Very early in Jesus’ ministry he attempts to teach his disciples something that is seemingly ridiculous.  In Matthew 5:44, Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who mistreat you.”  Now, anyone who has ever had a proper enemy before intuitively knows that “love” is not what you do

Anger has gotten a bad rap – undeservedly so.  Anger, like all other human emotions it is an important gift.  Like all other emotions, it’s how we handle it that makes it good or bad. I’m sure the majority of people at some point have witnessed the damage that out-of-control,

Like most humans, there have been times and season of my life where I have come up wanting in the virtues of patience and positivity.  To be honest, I’m still a long way off from having arrived in these categories, but I’m improving. A few years ago I had this

Here is a confession – I get pretty frustrated about prayer sometimes and angry and frustrated with the ONE I am praying to. I know I’m not supposed to. After all, I’m a pastor and a longtime Christian.  I think the expectation is that I’m supposed to have unwaveringly serene

Have you ever been angry, depressed, or anxious where the same negative or hurtful message keeps playing over and over in your head?  Of course you have.  We all experience the haunting of the negative message stuck on repeat in our minds. It can be that hurtful thing that someone

Jesus once said, “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or