Robert Noland – Page 32

Isolation vs Influence

The New Testament makes it clear that a man of God is called to change the world—on some level. Maybe just in his neighborhood, or in his company, or his community, but, hey, maybe the world too. Often, our tendency as men is to pull back and isolate. It all started with Adam. We isolate […]

Ready to Give Up?

There’s a strong likelihood that at any given week as men read my 300-400 words, a handful of you are considering giving up on something or someone. It might be only a mental and spiritual battle going on that is hidden from sight, but the fight is very real. Strongly considering giving up on your […]

Mad Men

If you hear a news story where a person shot at someone’s car in traffic or pulled over and a brawl began, we know to call that “road rage.” We also know when we hear those stories, that whatever happened didn’t start there. The fuse was actually lit last week, last month, or even last […]

A Picture’s Worth 1,000 Words

One of the most frequently asked questions a pastor gets is: “How can I know for sure I’m hearing God’s voice?” In well over 30 years of walking with God, I feel I know less now than ever of His mysteries, yet, through experience, I have noticed patterns that can help to discern and distinguish […]

Confession or Conversion

I was at an event a few months back where at the end of one of the sessions, a guy came to me and said he needed to talk. He opened up about some personal issues. Nothing surprising, nothing I haven’t heard many times. I asked him why he singled me out to talk. He […]

The 3 P’s of Life

One of the most mystical and intriguing passages of the Bible is when Jesus meets Satan in the desert. There are some major teaching points in this encounter found in Matthew 4:1-11. 1—Provision Then the devil came to him and said, “If you are God’s Son, tell these stones to turn into bread.” Satan wants […]

Attract & Distract

Fresh from today’s news feed—a 54-year-old man in a suburban neighborhood was approached by a couple that he knew lived nearby. The woman asked if she could possibly take a swim in the man’s pool. When he agreed and let them in, she told her husband to go back and get some cigarettes, so he […]

Training People —Part 2

Yesterday we talked about training people on what to expect from us. Part 2 is how we train ourselves on how to act or behave in certain situations and/or with certain people. Are there people and places that you know going in that you are going to be expected to talk about [blank]? Are there people […]

Training People—Part 1

When people see you coming, what have you trained them to expect that they’re going to get? What have they come to assume will come out of you? Talk about your job? Your favorite sport? Your kids? Your kids’ sport? Hobby? Travels? Latest possession? Politics? Gun control? Neighbor gossip? Church gossip? Funny one-liners? Crazy stories? […]

The Faith Filter

This morning I had two emails in my Knights Code account. One was someone unsubscribing from this blog. The other was a man commenting on how the insight from yesterday’s article was helpful and timely to him. Two very different responses. Sure, the unsubscribe could have just been a guy trying to unclutter his inbox […]