We used to live in a house that had a cranky screen door. The spring was loose so every time you’d attempt to close it, the door would creak and slam startling everyone in the house. After awhile, we got a new screen door with full glass and a self-adjusting spring. It was much nicer and very quiet to close. ...
Are you a note-taker? Do you like to write in journals? I realize not everyone is, but I stumbled on something that made me pause and think, wow I think we’ve missed the real power of this. Let me explain. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, his purpose was to encourage his young protege as he led one of the ...
As you know, in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the Bible describes how Jesus went from place to place ministering to people. For example, in Matthew 9:35, the Bible says, “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among ...
Jesus spoke in parables. God spoke through stories. The point was to illustrate a truth. Stories and parables paint a picture of a principle. And as I was reading through Haggai this week, I saw an amazing illustration of our righteousness in Christ. To set it up, the Book of Haggai revolves around God’s command to rebuild His house. The ...
Who doesn’t need more faith and more power? I think we all do. At any given time, we can face challenges that require us to take a deep breath and face it head-on, or shrink back in fear. Preferably, God wants us to grow in faith and walk in the power and authority He has given us in Christ. And ...
To be all in is originally a poker term meaning to bet all you have on one hand. But in modern lingo, it can also mean to be totally committed to something. I guess we could use God and Jesus as an example. When it came to saving the world, they were ALL IN. The opposite of all in would ...
I have a good friend who is going through a trial. As she shared some of the detail with me, I asked how she was handling the obvious thoughts of fear. She said, “Well, I’m quoting a lot of scripture.” “That’s good,” I said, “But it won’t run the dog off.” And she looked at me with the same face ...
Have you ever noticed how certain words will resonate with you, while others don’t? I think it’s different for everyone because of our upbringing, experiences, maturity, education, geography, etc. But as a Christian, I’ve noticed this with God’s Word too. For example, one person will cling to Jeremiah 29:11 (For I know the thoughts I think toward you… thoughts of ...
If you’re even a little bit of a Bible-studier than you’re familiar with the example James uses in describing the power of our tongue. He said, “A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest ...
There’s always a lot of discussion about our monetary system, and those who have invested in gold have seemingly made a wise decision because its value continues to increase. But there is one commodity apparently far superior in value– our faith. Hesitant believers will argue that “faith” isn’t going to pay the mortgage or save our country from a fiscal disaster, ...
“Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man” (2 Samuel 24:14). Isn’t that the truth?! Kenneth Copeland said, “When somebody hurts us, our natural human reaction is to strike back… to ask God to clobber them. But that’s not God’s way.” And ...
Sometimes you can locate where people are by how much response they give to a certain topic, or how much silence they give. We live in a busy society, so I don’t expect people to read or comment on my blog every day (although I secretly love to hear from others). But for the most part I get a certain ...
“Don’t ever short-circuit a miracle by trying to see it in progress!” –Kenneth Copeland Because our natural eyes often dictate our next move (i.e. we see a stray ball coming our way so we duck, or we see a dog running in the street so we brake), we are often guilty of utilizing our spiritual eyes the same way. The ...
If your name was drawn for a million-dollar lottery win, would casually dismiss it as non-important? No, of course not! You (and every other person on the earth) would be astonished and eager to collect the windfall. Now, throw into this pretend scenario a couple of impostors trying to claim the prize, which belongs to you, as their own. Now what would ...
I hope the title of this blog got your attention… Who doesn’t love vacations? Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of an instant vacation? If this was a real thing, I’d be saying, “Sign me up!” Well, it is a real thing. Let me explain: You know the story in Nehemiah where God said to his people, “Do not sorrow, ...
Healing comes in all shapes and sizes. I’m always in awe of the care God puts into the tiniest details. People can receive healing of heart for their brokenness, healing of body for sickness and disease, and healing of mind for trouble and despair. But one thing we need to be clear on: God didn’t “heal” our spirits. Our spirit ...
I hate it when I feel like I need to defend myself, don’t you? No matter who it is, if there’s been a misunderstanding or judgment error, it’s natural to want to defend yourself, but I still greatly dislike how it feels. Like an ugly boomerang that won’t stop making circles, defense mechanisms can be destructive. I was thinking about ...