Spiritual Awakening – Pathway Journey

August 28, 2026August 27, 2026

Spiritual Change: What does “born again” mean?

Young seedling growing beside a lake at sunset

Nicodemus, a respected leader of the Jewish Sanhedrin came to Jesus under the cover of darkness to get some answers. Jesus quickly directed the conversation to the subject of ‘change.’ He told him, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 NKJV). The learned, religious scholar’s mind was blown, basically asking, “How can this be?

Many people have a hard time grasping this spiritual transformation. The born-again experience is not a change of mind or a different way of living—it is a spiritual rebirth. The result of this rebirth will change the way we think and the way we live. We must put the horse in front of the cart. Spiritual rebirth must come first.

The foundational truth to this subject begins with the way we were created. God, the triune God (Father, Son, and Spirit) created us in His image. We also have three distinct parts. Our innermost being is our spirit, not to be confused with the Holy Spirit. This human inner spirit is the part that is reborn in a born-again person. It is something only God can do when we first believe and trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

October 28, 2025October 27, 2025

Good Intentions

I remember in the late 1990’s having good intentions about door-to-door visitation. I, along with some fellow ministry workers, knocked on every door of a nearby city’s government housing projects. We had good intentions but nothing tangible resulted from it. Maybe one person visited our church but no new converts. I know we encouraged a few people, but we never saw a harvest of our efforts.

I learned that building relationships is more effective than cold-calling.

Churches and mission organizations are full of good intentions. We have to be honest and ask ourselves the question. Are our good intentions bearing fruit or do they just make us feel better about ourselves? We often learn by trial and error.

October 15, 2025October 14, 2025

From Darkness to Light

Jesus gave an analogy between natural vision and spiritual vision. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:22-23 NKJV).

Spiritual light enters our lives to bring vision. If our spiritual eyes are good, we will be filled with light (vision). If our spiritual eyes are not good, then we remain in darkness.

September 6, 2025September 29, 2025

Behind the Curtain

We live our lives in the sunshine of the day. Then as darkness comes upon the earth we sleep on the backside of locked doors. Some folks watch horror films, so their broken world seems more normal. Others watch sitcoms so the stupid suddenly looks silly and funny.

There is a reality that people want to ignore. It is the reality of another dimension that is sightless to our eyes and soundless to our ears. The result of it is obvious to the perceptive watcher. It is the reality of a spiritual realm that has a direct correlation in the visual world. It is a realm of warfare, deception, intrigue, and supernatural persuasion. It is more than a little spooky.

August 7, 2025September 1, 2025

Finding Hope in Darkness: Embracing the Light

A small speck of light in the midst of darkness brings hope. Those lost and smothered in absolute darkness with no source of light, hope for a flicker of light. They stumble around a boulder and then a streak of light winks at them through a crack. Hope soars in their hearts and dismay flees.

The world is a dark place with a lot of noise. People stumble along as if darkness is the norm. They walk in cadence to the racket which has no tune. Today, it is this. Tomorrow, it is that. Confusion reigns and everyone acts if it all makes sense while they laugh with the crowd.

March 13, 2024March 13, 2024

Stable Stool in a Wobbly World

I know you have eaten in a diner where the table was wobbly because one leg was a little short (and you probably put a wad of a napkin under it.) Do you know that a three-legged stool will never wobble? A carpenter puts a diagonal brace in a structure because he transforms a rectangular object into two triangles thus stabilizing the structure.

When rock climbing or climbing a ladder, the safest way is to always have three points of contact—move only one foot or hand at a time.

You see where I am going with this, right? Something of “threes” brings stability. A three-legged stool never wobbles.

“Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12 NKJV).

In the wobbly world we live in, let’s look at the three legs of stability. In a stable society, we need three points of contact to stay secure. We need faith, family, and community.

March 7, 2024March 6, 2024

What Has Changed? Times or People

Recently when I was preaching, I said something that really resonated with my audience. The statement I made was this: “Often people will say that times have changed. But that is not true. Times have not changed; it is people that have changed.”

The rural community I lived in as a boy was not perfect. We had a few rough folks living among us. The little farmhouse we lived in had a screen door and wood door with the top third being three panes of glass. It had a lock, but I never saw the key to it. We never locked the front door. We would sleep inside with an unlocked door. In the summertime every window would be raised and only a flimsy screen separated us from the boogey man outside.

January 26, 2024March 1, 2024

Looking Into Their Eyes

I have seen some pitiful folks in my time. It is not the ragged clothes I see or their crippled limbs, but their eyes that give me a glimpse of their misery and hopelessness. I believe every person was granted to exist by God; this in itself makes me know that there is dignity in every life.

Many choose to take a path that is not God’s best, but some seem to have it thrust upon them by poverty, abuse, sickness, or where they were born. I have come to know with more awareness and certainty of the dignity of every human being. I know Christ loves them just as He loved the women He saved from a stoning, the demoniac He delivered from legions of demons, and even my wretched soul.

September 7, 2023September 6, 2023

Purpose

I once had a conversation with a gentleman whose career for many decades was a department superintendent of a major manufacturer. His position had a high level of responsibility. He related with regret the times when he took his family on a vacation but had to leave them on location and return because of a work problem.

He did not outright say his career was a regret, but I could discern in his tone, “Why was it so important then, but now it seems almost silly?” Or “For what purpose?” I am quite certain when he retired, he was quickly replaced. By the way, the corporation no longer exists and his physical department is rust and dust.

Someone without a purpose is a lost individual. True purpose comes from somewhere outside of us. If we are just a blob of amino acids sailing through space, how could we have a true purpose? If there is no eternal purpose, then there is no purpose (or a very short-lived purpose).

August 24, 2023August 28, 2023

And the WORD Is…

If you have traveled to a foreign country and not been able to communicate, you quickly appreciate the ability to understand a word. The very concept of a “word” is amazing because it brings understanding from one person to another. The important thing about a word is the meaning or concept behind it. A written word without a meaning is nothing more than random marks on a page.

The Gospel of John begins with a description of “the Word”. In the context of the first chapter, it is undeniably a synonym of Jesus Christ. Grammatically, it is very simply stated, yet it is a very deep concept. It says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 NKJV).