistic heart and lack of spiritual power. Are you willing to join me on this uncomfortable—but necessary—pathway to revival?

When I entered the Twitter world in May 2012 with @BestBibleTweets, I set a goal that seemed audacious at the time: gaining 4,000 followers within one year. However, that goal was surpassed in just six months, and I’m now reflecting on having reached the new  milestone of 15,000 Twitter followers.

Although this accomplishment is exhilarating in many ways, it’s also a time of sober reevaluation. At each new milestone, I’ve found myself facing honest questions, like “Do Twitter followers count for anything in eternity?” … “Are any lives really changed?” … And “Do my supposed followers even read  my tweets?”

Reaching the 15,000-follower mark seems to have special significance from a biblical standpoint. You probably remember the story of Jesus feeding 5,000+ hungry people on a Galilean hillside. When women and children are counted, it's likely that around 15,000 people were fed, comparable to my present number of Twitter followers.

This is one of my favorite events in the Bible—but it had a troubling aftermath.

After Jesus fed the multitudes in John 6, He began to explain the cost of true discipleship. Instead of just involving miracles and free meals, it turned out that a real follower had to “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood”  (v. 53). Hmmm…so much for easy believism or greasy grace.

And while Jesus’ day began with thousands of fair-weather followers, it ended with only the Twelve remaining. The text says that many of those who turned away after hearing His “hard teachings”  had actually considered themselves to be “disciples”  (v. 66). Yes, this is a troubling story indeed.

Jesus finally asked His 12 remaining followers, “Do you also want to go away?”  (v. 67) What a question! You see, it’s one thing to say you’re following Jesus when everyone else is—when it’s the culturally expected thing to do. But what if the tide of public opinion is flowing in the opposite direction? Where will you stand in that day?

Peter’s response to Jesus’ question has often been portrayed as heroic, but I’m not sure that’s quite accurate. He replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”  (v. 68).

Yes, Peter was absolutely correct that there was no one else he could follow who would be able to provide eternal life (see John 14:6). Yet his response could also be interpreted to imply several less virtuous traits: (1) Peter seems to have already given some thought  to what his “other options” might be, and (2) he perhaps would have been open to some other option if it seemed a feasible alternative.

Could it be that Peter was secretly wishing there was some other  Messiah who had a “kinder and gentler” message? Or was he tempted to regret that he and his fellow disciples had left behind their fishing nets, tax offices, and other occupations to put their destiny squarely in Jesus’ hands?

Regardless of what Peter may have been thinking at the time, he made the right choice in the end. So I guess it’s OK to wrestle with God’s call as long as we ultimately heed it.

I hope some of my 15,000+ Twitter followers will read this blog post. And I pray that a few will count the cost and become true disciples of Jesus.

What about you? Are you only following Christ because it’s the socially acceptable thing to do among your friends or family? Are you willing to follow even if others turn away at His hard teachings, after they’ve received their fill of miracles, bread, and fish?

Be honest.

Attributed to renowned investor Warren Buffet, “skin in the game” is a term describing the willingness of a company’s top executives to invest some of their own money in a project. It’s a sign of good faith and their confidence in the outcome.

The concept makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. Why should you or I want to invest in a company or a project if the insiders don’t believe in it enough to risk their own money?

But the skin-in-the-game principle actually started long before the days of Warren Buffet.

Perhaps you’ve heard the story of three-year-old Jenny, who was terrified by a fierce thunderstorm one night. With each flash of lightning or clap of thunder, she screamed in fear, pulling the covers over her head for protection. And when the covers proved inadequate to comfort her, she ran downstairs, where her mom was still working in the kitchen.

“I’m scared, Mommy!” she said, firmly wrapping her little arms around her mother’s legs.

“Go back to your room, Jenny,” her mom told her. “God will take care of you.”

“OK, mommy,” she reluctantly agreed.

But no sooner was she back in bed than another roar of thunder shook her room, once again sending Jenny back to the kitchen, where she wept as she clung to mom.

“What did I tell you, Jenny? God will take care of you,” the mother said, getting somewhat irritated.

“But mommy, God doesn’t have any skin on Him!” the little girl protested.

Well, even though we surely can sympathize with Jenny’s point, the good news is that God did, in fact, come to us with skin on. We’re told in John 1:14 that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Not content to remain hidden away somewhere in the heavenlies, our Lord became Immanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

Yes, God put skin in the game. Real skin. You see, He believed enough in His “redemption project” to become personally involved—fully invested, we might say.

Notice that He didn’t just send His Word through prophets, angels, stone tablets, or handwriting on the wall. He came Himself and lived among us.

However, this doesn’t totally negate Jenny’s point. People today still are looking for “God with skin on.” They need something more than a pat answer or an encouraging Bible tweet. They’re longing to see and interact with other human beings who are filled with the presence and power of Christ (Colossians 1:27).

So the next time you send a tweet, post a blog, or put something on your Facebook wall, remember this sobering statement by the apostle Paul: “We were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also OUR OWN LIVES, because you had become dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

If Paul was still around today, I’m sure he would be using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and every other possible means of sending out the gospel. Yet, even more importantly, he would be modeling an “incarnational” faith and investing his life into people he loved.

For Paul, presenting our bodies as “a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1) wasn’t just theology or theory. It meant putting our skin in the game.

As you interact with people through social media on your computer or smart phone today, don’t forget to also put some of your “skin” in the game. Your friends and followers may need to see you in person from time to time. Like Jenny, they may even need a hug.

Sometimes we’re on the brink of our breakthrough, but something is holding us back. Can you relate?

After Moses’ death, Joshua found himself on the banks of the Jordan River, overlooking the Promised Land on the other side. God was telling him to take the Israelites over the river and into their destiny—but there was a problem.

Forty years earlier, Joshua had been one of the 12 spies sent to view the Promised Land before the Israelites entered (Numbers 13 – 14). The spies all gave a glowing report about what a wonderful land it was, but 10 of the spies said there were fierce enemies and “giants” in the land. It was much too dangerous to risk entry, they warned.

Joshua and Caleb were the only spies who said the Israelites should obey God and trust Him to give them the land. But their report was rejected, and more than a million people chose to wander in the wilderness rather than enter the Promised Land.

Now Joshua had come full circle, right back to this place where he had boldly proclaimed God’s provision—but where he suffered an agonizing and humiliating defeat when his message was rejected. Forty years had passed, but he still was traumatized by the memories.

Perhaps you find yourself in a similar place. You are on the brink of the Promised Land. You have tasted its fruit before, and you know it’s an incredibly good land. Yet you also remember the painful experiences associated with this. Fear and apprehension rise up within you when you consider the prospect of taking a step of faith to cross over and face the giants.

God has brought you to this place, not so He can torment you, but so He can heal you. He is telling you, just as He told Joshua,   (Joshua 1:9).

You’ve the Promised Land before, and here you are again—right on the brink. The Lord has brought you full circle so you can face your fears and find your destiny.

You are SO close, and you can succeed this time. Don’t let anything, or anyone, hold you back. I’m convinced the call toward your future is stronger than the tormenting chains of your past.

You can search the whole world for your breakthrough, when it’s actually a lot closer than you think. Whether you need a miracle in your health, finances, relationships, or peace of mind, it’s possible that the answer is right under your nose—or perhaps right under your feet.

In his classic book, Acres of Diamonds, Russell H. Conwell tells the story of a Persian man named Ali Hafed, who heard about the discovery of diamond mines in some parts of the world. Ali sold his large farm to travel throughout the world in search of a diamond mine that would make him extremely rich. After a fruitless search, he was so poor, broken, and defeated that he committed suicide.

One day the man who purchased Ali Hafed’s farm saw a flash of light from the stream where he was watering his camel, and he pulled out a huge, radiant stone out of the water. The man had discovered the diamond mine of Golcanda, the most magnificent mine in history. The moral to the story was that “Had Ali Hafed remained at home and dug in his own garden…he would have had acres of diamond.”

Ali Hafed was extremely close to his breakthrough, yet he died penniless and defeated because he never knew what he had.

Conwell’s story was first published in 1890, but its lessons still resonate today. Each of us is richer than we realize, but often we simply don’t know where to dig. Or perhaps we began to dig in the right place, but we gave up too soon—right on the brink of our breakthrough.

Too often, we don’t recognize the amazing blessings God has already given us:

• Jacob was in a barren desert when God gave him a supernatural revelation of a gateway to heaven.   he concluded (Genesis 28:16).

• Joshua was struggling with fear when God told him to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you,” the Lord assured him (Joshua 1:3). The territory already belonged to him, despite the appearance of walled cities and enemy nations.

• Paul told the Ephesians he was praying for their spiritual eyes to be enlightened to “know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18). And he told the Colossians that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Like the diamonds concealed under Ali Hafed’s house, some of God’s treasures are hidden beneath the surface—and we won’t find them unless we are willing to DIG.

If you need a breakthrough today, remember this: You’ve already been given “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). So go ahead and enjoy the Lord, and start receiving everything He’s purchased for you. You’re a lot richer than you think.

Your breakthrough is probably a lot closer than you think. Whether you need a miracle in your health, finances, relationships, or peace of mind, it’s possible that the answer is just a few steps away.

But I can understand if you are skeptical. You may have been waiting a long time already.

Abraham and Sarah had waited many years for a son, and you can understand why they would laugh upon hearing God’s prediction that their breakthrough was finally less than a year away (Genesis 17:15-17, Genesis 18:9-15). Yet their baby boy came just as the Lord promised, and they named him Isaac, which meant “Laughter” (Genesis 21:1-7).

If you laughed when I said your breakthrough was probably close at hand, you may want to call your eventual breakthrough Laughter, as Abraham and Sarah did. Of course, God always has the last laugh (Psalm 2:4), but I think Laughter is a wonderful name to call the breakthroughs He gives us.

Often it seems that our breakthrough is far away or simply impossible. The four lepers who sat glumly at the city gate certainly didn’t feel like they were on the brink of any breakthrough. The city was surrounded by an enemy army, and its inhabitants were gripped with famine, starvation, and hopelessness. But within a single day, the lives of these men were profoundly transformed (2 Kings 7:3-11).

Jesus’ disciples had fished all night and caught absolutely nothing, and their prospects looked anything but bright. Yet everything changed when they obeyed His surprising advice: “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat!” (John 21:6)

Doesn’t this seem like a pointless instruction? If there were no fish on the left side of their small boat, why would it make any difference if they tried the right-hand side?

But the disciples were closer to a breakthrough than they could have imagined. They took Jesus’ advice, and that made all the difference. Within moments, they had caught 153 large fish.

How long will it take for YOUR breakthrough? Isaac was born within a year of God’s prediction to Abraham and Sarah. The lepers received their windfall of treasure within 24 hours of their step of faith. And the disciples received a miracle catch of fish within mere moments of obeying Jesus’ instruction. A breakthrough doesn’t have to take very long at all.

So here are two questions for you to ask: What do you need from the Lord? And what is He asking you to do?

After you have followed His instructions, your long-awaited answer can come with remarkable speed. Laugh if you want, but it’s true.