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Jesus modeled for us the highest forms of obedience at the time of His suffering and crucifixion. Choosing to obey God’s word is expressed in its purest form when we know that pain and suffering will come, yet we still obey Him. As Jesus concluded His final...
As Jesus gave final instructions to His disciples just before His arrest, He addressed the coming of the Spirit. Jesus said the grief the disciples would experience at His death would be overshadowed by the coming of the Spirit. When the Spirit comes and enters a...
Our faith is rarely tested unless a display of the resurrection power of Jesus has been demonstrated. The power of resurrection is the primary evidence of God’s love. The traction created by that demonstration will threaten the powers of evil currently being employed...
I had an appointment with a man who ran a t-shirt business. In the course of our conversation, I asked him, “What t-shirt logo got the most response from people?” Without missing a beat he said, “The one with only three words written across the front – ‘Jesus is...
There are things taking place around you that God does not want you to get used to. They were never meant for you to become comfortable with their presence in your life. It is time to break away and walk away. Once, while working vice, we got information of a...
Something has concerned me. It has been taking place with increasing measure in the last year. I would call it, Prophetic Nationalism. This is the hijacking of the prophetic voice of the Church to promote the agenda of a nation – any nation. On the surface, this can...
We have arrived at a place in our culture and within the Church that is the product of 24-hour in-your-face immediate news, the isolation created by social media and our undisciplined emotions where the first bit of information out of the gate is typically the one...
The greatest blessings in my life have all come suddenly and unexpected. They were never planned or programmed. They just appeared – suddenly. We can reduce our life of faith down to a human level of understanding that produces solutions from the exercise of human...
This morning, I had the honor to preach at Empowered Life Church in Medford, Oregon pastored by Ivan and Erica Roman. Ivan was out of town ministering and asked me to speak in his absence. As worship began, Erica quoted Ruth Heflin by saying, ““Praise until the...
God has heavenly assets and resources assigned to your life that you cannot see. They are in place to protect you and watch over your life. To the casual observer, you look vulnerable, exposed and out in the open. With God that is never your reality. The recent...
Some of the dialogue taking place on social media and news outlets the day after the Inauguration reminds me of the Chinese language symbol that can mean both danger and opportunity depending on how it is used. We are in one of those moments of definition, not in the...
Father God, bless our new President. May you give him the ability to reach beyond division and fear to embrace the broad spectrum of our diversity expressed in every color, creed, and religion and pull us together in a renewed state of the Union. Release in him the...
God has wrapped you tightly in His presence. You are secure, not in jeopardy. The things coming at you at this moment cannot breech His love or His purpose for your life. When both of our children were born the hospital staff wrapped them tightly in a baby blanket....
There are times when you hear something that impacts you deeply and leaves a lasting impression. As a young pastor-in-training, I remember one such phrase. Early in his ministry, my pastor, Roy Hicks Jr., was confronted by a group of people in his church who felt his...
Yesterday, I was driving between appointments when I passed one of those electronic signs with moving script that ticked off a message as the words moved across the screen. The sign read out the words, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season – Merry Christmas!”...