When I was young in the Lord, I thought God owed me. “Look, God,” I remember thinking, “I’ve given you my life. I’ve given you everything. I’ve given you my family. It all belongs to you.” I was working sixty hours on a job in addition to being involved with a full-time youth ministry. I [...]
Faith is our first response to God. We place our trust in Christ by faith and faith alone. We cannot depend on our abilities. We must depend on His abilities. If the world-renowned evangelist, Billy Graham, depended on his own good works to be in right standing with God, he’d never make it, because God’s [...]
During the first few months after I gave my life totally to Christ, I sometimes felt like I wasn’t a Christian. Sometimes I felt close to God and the next time, He seemed a million miles away. I grew depressed and defeated because I thought my feelings reflected my spiritual condition. Then, a wise counselor [...]
Success can be our greatest test. Why? It can produce pride or the feeling that we have done this on our own. We no longer see success as simply pleasing God with our lives, but we believe we had the major part in our own success. Moses cautioned the Israelites against this tendency to take [...]
I have found that healthy people practice self-talk, so don’t be afraid to talk to your self. I talk to myself all the time. The real issue, however, is what do we say when we talk to ourselves? If we speak words based on fear and worry, it becomes harmful. If we speak words of [...]
Your God-given calling is likely to be tested. Yours may be a call in business, education, government, community service, the church, your family, your neighborhood, the arts, entertainment, media, sports or a combination of two or more. No matter what your vocation, it is inevitable that there will come a time when you begin to [...]
I was a young twenty something youth leader hungry to obey the Lord. LaVerne’s father was a Mennonite pastor and he often hosted pastors in his home when they came to speak at his church. I loved sitting with these men of God and asking them questions about the Lord and leadership. One weekend he [...]
We live in a spiritual world. The devil often lies to us; he is the father of all lies (John 8:44). Probably the devil has lied to you. Maybe he told you that you can’t help yourself because the problems that you deal with are the same kind of problems and tendencies that you see [...]
Did you know that in 1858, conversions were reported in towns and cities all across the state of Pennsylvania, USA? Within four months, the Methodists alone reported ten thousand conversions in Philadelphia. Revival spread quickly from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. In Atlantic City, not more than 50 unconverted people were reported to be remaining in [...]
Our nation is in a desperate need of revival. As I travel from continent to continent, I hear the same heart cry from believers in Christ whom I meet: “Lord, send a revival.” What is a revival, and what causes a revival to take place? Psalms 85:6 states, “Will you not revive us again, that [...]