LaVerne and I started our journey home on Sunday. We flew from Oregon to California on Sunday night and got stuck in San Francisco for the past few days. Hurricane Sandy caused the airports on the East Coast to close down. We are experiencing a detour. We hope to fly out tonight. We had not [...]
This past week LaVerne and I spent four days away celebrating our forty-first wedding anniversary. We are so grateful to the Lord for His grace on our marriage relationship. It has been quite a journey. Although we have both come to the conclusion that at this point in our lives, we not only love each other, but we actually like each other—it wasn’t always like that.
Just because we fail, this does not make us a failure. We are in a spiritual war, and the battlefield is in our minds. The devil knows that if he can get us to focus on failing, falling, fear, poverty, disease, and our negative circumstances, we will become defeated and depressed. For example, if we [...]
Almost every week I meet someone who is experiencing the pain of an unfulfilled dream. Two weeks ago I was privileged to minister in Europe, this past week in the Caribbean and this week in the USA. I experienced three different parts of the world within three weeks, but I saw amazing similarities. Three cultures, same Jesus. Three nations, same kingdom. Three churches, same heart to experience all that the Lord has for each of them. Yet in each nation
When I left our home this afternoon to travel to Barbados, I noticed pumpkins growing up next to our house. These pumpkins seemed to have come from nowhere! Then I remembered that a few months ago my wife LaVerne sowed a few pumpkin seeds. Today, pumpkins are everywhere! In the same way, God has called you and me to sow His Word. It works like this. Every time we pray in alignment with the truth of God’s Word and speak it to others, we sow dynamic spiritual seeds that will grow in people’s lives.
I confess…I’m a people watcher. I often notice the maturity and leadership potential of a person by simply watching them. A few weeks ago in Malaysia, I watched students from Nepal, Myanmar, Philippines, Indonesia and other Asian nations who were studying at the school where I was teaching. Many students believe they are called to [...]
Three weeks ago I sat on an airplane next to a man who told his story about growing up as a Muslim in Pakistan. While serving as a soldier in the Pakistan army, someone on the street told him about Jesus. The message of Jesus transformed his life, and today he travels the world telling [...]
When’s the last time you were misunderstood? It happened to Jesus all the time. When Jesus healed a blind man, both Jesus and the man who was healed were misunderstood. When the religious leaders asked the blind man if he thought Jesus was a sinner or not, he replied, “Whether he is a sinner or [...]
Did you ever feel like you made too many mistakes and the Lord can never really use you effectively again? I have good news for you. Our God is the God of the second chance. Look at Jonah. After running from God and being swallowed by a great fish, the Bible states, Then the word [...]
When we read accounts of spiritual revivals throughout history, the fear of the Lord is mentioned again and again. God’s conviction caused people to hate their sin and love Jesus with a passion. When we have a healthy sense of the fear of the Lord in our lives, we will not want to sin. “To [...]