Author Archives: Mark Cole

About Mark Cole

Jesus follower, Husband, Grandfather, Worship Leader, Writer, Pastor, Teacher, Founding Arranger for Praisecharts.com, pickleball player, blogger & outdoor enthusiast.. (biking, hiking, skiing). Twitter: @MarkMCole Facebook: mmcole

What Is Faith?

Posted on February 25, 2026 by Mark Cole

In the Gospel of Mark chapter 5, we meet a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered physically, financially, and socially. According to the law in Leviticus, her condition would have made her ceremonially unclean. She … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Healing, Jesus, Wisdom | Tagged bleeding, character of Jesus, determined, exhausted, faith, faith comes by hearing, faith hears, feed your faith, feeding your faith, healed, hem of His garment, His power, in faith, inward trust, isolated, Jesus' power, optimism, power, power of Jesus, relationship, religious, touch His clothes, touch His garment, trusting Jesus, wishful thinking | Leave a comment

Under the Shadow of the Almighty: Lessons from Psalm 91

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Mark Cole

There are some passages of Scripture you don’t just read — you live in them. Psalm 91 is one of those. It has strengthened martyrs, missionaries, soldiers, and saints. It has comforted anxious hearts and steadied trembling hands. But if … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, God, Healing, Health, Holy Spirit, Leadership, Wisdom | Tagged aging, Almighty, Angels, confess trust, criticism, daily dwell, danger, death, disease, God's presence, He is my refuge, His presence, illness, lifestyle, lions, love, Love God, love Him, Most High, my refuge, personal, place of safety, protection, Psalm 91, reject fear, rescue, secret place, serpents, shadow, shelter, stay close, terrors, Trust | Leave a comment

What Are The Side-Effects of Kindness?

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Mark Cole

Kindness looks simple. A smile. A listening ear. A generous act. A patient response when you could have snapped. But kindness is not small. According to Scripture, kindness is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). That means it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Family, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Leadership, Wisdom | Tagged act kindly, anger, be kind, compassionate, contagious, control, daily kindness, decision, deeply kind, effects, emotional safety, fruit of the Spirit, generous act, gentle answer, gentleness, God's kindness, humility, kindness, life-changing, listening ear, patience, powerful force, pride, reduces regret, reflect Christ, repentance, restored, side-effects, smile, softens hearts, spiritual power, spoke gently, strength, transformation, transforms character | Leave a comment

Everything Comes Into the Light

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Mark Cole

Jesus said, “For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.” (Gospel of Mark 4:22) That is both comforting and terrifying. It depends on what you’re hiding. 1. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Church, God, Jesus, Leadership | Tagged accountability, align your life, approval, brought into the open, brought to light, bury sin, comes to light, confession, disguise motives, everything that is hidden, faithfulness, generosity, God sees, hidden faithfulness, hidden illness, hidden sin, hiding, hypocrisy, image, law of exposure, light exposes evil, light wins, motives, obedience, position, prayer life, private, public, repentance, reputation, secret patterns, shame, short accounts, sin, spiritual law, transparency, walk in the light | Leave a comment

How To Spend Time With Jesus

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Mark Cole

If you’ve followed Jesus for any length of time, you know this: it’s possible to work for Him and slowly drift from Him. You can preach, teach, lead worship, serve, give… and still neglect the most important relationship in your … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Leadership, Wisdom, Worship | Tagged ask for wisdom, be consistent, be still, daily, focus, gentle nudge, Gospel of John, Gospel of Mark, gratitude, His presence, His voice, honesty, important relationship, intimacy, listen, obedience, obey, open your Bible, praise, praise Him, pray, read the Bible, relationship, scripture, slow down, slowly drift, spend time, start small, stillness, thank Him, time with Jesus, transformation, walk with Him, worship Him | Leave a comment

Enthroned on Praise

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Mark Cole

(Psalm 22:3) “Yet You are holy,enthroned on the praises of Israel.” These words come from Book of Psalms 22, written by David. And here’s what makes them powerful: this verse sits in the middle of pain. Psalm 22 begins with … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, God, Jesus, Music, Worship | Tagged authority, declaration, enthroned, every nation, every tribe, faith, God reigns, God rules, He is holy, hearts, Holiness of God, holy, Holy One, magnify Him, mature faith, pain, praise, praises of Israel, realigns your soul, reorders, restores, shifts atmosphere, suffering, You are holy, your praise | Leave a comment

How God Describes Himself

Posted on February 21, 2026 by Mark Cole

There are moments in Scripture when God pulls back the curtain and tells us exactly who He is. This is one of them. In Book of Exodus 34, the Lord passes in front of Moses and declares His own name … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, God | Tagged anger, compassion, compassionate, faithful, faithfulness, forgive, forgiveness, Jesus, judges rightly, justice, love, merciful, mercy, Moses, patient, rebellion, sin, slow to anger, suffering, thousand generations, unfailing love, worshiped, Yahweh | Leave a comment

Speaking To God Face To Face

Posted on February 20, 2026 by Mark Cole

One of the most astonishing lines in the Bible is found in Exodus 33:11: “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” That verse stops me every time. The Creator of the universe … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Wisdom | Tagged as a friend, attitude, clarity, closeness, conviction, courage, dialogue, doubts, face to face, fear, fears, fellowship, friendship, frustration, gratitude, His Spirit, His Word, honesty, humility, hunger, insecurity, listen, listening, obedience, obey, openness, personal communication, priorities, relationship, slow down, speak honestly, speaking to God, speaks to a friend, speech, stop performing in prayer, temptations, truth, with God | Leave a comment

Where Do Your Gifts and Talents Come From?

Posted on February 20, 2026 by Mark Cole

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself that question? You can play. You can teach. You can build. You can organize. You can lead. You can write. You can listen. You can encourage. You can fix things. You can make … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Family, God, Holy Spirit, Wisdom | Tagged bold, books, build, can't boast, can't compare, Creator, decisive, design, designed, developing, discipline, do it, encourage, encouragement, enviroment, environment, faith, feel emotion, filled with music, fix things, generosity, genetics, gifted, gifts, good with people, hard work, intentional, lead, leadership, listen, mechanical mind, mercy, musical ear, natural ability, organize, Parable of the talents, patient, play music, practices, seed, sharpening, soil, spiritual gifts, steady, stretching, stward, talents, teach, teaching, use it, wired you, wisdom, wonderfully made, write | Leave a comment

How To Be Happy

Posted on February 19, 2026 by Mark Cole

Everyone wants to be happy.Few people are willing to do what actually leads to it. Happiness isn’t a mystery. It’s not reserved for the lucky, wealthy, young, or trouble-free. It’s deeply connected to the way we live and who we … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Family, God, Health, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Wisdom | Tagged align your heart, Bible, blessed, chase God, clear conscience, comparison, confess sin, content, contentment, decision, eternity, faith, forgive, fullness, fullness of joy, God first, God is in control, grateful, gratitude, happiness, happy, happy life, joy, life is hard, live clean, obedience, overflow, peace, pray, purpose, real happiness, serve, serve others, short accounts, sin, trials are temporary, trouble, Trust, trust God, walk with God | Leave a comment