It has taken me many years to come to grips with the tension between faith, ministry, and work. And I don’t have it down pat yet… I’m a work in progress. It seems to me that the media wants everyone to separate their faith from their work, hobbies, friends, and culture. This is simply not an option. Yes, faith is a very personal thing. But as many of you know, we do no one any favors by living a dualistic life. If you don’t know my faith, you don’t know me. It’s that simple.

I am a follower of Jesus. He saved me from a huge mess when I cried out to Him at the age of 18. Mine was a radical transformation. I did not suddenly become perfect or without sin, but my heart was reborn. My heart was suddenly soft for the first time in a decade. I became alive in Christ, with a lifetime of mess ups, mistakes, forgiveness, and love to experience.

I am firmly convinced that God has given each one of us gifts which we are purposed to develop and utilize to submit to Him and help each other. Some are given the gift of teaching, some prophecy, some tongues and interpretation of tongues. Some are given gifts of healing, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, gifts of helps (service), miracles, evangelism, and more.

God made each one of us with a purpose to fulfill. But His purpose is to love us with a perfect love that defies our understanding. We are not robots on a mission. We are sons and daughters of a Father who loves more perfectly than any human father could and who gives good gifts to his children.

The kingdom of God IS at hand. It is both now and it is coming. God has given us abundant life NOW, yet we have to believe that He has given it and we have to accept it.

There are no easy answers to many of life’s most puzzling questions. I don’t claim to know everything. I am one guy – loved, blessed, and called by God – who is an active member of a local church where I am fed spiritually by an amazing teacher and where I can contribute to the whole by using the gifts God has given me.

I pray right now that God will bless and meet with each one of you as you read this. I pray that He meets with you in a way that shakes you out of complacency and into a vibrant pursuit of Him. It’s rarely easy, but it’s ALWAYS worth it.