I don’t know who this is for, but someone needs this today. Here are a few great guidelines for handling relational conflict.

1. Give the benefit of the doubt. In conflict our imaginations can run wild. Don’t assume the wost about the other person. Assume she has good intentions and ultimately means well.

2. Find out the back story. In conflict, there’s typically more going on than you can see. Try to discern what else is happening in the life of the person you’re in conflict with. It may give you great perspective on why he is acting the way he is and even make you compassionate toward him.

3. Listen more than you talk. Before you make your points, hear hers.

4. Don’t talk about the other person–that’s gossip and even slander. Talk to him. The only one you can talk to about the person you’re in conflict with is God. (The exception being a counselor or someone advising you on how to work through the conflict.)

5. Don’t try to win, try to grow. The point of conflict isn’t always to prevail, it’s to mature. Be humble enough to ask God to grow you through the conflict, regardless of how it turns out.

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24

I’m looking for 30-50 people to read and review my new book Enough: Finding More by Living with Less.

Here’s how it works:

• Contact my assistant Joni (Email Joni Here) and tell her you want to review the book
• The first 50 who respond will receive a free copy, probably in the next few month
• After you read it, post your review (good or bad) on Amazon.com. Christian Book Distributors, Barnes and Noble, Facebook, your blog, church or home-school  newsletters, and/or any other place that you think might reach people who would want to know about Enough.

The result will be that you’ll help communicate a very important message to hundreds of thousands of people. Enough is going to be a game-changer for many people, families and churches.

Thanks for being a part of the Enough Revolution.

I just completed a 40 day Daniel Fast. Unlike conventional fasts where you don’t eat any food, the Daniel fast calls for a greatly restricted diet and only small amounts of what you actually do eat. I began on April 1 and didn’t eat any meat, chicken, dairy, sweets and sugar, and I didn’t drink any caffeine or alcohol. I basically only ate and drank small amounts of 100% natural foods.

It may sound tough, but I have to confess it was actually amazing and quite enjoyable. In fact, at day 21 (the usual length of a Daniel Fast) I decided to stretch it to 40 days.

I felt led to the fast by the Holy Spirit in March. I’ve been praying for God to use my book Enough that will be released in a few weeks. I’m quite passionate about its message and want it to be read all over the world. I felt God’s Spirit tell me to fast for the book’s release.

Here’s some of what I gained/learned:

• I had loads of more energy and my thinking was much clearer and sharper
• I was able to work with much more focus and for longer periods of time without growing fatigued
• The timing of the fast was critical (God obviously knew), as we have been walking through significant changes and even tests at our church
• I was able to exercise as hard as I wanted–picture me riding the hills around our church with a giant branch of broccoli sticking out of my jersey pocket
• God anointed my teaching and speaking in powerful ways
• God increased my ability to recognize and resist Satan’s oppression and attacks
• God brought several interesting opportunities to me for promoting the book that were not on the radar 6 weeks ago.
• And mostly importantly, I feel much closer to Jesus

In other words, God greatly honored the fast. I feel certain that I will seek the Lord’s permission to do it again in the near future.

I encourage every person seeking to know and hear God better to try fasting (pray about and decide what God would have you fast from) as part of your spiritual disciplines. He will greatly honor your efforts.

The Bible has become a favorite source of quotes for people in every conceivable corner of the political, social and theological spectrum. I recently heard the Bible quoted on both sides of the gay marriage and abortion debates. I’ve heard it used to justify child abuse, smoking dope, racism and even murder.

But just because someone quotes the Bible doesn’t mean he or she has actually read it or has any real idea of what it says. So, I have a challenge for all who are interested in knowing where the Bible actually stands on any issue–FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF. Don’t take anyone else’s word for it, including mine.  Do the biblical due diligence to know what the Bible says. It’s not rocket science. You can do it.

Here are some things to remember when trying to understand the Bible:

1. Read it. Don’t read what someone says about it, read it for yourself. Have you actually read the creation accounts or the Laws of Moses and the Ten Commandments? Have you read Jesus’ Beatitudes or the biblical teachings on sexuality? Don’t let people filter the Bible for you. Read it for yourself.

2. Don’t prooftext. In other words, never build a theology or moral view on one verse. Verses are written in a very specific context–a flow of thought with a specific audience in mind. The Bible wasn’t dropped down from heaven in a social vacuum. If you’re going to know what the Bible is saying about certain things, then you’ve got to do some work to get into the mind and culture of the writers.

3. Along those same lines, the best interpreter of the Bible is the Bible. Never pull just one verse out and stake your worldview, political stance or theology on it. If you think a verse is making a specific point, ask yourself what the rest of the Bible teaches on that topic. Read cloudy, difficult passages in light of clear ones. Build your moral, political and social views on the teaching of the Bible as a whole, not just one or two verses.

4. Acknowledge your presuppositions and then set them aside. Or said differently, go to the Bible naked and let it clothe you. We all have things we believe the Bible says and even things we want it to say. We go to the Bible looking to find support for our points-of-view. That’s a sloppy and dangerous way to deal with any document. Mature Bible interpreters will acknowledge that they approach the Book with a set of expectations about it. They may have things they desperately want the Bible to say. Be mature enough to set those wants aside and let the Bible speak for itself. Don’t be afraid of where it might lead you, for it will never lead you astray. The point of reading the Bible is not to get from it what you want, the point is to get from it what it actually says. And if you are mature enough to read it that way, then it is going to be constantly slamming into your cultural and worldviews.

Don’t be biblically illiterate and don’t be biblically irresponsible. Before you quote the Bible as a source or accept someone else’s view who does, do your homework. Read it for yourself.

It happened again a few weeks ago. A woman showed up at our church for her morning of serving, worshiping, learning and fellowship with others. The only problem is she forgot to put on her clothes. I’m not saying that she was dressed too casually–casual is fine in church. I’m saying she was dressed provocatively if not downright scantily.

Her high end was way too low, and her low end was way too high. I’d say that she was wearing a postage stamp, but honestly a postage stamp would have been good compared to this. To say that she was distracting–at least to me–would be an understatement, and I’m pretty good at looking the other way.

So ladies, I need your help here. What’s going on with all the displays of skin that seem so common in our culture? Why would a woman dress that way, not just in church, but ever? Here are a few of my theories:

• She’s not a believer, so she doesn’t know any better
• She’s a believer, but she’s not really a disciple, so she doesn’t know any better
• She’s insecure and wants to feel better about herself by showing how sexy/attractive she can be
• She missed Paul’s and Peter’s exhortations to women to let their hearts, not their appearance, be what is attractive about them
• She’s letting cultural trends, not her posture as a Jesus-follower, dictate how she acts

I know that by even writing such things I run the risk of being tagged with all sorts of labels, but honestly, I’m willing to take the risk.

Ladies please know that when you dress provocatively or flash a lot of skin at work, church, school etc., it has a negative impact on how men see you. Rather than making you more attractive to them, it actually makes you appear as more of an object instead of a person. It makes you look as if you don’t respect yourself. It cheapens you and makes you known for what you have or don’t have externally, not internally.

And ladies, the real you, the beautiful you, the priceless, eternal, made in the image of God, fearfully and wonderfully made you isn’t external and has nothing to do with your skin.

So cover up a bit. Please? We’ll all be better for it.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. 1 Peter 3:3-5

About my new book Enough: Finding More by Living with Less, from the Library Journal:

A refreshing alternative . . . . Davis’ approach should prove instructive and helpful to the soul and the checkbook . . . . This should be required reading for many congregations and pastors as well as Christian families and couples.

Followers of Jesus are called to be meek (not weak), humble and self-effacing. We’re commanded to yield to others and listen more than we speak. And, we’re told to not exercise our authority even though we have the very power and authority of Jesus in us.

But there is one major exception, a place where we are supposed to be downright pushy–spiritual warfare. When it comes to opposing the devil and the powers of darkness, we are told to be assertive, authoritative and confident. We’re not to put up with any of the antics of the devil and to expose his lies and oppression for what they are. We’re commanded to invoke the name and blood of Jesus and to use the authority over our enemy (your enemy is never a person–it’s Satan) that they give us.

We are commanded to be men and women of prayer who give up meals, sleep, recreation and other opportunities so we can pray. And, we are expected to meet with other believers for the expressed purpose of praying together.

Finally, we need to get a little red in the mouth. (If you want to know what that means, you’ll need to listen to my message from this past weekend.)

For more on how to pray against the schemes of Satan, here are two great resources:

E.M Bounds–A Guide to Spiritual Warfare.

Pray Big: The Power of Pinpoint Prayers