Blog
There are some spiritual disciplines we are being offered that need a closer examination than just a cursory look. Take, for example, Eastern meditation. Some are trying to mix Eastern meditation with Christianity inviting people to seek a mind empty of all thought....
The Lord is raising the spirit of Gideon within the Church and the wider culture to demonstrate His power and authority. At first, those receiving this assignment will be reluctant because they think they do not have the qualifications to carry out the assignment....
Those living off the fat of personal gain at the expense of those they are assigned to sacrificially lead will eventually be challenged by God. The Lord will raise truth-tellers who will thrust truth into the gut of these abusers to set His people free from their...
Years ago, when Jan and I ventured out to start our first church, those who sent us described church planters like us as people who would “pioneer a new church”. That phrase is not used very much in church planting circles today, but remains accurate in...
Over the years, Jan and I have found ourselves serving the Lord in several unique locations. One of those places was our assignment in the West Indies when our base of operation was out of Kingston, Jamaica. Thanksgiving time in Jamaica did not have the...
(This morning one of my former students posted a question on my Facebook wall. I normally answer these kinds of questions with a personal email, but felt this one was important to answer publicly because the response of the church to these culturally charged...
My grandfather, like his father before him, made violins. They called these violins fiddles. From the forest that surrounded the family home near Quitman, Texas they would cut and cure hardwoods that would someday become beautiful fiddles. As they walked through a...
For every ending – the end of a relationship, the death of a ministry or the collapse of a dream – there exists a new beginning. These unexpected new beginnings can be forced upon us by a circumstance of life or by our own poor choices. God will use these...
There is no steering wheel in another person’s life that you can grab to help steer their life away from crisis and sorrow. In the human will and mind these steering wheels do not exist. For those who want to help another person this can be both frustrating and...
As I listen to conversations taking place across the church, I am not hearing much about the Devil. Please don’t misunderstand what I am about to write. I don’t want to spend each waking hour pondering his presence, but I don’t want to ignore his reality either. ...
When God pulls the plug in some area of your life He does this to drain away what is present in order to make room for something new. Before you start trying to plug the drain and fix the leak it is important to understand what is taking place. The Apostle Paul told...
I have been a pastor for so many years that I am now seen as a spiritual father. This is a high calling and one that I hope to carry with honor the rest of my days. As a spiritual father, I want to make sure my sons and daughters finish well so that some day...
Today, I was reading through several news sources. As I was reading, I saw an image emerge and rise off the screen of my computer and develop before me. It was an unsettling image. I saw soldiers with blue helmets walking the streets of cities in the United...
This morning, as I lay in bed in the darkness, my first conscious thought was an image. I knew what I was beginning to see was important and needed to be remembered in detail. I waited and let the image fully develop before I rose in order to write down what I...
You are holding one small seed of faith in your hand. Before you an immense and unplanted field of opportunity exists. Your seed looks insignificant compared to the size of the field. God is about to change your understanding of potential. God is asking you to walk...