Failure is an event. Failure is not who you are. Thomas Edison said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” A friend of mine played high school football. In one game, his team lost by one point. The fans blamed him for the loss and vandalized his home by scrawling [...]
Snoopy from Charlie Brown fame was sitting in his doghouse grumbling to himself on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone else in the house was eating mashed potatoes, turkey filling and other scrumptious food while he was stuck with his dog biscuits. Then he got a revelation that changed his attitude. He said, “Come to think of it, [...]
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all,” said author Dale Carnegie. Remembering this helps me to not quit when the going gets tough. I have also learned some other pointers that have helped me to [...]
Twenty years ago I wanted to quit. I felt like a complete failure in life and in church leadership. I was the senior pastor of a mega-church that had started with only twenty-five people about twelve years earlier. Although I knew I had clearly heard from God to start the church and we experienced His [...]
Most of us hate to be criticized. I know I do. But receiving criticism is a part of life. I have discovered that I can choose from five different responses toward any criticism that I receive. 1 - Disregard the criticism, and never think of it again. Assume the person criticizing me has some personal issues [...]
One word from God will change your life forever! God desires to speak to us. The real issue is whether or not we have learned to hear Him when He speaks. The Bible is filled with stories of people just like you and me who heard God speak to them, and their lives were changed. [...]
There are ten subtle progressive steps the devil tries to lead us through to eventually destroy us. I call these the Ten "D's" of the Devil. And it all starts with experiencing disappointment. Have you ever wondered why Christians sometimes fall into deception and make shocking decisions? I am convinced that it’s directly related to [...]
Twenty years ago I served as senior pastor of a mega-church. I often felt insecure and struggled with knowing how to make decisions and lead effectively, especially when there were differing viewpoints. One day one of our team members said, “Go find a leader you trust and ask him to mentor you.” I took his [...]
I meet many people who feel condemned and live in shame. I completely understand. I have been there many times. But God does not condemn. He has come to give us freedom from shame and condemnation. The battle is in our minds. Many confuse conviction with condemnation, but they are polar opposites. The devil condemns. [...]
The older I get, the more I realize how powerful my words are. We must be careful how we speak. Matthew 12:34 says, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” In other words, we believe with our heart, and what we speak is often what we really believe. Life and death [...]
