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 [...]
Most of life’s battles are in our mind. The devil is constantly lying to us. The Scriptures tell is to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (II Cor. 10:5). “Taking every thought captive” means to actively filter our mental chatter—which includes fear, doubt, unbelief, anxiety, insecurity and negativity—and align it to the truth [...]
God knows your name. You are so important to Him! And you have a God-given ministry from the Lord that only you can fulfill. Paul the apostle said, “Tell Archippus: See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.” (Col. 4:17). Most Bible scholars believe Archippus was the son of [...]
The story is told of a man, who in utter frustration, asked his pastor why God had not been giving him answers. Unable to hear the pastor’s mumbled reply, the man moved closer, asking the pastor to repeat what he had said. Still unable to hear the reply, he moved closer and closer until finally [...]
Someone once told me there are two types of ministries before the throne of God: Jesus’ ministry of intercession (Rom. 8:34), and Satan’s “ministry” of accusation (Rev. 12:10). As believers, we must extend Jesus’ ministry of intercession to others and know how to handle accusations that may come against us. I have learned that when [...]
I have learned over the years that God often closes a door in our lives in preparation to opening a new door. But the problem we often encounter is knowing what to do in the hallway as we wait for a new door to open. Here are a few things I have learned over many [...]