The human heart is never neutral; it must worship something. It longs to attach to something. Whether we want to admit it or not, the heart is often an idol factory elevating things or people above God. It happens so subtly. For example, when we are worried, where do we look for comfort or security, [...]
This may sound really elementary, but it is a powerful truth. When we repent of our sins, God forgives them and will never remember or mention them again. Psalm 103:12 tells us that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” You can’t get any [...]
The early Christian disciples knew what it meant to follow Jesus. When Jesus said to fisherman, James and John, “Follow Me,” they left their boats and nets—their business, their livelihood—and followed Him. As Matthew sat in his tax collecting station, Jesus came by and said, “Follow Me.” Matthew left his position and job, and followed [...]
We have a great sense of expectation from the LORD as more than 370 servant-leaders from 18 nations in the DOVE Global Family come together next week. We plan to meet for three days at the Sandy Cove Conference Center in North East Maryland, USA, and we are expecting to hear from the LORD together. [...]
Some of God’s people are going through a difficult season of life right now. Some things in life simply do not seem to make sense. If this is you, I found a beautiful promise from Scripture the other day that will encourage you. “For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though [...]
A few months ago I was in Stuttgart, Germany with a few hundred young German Christian leaders from Hope International Ministries. I learned that a few years earlier they had made a commitment to plant a new church within one-hour driving distance from every person living in their nation. Now—220 churches later—this vision has become [...]
For as long as I can remember, I have desired to experience God and His church like I have seen modeled in the book of Acts. As a young man, I remember studying the Scriptures to discover the necessary components of church from God’s perspective. I knew that if two or three gather in His [...]
Every generation needs new churches, or as Jesus called them, “new wineskins,” to meet the spiritual needs of their present generation. Tim Keller, who pastors Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, in his article, Why Plant Churches, says, “The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for 1) the numerical [...]
I have heard it said hundreds of times: “We do not need more churches in our community. We have enough churches already.” I disagree. We cannot fulfill the Great Commission without planting churches. We need new churches! Jesus, when He ascended into heaven two thousand years ago, left a spiritual family of 120 believers in [...]
Some varieties of trees, when first planted, need to have a stake driven into the ground next to the tree. A rope then is tied around the tree and stake until the tree can grow tall and strong enough to hold itself. God has called you and me to be “stakes” for people, helping to [...]