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We don’t fully understand what God says or does when we don’t have the full picture. Anything beyond what we have personally experienced is naturally questioned and doubted when our human reasoning kicks in. Our natural mind cannot believe or accept it. In fact, our...
On a brief trip, I bumped into someone on a city street I had not seen in many years. For a short time, she had attended one of the churches Jan and I pastored. From her appearance, it seemed the intervening years had been challenging. Immediately after our...
In His sovereignty, God chooses the timing to expose and cleanse what has become corrupted by demonic activity in His people. He will tell us to clear out anything that gives people the wrong impression of who He is and how we should represent Him. He will address the...
Yesterday, while I was sitting in our garden, the first butterfly of the year visited us. As I watched the butterfly perch atop a flower, I had enough time to capture its photo, and then it flew away. In grade school science class, we were taught about the process of...
Many believers whom God wants to use in profound ways have not yet experienced what the Lord has planned for them. These believers are waiting for God to do something through them that will change the course of their lives. They are waiting for God to act, but God is...
There are times when we want to be with someone or experience something that Satan will prevent our physical connection. Paul addressed this issue in his first letter to the Thessalonians,"We wanted very much to come to you, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but...
Today, as it was when Paul wrote his letter to the Church in Colosse, people have promoted theories about Jesus that mixed pagan ideas about the Lord with scriptural truth. These false teachers mixed their ideas with astrology, magic, and Judaism, presenting Jesus as...
At some point, our maturity in the Lord will reach an important and life-changing point. At that point, we will finally decide that all this world has to offer us is a lie, and we must initiate a departure from its false promises. In the closing verses of Galatians,...
I was walking through the historic cemetery in our town and noticed that someone had installed a statue of Jesus facing one of the tombs. At first glance, I recognized the statue as someone’s expression of their faith based on a particular expression of their belief...
Our acts of obedience can appear like a massive game of dominoes across a floor. One act of obedience will lead to another, taking us to places we never imagined. The same is true for our disobedience. We can think our weaknesses have derailed God's will for our...
It's essential to know the boundary of our calling. Stepping outside that boundary can make us vulnerable to things God did not plan for us to experience. Demons are waiting to attack those who step outside those boundaries. When Paul defended his apostolic authority,...
The phrase "the new you" has been used by health specialists, diet promoters, and plastic surgeons who promise a dramatic physical change that will transform a life. While such promises can have a positive effect, they are not new. Only our appearance changes by these...
When Jan and I pray for people who do not know the Lord, we specifically pray that the veil of their unbelief would be removed. Our prayer is simple: "Lord, make yourself known to them." When that blinding veil is removed, remarkable results have happened. Those who...
Some believers wait for a pastor or theologian to explain God's word to them, thinking they cannot understand Scripture on their own. God's word is straightforward. Even the most challenging sections can be understood if we approach them with a childlike...
We live in a time when people believe foolish lies, calling them the truth and forming their faith around those errant assumptions. It is happening now, just as it did when Paul was preaching. The point to which our faith is attached is the resurrection of Jesus from...