One word from God
One word from God will change your life forever! “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths (Prov. 3:5,6).” You can count on it!
The greatest act of spiritual warfare is to not quit!
Thirty-three years ago, I almost quit. I was serving as a pastor of a new church that was growing rapidly, but leadership became really hard for me. I wanted out. As I prayed and listened to God and received counsel, I came to realize that God had called me to this leadership role. Quitting was [...]
We are too short sighted
Life comes in seasons. Let’s embrace our present season and receive grace for it. It will not last forever. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…He has made everything beautiful in its time (Ecc. 3:1,11). We must embrace the present season of our lives, and realize it is [...]
Guard Your Heart
Someone once said, “It’s only the water that’s on the inside of the boat that causes danger, not the water outside.” Proverbs 4:23 tells us; “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Even if there is conflict or trouble all around us, we must guide our heart. Our spiritual heart condition greatly [...]
When we feel like a failure
Thomas Edison’s teachers told him he was too stupid to learn anything. A reporter asked Edison one day how it felt to have made 1000 failures trying to invent a light bulb. His response, “I did not fail 1000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1000 steps.” Henry Ford once said, “Failure provides [...]
Four Powerful Words
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5-6). I love this verse! The word “all” means all. If we want divine guidance in our life, we must acknowledge Him again and again. No [...]
Prayer and Perseverance
Prayer and perseverance are often both needed to see our circumstances change. God showed Elijah that He would send rain to end a drought (1 Kings 18). Elijah prayed for the rain, but it did not come. Seven times Elijah sent his servant to look at the sky to see if rain clouds were forming. [...]
The people you meet and the books you read.
Almost everyone can name one or more books that have changed their lives. I am no exception. I grew up in an Anabaptist church. But I learned how to lead people to Christ from a book written by a Baptist. I learned about the work of the Holy Spirit from a book written by an [...]
Offer a sacrifice of praise to God today and experience a fresh intimacy with Him
I don’t always feel like praising God. But praising the Lord is not dependent upon my emotions; it’s a decision I make. As we come to the Lord in faith each day, we are offering to Him a sacrifice of praise. “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise…” (Heb. [...]
Receiving the whole counsel of God
If we only listen to those who teach the Bible from our own camp or denomination or local church, we may not receive the whole counsel of God. Pastors who frown on those within their local churches receiving Bible teaching from the Body of Christ at large are hindering them from receiving all the Lord [...]