Get Ready!!

Did you know that every Thanksgiving, the current U.S. president pardons a...

A quiet man nearing retirement ambled up to me after the service. He looked both ways to make sure no one was listening. “If God could speak through Darla today, do you think He might be able to speak through me?” he asked timidly. Two weeks later, he was...

Sunflowers are unique in that they follow the sun. In the morning, they face the sunrise. As the sun moves across the heavens during the day, the faces of these flowers are always looking at the sun. In the evening, when the sun dips below the horizon, sunflowers eke one last glimpse of the golden orb in the west.

What makes ordinary people extraordinary? Recently, I read an article about the many qualities that do this. First on the list — aim, vision, and...

For most of my life here in the West, I’ve been surrounded by peace, not persecution. And I never really thought too much about what it might look like to suffer for my faith. One day, a number of months ago, as I thought about my own spiritual weaknesses, I started praying that God would prepare me...

Can you imagine what would happen if there was continual humbling of heart and supplication for the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit 24 hours a day for a whole month? During the month of December there will be 48 half hour sessions of earnest prayer 24 hours a day for the whole month!

Shocked, Elijah watched as the messenger ran away in the rain. The cold rain dripped off his head and nose. He was hungry, cold, and wet. Discouraged with the defiance of Jezebel and the spineless cowardice of Ahab, he pondered his dreary fate. Soon he would be dead if the queen had anything to say about it.

Words or actions that cause God's children to trip and stumble into disobedience wound the heart of God. When God’s little ones — His least stable and secure believers — are caused to stumble, God’s wrath is provoked. These believers are in a sense, the weakest, and as a result, require extra care and support. God expects us to provide care and support to them by practicing harmless speech.

The question I am going to ask you changed my mother's life. My dear mother was twenty when someone asked her, "Suppose … you died today …! Do you have the assurance of eternal life with Jesus Christ?" This question hit her hard. But it had a very positive effect...

Ancient Rome in the time of the Caesars was an entirely different place full of the worship of pagan gods, grand imperialism, lavish living, and mythical symbolism. The Seven Hills of Rome were within the walls from about the 6th century BC forward and can still be recognized by buildings named after the hill where they rest. Roman law forbade placing cemeteries inside of city walls, and in ancient times a cemetery sat outside the western wall on the southern slope of the Vatican hill called the necropolis.

I wish I could say that surrendering is something that I am good at. I wish I could say that, after almost 20 years as a Christian and 16 years as a pastor, I am close to mastering the art of surrender. Unfortunately, while I do understand the science of surrender quite well, the art of it still eludes me.

Did you know that the sunflower faces the east in the morning and continues to follow the sun throughout the day, pointing...