encourage

Leading Is Loving People

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” – Philippians 2:3,4 We have a family friend named Glenn Stearns, who happens to be a billionaire. In a strange turn of events, my dad officiated his wedding over a decade ago, and since then, he’s become dear to us. In 2019, he starred in his own T.V. show called Undercover Billionaire, which aired on the Discovery Channel. The goal of the program was to showcase the American spirit and to prove that with the right attitude and team, a profitable business can be grown just about anywhere. That said, Glenn was sent to Erie, Pennsylvania with $100 in his pocket, a pickup truck, and a cell phone with no contacts, and tasked with building a million dollar

April 22, 2021 1 Comment

Return to Your First Love

“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” – Revelation 2:3,4 To wrap up our discussion about the church at Ephesus, I want to look at the words John wrote in the book of Revelation. In the Apostle’s vivid vision, which happened while he was exiled on the island of Patmos, he was given messages of wisdom and instruction for each of the seven churches in Asia. As we’ve seen over the past couple of days, the Christians in Ephesus lived in an atmosphere of persecution and hostility. Because they wouldn’t worship the image of Artemis or bow down to the emperor Domitian, they were oppressed and mistreated. Nevertheless, they endured and stayed strong in their convictions. However, through John, the Lord communicated the one thing He had

April 20, 2021 No Comments

Milk and Honey

“And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.” – Exodus 3:17 What do you imagine when you hear the description, “A land flowing with milk and honey”? My guess is that you envision a large quantity of white liquid and an abundance of a sticky, sweet substance produced by bees. However, this is not what the phrase means in the Biblical context. The Lord promised His people, the Israelites, a land full of these things, but they are actually an analogy for wealth, not a reference to food. Milk symbolizes livestock such as sheep, cattle, and goats, and honey is a reference to farmland. Therefore, the Promised Land was a place rich with both animals and property, and in those days, that’s what influence was made

January 23, 2021 1 Comment

Speak Victory!

“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’” – 1 Samuel 17:45 Lest any of us forget, words are powerful, and the things we say to ourselves and to others dramatically impact our outcomes. David was proof of this. Although he was young, inexperienced, and may have looked foolhardy to some, he spoke affirmatively and confidently in the presence of people. In fact, such a leader was he that he used his words to comfort and assure King Saul himself, telling him not to lose heart, and reminding him that the Philistines would ultimately be defeated. Even when Goliath spoke violently and intimidatingly in his hearing, the young shepherd responded with resolve as he invoked the name of His great

November 23, 2020 1 Comment