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Rick is an author, speaker, consultant, and podcaster. He has been encouraging and training Christians since 1997. After several years as a counselor and pastor he founded and launched his training organization to encourage and equip people for effective living. Today, the ministry reaches people globally through training, blogging, podcasting, counseling, and coaching. His cyber home is RickThomas.Net
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This episode is our final Your Daily Drive podcast. I will continue to produce, but they will be on our Life Over Coffee network. If you wish to continue following us and enjoying great content, please subscribe to our Life Over Coffee network.Follow Us Here: https://soundcloud.com/life-over-coffeeWill you help us so we can continue to provide free…
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Understanding the other person in any relationship is foundational to building a life with them. If you don't know them at a soul level, all your efforts to connect in an in-depth way will fall flat. You will end up as acquaintances, perhaps business partners, or maybe functional friends, but the joy and appreciation that flows from deeply knowing …
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There are instances when Christianity’s baggage can entrap a person, and they never realize it. They never connect a lack of consistent joy, constantly trying to control how people perceive them, and hiding longstanding flaws to the Christian life they live. They genuinely love God, but there is an oppressive weight that feels more like religion th…
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When you fall out of love with your spouse, your marriage takes a drastic turn that few couples can alter. Long before the love sets sail, there are signs that point to a future disappointing season. Mable saw the signs but did not reach out until her love ship vanished over the horizon. There is still hope. What about you? If your love boat is adr…
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Sometimes the job is so enormous that you can't do it alone. You don't have all the right gifts, the personality, the strengths, or the necessary know-how. It's at these moments when you need something (or someone) more fabulous than you, a person who can deliver. Being a husband is like this. None of us have what it takes to "do husbandry" well. I…
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You have a friend in trouble. They appear to be at the end of themselves, but you're not sure. You're not uncharitably judging them, but you know that the only way they can experience restoration from God and satisfaction in Him is by being at an authentic end of themselves and willing to do anything—biblically speaking—to change. How do you know y…
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There is a problem trusting God when His ways seem foolish, and we have a well-worn habit of getting what we want through our self-reliant means. Of course, when we choose human wisdom and strength over God’s, it will have a debilitating effect on our lives and relationships. In this case study, I present to you how trusting God practically can alt…
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Children should not work for affection. Christian parents imitate God; one way to do this is by loving them just because they are their children. We are not perfect, and there is a time to deal with their imperfections, but love should be an uninterrupted expectation in a child’s life. When it is, you have a foundation that shapes them toward God-c…
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Are you able to use sin sinlessly? I am asking how do you respond to the inevitableness of sin in your life, whether it is your’s or someone else’s? When wickedness comes, it will drive us in one of two directions. We will either fixate on the cause of or the solution for the problem. Another way of saying it is that our doctrine of sanctification …
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Sometimes in life, you have to get in a conflict with someone. This dreaded reality is not a wish, desire, or prayer request, but a common-sense perspective that comes with living in a sin-cursed world. It is impossible to have two humans living close to each other for an extended period, and not have relational conflict. Sin does not accommodate o…
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To say, “I’m busy” is like saying I breathed air today. Being a Christian and not being busy is an oxymoron. The un-busy Christian is the problem of the person who does not take the gospel seriously. To use another analogy, we’re like kids in the candy store—opportunity is everywhere. Thus, if a person is not busy or busy the wrong way, you want to…
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Our published mission statement is to help people by providing practical tools and ongoing training for effective living. If you ask me, that is what I will tell you. But there is another mission statement I’m more passionate about, and it’s the driving force behind all that I do. I going to share that with you and hope to inspire you to create you…
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What expectations have you had that did not come to fruition? How did you respond when you did not get what you had hoped? All of us have had dashed expectations. To expect stuff is human. So is not getting life the way you planned, on your terms. When misfortune comes, what is the process of recovering from the disappointment? Let me tell you wher…
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There is a surprising backstory to why this ministry exists today. You don’t know this story because the person the Lord chose to elevate this ministry was just a regular guy who was obedient to the Lord’s call on his life. I want to tell you about this man while encouraging you that no matter what your life is like, you can have a long-lasting, re…
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Most relationships begin with a lot of talking and not so many frustrations. As the communicators continue in their relationship, complexity increases. Sometimes one of the partners becomes silent. He becomes quiet while the other partner is left to speculate on what happened. In this case study with Biff and Mable, they are at that place, but not …
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It’s possible to let your thoughts run to places that are not redemptive during frustrating and disappointing times. We are in those times. The two primary strongholds are fear and anger. Fearfulness captures too many of us in dire situations while others respond angrily at what is happening to them. Because anger is so common, it’s vital to have a…
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Disappointments come into our lives nearly every day. Getting what you want, how you want it, when you want it is not always possible in a fallen world. One of the essential assessments you could ever make about yourself is learning what your disappointments reveal about you. It’s God’s mercy to use those challenging moments in our lives to make us…
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An algorithm is a formula for collecting data about you to make your life better, so they say. It’s a collection of data bits that reflects your Internet habits; it’s a cyber-reflection of you. In marketing, an algorithm on a person helps sellers target specific demographics and individuals, which is why they have created an algorithmic version of …
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Shows Main Idea – I recently announced that I have cut back on my article writing and Your Daily Drive podcast production. This change is effective immediately. For the past five years, I wrote three articles per week, with a podcast for each one. This change is because our user demographic has shifted from long-form article content to listening to…
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One of the crucial keys to building a ministry or business is the process of redefining yourself. If you don’t do this, you will lose your impact and relevancy. Your voice in the marketplace will not grow. The “this is how we have always done it” mantra only works in a static universe. We don’t live in that place, which is why you want to spend tim…
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When recently doing a study on Moses, something grabbed my attention this time, and it wasn’t the usual question of how anyone can live off manna for so long. The first chapter of Exodus gives us a glimpse into the lives of a truly remarkable family, particularly the parents who trusted God in a country that did not. There is a practical applicatio…
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Paul said, “to live is Christ.” In four syllables, he explained why and what for his earthly existence. Apart from asking the Lord to regenerate you, there is no more life-transforming statement you could make. Why was Paul living? Christ. What was his point of living? Christ. How do you explain your “why and what” for living on this planet?Read He…
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When you think about your sanctification, what do you believe regarding your role in it? Are you beholding to passive or active obedience or both? Passive is sitting, soaking, and trusting while active is doing something with your faith. When suffering comes, is trusting God all you need? Or are there things you should do that flow from your affect…
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Have you been on the receiving end of gossip? How did you respond? What did your reaction reveal about your walk with the Lord? One of the most challenging relational opportunities is when someone gossips about you. When it happens, there are several options for you to consider. In some situations, you overlook it. Other times, you must do the mess…
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What impact can the President of the United States have on our country? With so many moving political parts needed to make our country function well, can one person make that much difference? Is it possible that we have placed too much weight on the President’s job? He is not a king. A reflective question about any President’s power is worth consid…
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What kind of school environment should you place your child into for their good and God’s fame? How would you describe your worldview when it comes to children and education? What are some of the elements of your decision-making that led to your choice? Rick speaks to this emotional topic, bringing biblical wisdom to help guide anyone wrestling wit…
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There are specific conditions where it’s more challenging to help a child change. It’s vital to know these things if your child is not walking with the Lord. The great news is that there is always hope because you can do something about it. Hope is an active responsibility; you hope in God to change people and cooperate with Him in the process.Read…
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Evil has never been as infringing on our families as it is today. If you wanted to find ubiquitous sin twenty years ago, you had to go somewhere to find it. Today you can get there in five seconds. Not only is wickedness easily accessible for inquiring minds, but the non-blushing culture makes it their business to impose their perverted passions up…
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To live a life that is honoring to God requires a person to rest well. If you rest well, you will work well and the other parts of your life will be satisfying, too. So important is rest that without a sound theology and practice of it, your work diminishes and your relationships suffer. What is your theology of rest? How do work and rest intersect…
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Every individual is part of the same human family, made by one Being, and connected to one another because of His creative work. The linkage that binds us together came from God’s mind and flowed this His creative hands—anthropomorphically speaking—in Genesis 1:27. Each person—regardless of their relationship to their Creator, has to decide how to …
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Our pastor said, and I paraphrase, “Toxic people are magnets who draw shards of truth and untruth into their orbit to build an image of their making to accomplish their purposes. Their hearts are fictional factories. If you permit them to do so, they will draw you into their universe and shape you into a version of their fiction.” (Sermon preached …
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Christians are aliens who live in a foreign land. This home is not theirs, but while they are here, they must live on a practical mission that penetrates the culture, hoping that others will follow them to their eternal home. Sadly, some alien Christians lose their way, forgetting that their citizenship is in heaven. You may recognize them by their…
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What is the goal for your child? It’s a good and fair question. What do you hope for him or her to be when they grow up? Most Christian parents would rightly say they hope their children love God with all of their hearts, souls, minds, and strength. I hope that happens with your children, but what does it mean to help them become this practically s…
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Daniel Berger and I talked about the word victim and how many biblical counselors are abusing the term, which has led to insufficient care within the biblical counseling movement ranks. Daniel told me the word victim comes from the Latin root vicarious, which means taking someone’s place. In the world of victimology, the tragic consequence of being…
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Have you ever looked at something you disliked in the culture, and then realized that you may be seeing a partial reflection of yourself? I hope so. If you can see yourself, at least some of your tendencies, weaknesses, and untoward desires in the things you dislike, you’re maturing as a Christian. Recently, I saw myself in Bruce Jenner, the man wh…
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A counseling office is a place for trust, truth, and honesty, but sometimes getting to this place is not straightforward. For example, a counselee may withhold the truth about themselves because they are not confident the counselor is trustworthy. They are vetting the counselor. Every counselee who does not reveal all the facts is not lying. Are yo…
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When you’re right about something, you know you’re right, the Bible affirms you’re right, and your friends do too, how do you steward your knowledge? Have you ever been right in the past, but now you believe differently? You were not right, but you thought you were. There is a danger in being dogmatic without grace. Omniscient people can become acc…
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A struggling teen is every parent's concern. We all know that there is something dynamic happening to our teenagers, and the decisions they make during this season of their lives will set the course for the rest of their lives. If they are not doing well, we worry. Sometimes a parent believes counseling is the right option. Perhaps they are correct…
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Being a victim of anything is one of the most challenging circumstances for a hurting soul to negotiate. The journey out of the effects of victimization is long. Some contours will challenge the victim to the broadest expanse of their soul. Their ultimate goal is to become a victor in Christ, not a victim of sin. It’s not easy, but the good news is…
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When abuse forms the lens through how you view what is happening in your life or among friends, it may discolor how you interpret and react to those experiences. I’m not suggesting that bad things are not happening to you or your friends, but I am saying that the lens through which you view those things will give you an interpretation, which might …
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In each election cycle, finding the best candidate can be a daunting and challenging task. To vote or not to vote is rarely the question, but who to vote for can be a problem. This year is no exception. The adage is true: What you see is not always what you get. I’m here to help you to choose the best candidate.Read Here: https://rickthomas.net/not…
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Whenever we bring words, language, and constructs from the culture and wedge them into a biblical paradigm, things become awkward, and emotions tend to erupt. This problem is what has happened with the word abuse. We grabbed it from the world, with all its accompanying baggage, and have created an integrated way of thinking about a real problem.Rea…
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One of today’s most popular and accepted lifestyles is LGBTQ+. The plus (+) symbol at the end means it’s a living label; you can keep adding to it. How does this new and accepted way to think about gender and gender roles make you feel? How are you engaging and instructing your children and the rest of your friends?Read Here: https://rickthomas.net…
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The word abuse has become a catchall phrase with too many Christians. It’s a construct that is full of all sorts of things, and it’s now in danger of losing its worth. When you dilute a subject to include virtually anything you do not like, the original meaning is lost, and your problems do not find solutions. This outcome is what’s happening with …
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Cornelius Van Til said there are no neutral facts. Meaning, two people can look at the same thing and come away with differing perspectives, and both of them are right. For example, a married couple can talk about the same event in different ways, and both be accurate. Not understanding this aspect of conflict resolution could exacerbate the tensio…
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If a family member or friend does not meet your expectations, what is your primary way of motivating them to change? Do you encourage them toward a better way of living, or do you use other methods like criticism, nagging, and condemnation that tempts them to fear? I will address this problem in the ongoing life and times of Biff and Mable. The ans…
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Are you an attractive person? I’m not speaking of cultural attractiveness. The peak of attractiveness has a biblical look to it. Jesus was a holy and righteous man, and non-religious people were comfortable hanging with Him. That’s the picture of attractiveness that I’m going for here. Do difficult, fallen, imperfect, and challenging people find yo…
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Every family in America has experienced the adverse impact of sexual-related issues. The Internet, sexual abuse, fornication, adultery, and our bent toward immodest clothes, makeup, and presenting ourselves a certain way are part of the word cloud that describes this sexual pandemic. What may surprise you is how easily you can identify with and imi…
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People are not equal. It’s a rational idea, but not everyone believes it. Some folks think there can be no disparities between individuals. Everyone gets a trophy. They teach that all outcomes must be the same, even if we have to twist the truth and pretend. We call these folks far-left liberals. Did you know that many Christians act like the far-l…
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Proverbs 26:4-5 says that I’m supposed to respond to a fool, and then it says that I’m not to respond to a fool. What is the difference? How am I to know when I should respond to a foolish person or move on with my life? There’s a lot of foolishness out there these days, and sometimes I’m not sure how to react to some folks.Read Here: https://rickt…
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