Has anyone ever said or done something to you that was hurtful, and then they totally forgot it ever happened. They had no idea how much pain they caused you. Unless you make the decision to get free, it can destroy you. Jesus said: "Offenses will certainly come” (Luke 17:1 CSV). We live in a fallen [...]
There is an epidemic spreading like a disease across the earth. I have seen it in every nation I have been to. We can easily excuse it because we are so used to it. The name of the disease is “taking an offense.” We need to become offense proof. It’s so easy to feel offended [...]
Every season of our lives requires special grace from God for that specific season. God is giving each of us more grace, more divine favor, for this season of our lives (James 4:6). Charles Spurgeon once said: “With great perseverance the snail finally reached the ark.” Special grace from the Lord is available for all [...]
It is so easy to confuse “happiness” and “joy.” Happiness is a good feeling based on good things that happen to us. Joy is a gift from God. We can experience joy even when things around us may feel out of control. Giving thanks to God releases joy in our lives, which gives us the [...]
The older I get, the fewer answers I have for people. If you knew me forty-five or fifty years ago, I had a lot of answers. I had answers and charts about end times and eschatology and all kinds of things that I do not even believe today. But the older I have gotten, the [...]
There was a girl in an African village who always saw herself as a very common young woman. One day her fiancé asked her father for her hand in marriage. As is the case in many African nations, the future husband needed to pay the bride’s parents a dowry before they would release her to [...]
It became clear to me a few years ago that there are four generations living among us: the generations of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (Matt. 1:2). A generation is 20-40 years, depending on which historian you ask. Abraham generation – those 70 and above are a generation of faith and maturity Isaac generation – [...]
I was on a flight to Brazil 30 years ago browsing through an airline magazine when my eyes riveted on a short article with four questions. These questions were life-changing for me. I have continued to ask myself these four questions on a regular basis. What am I doing that doesn’t need to be done? [...]
My wife LaVerne and I have had the privilege of leading three different kinds of churches over the past 45 years; the community church, the megachurch, and the micro church. In 1980, when the first DOVE church started, we built teams to start the first two small groups in this new church plant and we [...]
One of the chief obstacles to surrendering to the Lord is our fear of losing control. A few years ago, a squad of police in our county entered a home to confiscate a computer that was being used for illegal activity. One of the men living in the home, in a state of fear and [...]