Life

Did you know, research shows that only “10% of happiness is based on circumstantial things like, income, marital status, jobs, good looks, or geographical location!” Wealth, jobs, cars and great looks do not affect happiness as much as we’d like to imagine. In fact, wealth actually decreases a person’s happiness above a certain point. Or,…

Table Prayers are funny things – especially in my house, where chaos is never far away. But have you ever wondered, why do millions of Christians pray: “bless this food to our bodies; and, bless the hands that prepared this?” First off: Why do we only “bless their hands?” Why not bless their bank account,…

I love the story where the disciples were trying to cast out a demon but weren’t able to. As a result, the disciples were having a squabble with the teachers of the Law. Jesus, just coming off a prayer retreat, walks onto the scene and immediately casts the demon out. A bit confused, the disciples…

If you had to choose between truth or happiness, which would you prefer? A recent study at the University of Texas asked this question. Interestingly, 58 percent chose happiness and 42 percent, truth. I.e., the majority of people would rather be blissfully ignorant and happy. And honestly, I can relate to this. For years, my…

I used to live on a street where people loved to call the police for everything. If someone forgot to grab a bag of leaves from their front lawn, it suddenly became a public safety hazard. I like to think of myself as being a great neighbor. Yet, I’ve had my share of municipal violations—usually…

The Bible says that the “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Prov. 18:21).  Interestingly, certain studies have proved this to be true when it comes to love and romance. In the October 2011 issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, it explained…

After Ferguson, Baltimore, and Charleston… I can’t take it anymore. I feel like I have to say something, and it’s this: it’s time for white pastors to talk about racial discrimination. People pretend that discrimination doesn’t exist anymore. I’ve heard numerous people say, “We have a black president, so clearly discrimination doesn’t exist.” However, this…

Anyone who’s come to Substance for any period of time has likely heard me talk about the top two predictors of spiritual growth: (1). How many intimate Christian friends you have; (2). And do you have a weekly ministry in your church that charges you up? Recently, I found another study on volunteerism that makes…

All of us have sexual brokenness. The question remains: How do we deal with it? Thankfully, we serve a God of redemption. Our church is filled with people from every imaginable background who’ve been restored to a lifestyle of joy. Indeed, repentance is actually a joyful process – the gateway to “refreshment” (Acts 3:19). Unfortunately,…

With the movie, “Fifty Shades of Grey” coming out, people are starting to talk about topics of sexuality more. It seems like almost every magazine in my local grocery store is doing a featured article on how “sex-whips” and porn can increase your sexual satisfaction. Unfortunately, none of this syncs with the research on sexual fulfillment.…