I love Resurrection Day! And I love the Easter season! This weekend we again celebrate Jesus Christ, raised from the dead. Just a few days before the resurrection, Jesus’ followers experienced some of the darkest days in all of history. Jesus had died. Their hope for a positive future seemed to be gone forever. But [...]
God spoke clearly to us this week about being “properly aligned.” More than 300 Christian leaders from fifteen nations met in Maryland to hear from our God together. And the word of the Lord was clear: “alignment.” Jesus did nothing by himself. He only did what He saw his father doing (John 5:19). He was [...]
If you ask someone where to find the closest church, they will probably direct you to a church building. But that is a real problem…a church building is not a church! Often Christians talk about going to church. It is impossible to “go to church.” This is not mentioned anywhere in the bible. We are the church! This is not just a play on words. Calling the building a church is like calling a group of soldiers the barracks. We convey through our words an improper understanding of the church...
Some years back, my daughter and I had the dubious experience of destroying the engines in our two cars on the same day. I had become so busy "building the kingdom," I forgot to check the oil in the vehicles. Both our cars’ engines overheated and were ruined beyond repair. Since that time, I learned the extreme importance of keeping a close watch on the critical gauges on the dashboards of our cars!
I meet so many people who have a problem with the church. Some have been hurt by the church and others just get tired of religious tradition. I certainly understand. I have been hurt by people in the church and I too get tired of religious tradition...
Our home area of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania made national news this week. According to data collected throughout 2011 for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Lancaster County PA is the area of the USA where well-being is highest, compared to all other U.S. metro areas. Gallup and Healthways interviewed 1,000 people a day over the course of [...]
Jesus told the story of a man going on a trip (Matthew 25:14-29) who gave three of his servants a great opportunity by entrusting some of his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. God gives us opportunities according [...]
I read in an airline magazine article this week that IBM chairman Thomas Watson said in 1943: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” He was wrong. Physicist William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) said in 1899: Radio has no future. Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. X-rays will prove to be a hoax. [...]
The Scriptures speak in Isaiah 54:2 of lengthening our cords and strengthening our stakes (NIV). There is a leadership application here for us to experience. Some of us are created to be lengtheners and some of us are born strengtheners. Lengtheners are often visionary leaders who want to see their influence and their teams grow [...]
A few years ago a Catholic church in England gave money to finance a youth pastor in a Pentecostal church in their city who needed a youth pastor. The kingdom of God was more important to them than their own local church. We are instructed in Matthew 6:33 to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all of these things will be added unto you.” Rick Warren has said it so well: “It is not about us.” It is all about Jesus our king, and His kingdom. Here is the question we must ask ourselves on a regular basis. “Are we building our kingdom or God’s kingdom?”