faith

Obey the Spirit’s Promptings

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7 One of the things I love most about children is their purity of heart and the way it manifests in a lack of fear. Because they haven’t been beaten up by the world, their outlook is simple and they are willing to do things for others that you and I might not. When my daughter Haven was seven years old, our then-children’s pastor asked her and the other Sunday school students to invite their friends to church to see a Christmas program they were putting on. Taking his request quite seriously, Haven printed invitations for every student in her first grade class and hand-delivered them to each classmate along with a verbal invitation to come and hear about Jesus. Though I wasn’t totally surprised, it delighted me to

February 21, 2023 No Comments

Words Are a Big Deal

“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” – Acts 20:32 If you want to become the kind of person you were born to be, here’s something to think about: Words form the foundation of your life, so it’s important to consider what kind of words you want to surround yourself with. Words are a big deal, aren’t they? As a pastor, there are certain words that I cannot say from the pulpit. If I did, I would be defrocked and lose my job. Each of us has a responsibility to be accountable for the words we speak, and that’s a good thing. I believe there are certain words that I say every week that change people’s lives for the better, and that’s a positive thing. Words are powerful.

February 13, 2023 No Comments

Life With God is Good

“But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.” – Psalm 73:28 Life is full of moments and key decisions that make all the difference in the world. It has been said that 99 percent of life’s decisions are not directly related to major changes; only 1 percent are. Being able to identify that 1 percent can be a tough thing to do. For you, this is one of those moments. If you attend church or watch Hour of Power, but you have fallen away from the faith, this is a great opportunity for you to change your life. You may have grown up trusting in God, but you have lost your way a little over time. There may be times when you consider yourself to be a Christian or some kind of

February 11, 2023 4 Comments

Where Your Focus Goes, Your Energy Flows

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8 Today we are thankful for the national holiday celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King. We acknowledge and celebrate his accomplishments as a humanitarian, a global bridge builder, a dynamic minister, and a peacemaker. I remember many years ago when world-renowned motivational speaker Les Brown preached at the Crystal Cathedral. He shared some of his hardships growing up as an African American, including a learning disability in school and growing up poor. Yet, he had this dream to buy his mom a house. As a youngster, he would go with her to these big beautiful houses where she would clean and cook for the families. He didn’t understand why they couldn’t live in a big beautiful house, too. And

January 16, 2023 2 Comments

Grafted Into the Tree of Life

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” – Isaiah 11:1 Today we look at the famous Advent passage from Isaiah 11, verse 1, which is a prophecy about the stump of Jesse. Jesse’s lineage could be thought of as royalty because he was the father of David, the famous Old Testament shepherd turned king. From this stump, which was once a great house, a fruitful tree, a significant living entity that’s been chopped down — from it a shoot will be born. There will be a new king, and He will make things right. The previous kingdoms were centered around ego, selfishness, and violence. But this kingdom that is coming will be one of heart and will even be led by a child. And this, of course, is the king Jesus, who we celebrate and joyfully remember on Christmas

December 7, 2022 1 Comment

Hear the Word of the Lord

“So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.” – 2 Kings 5:14 Yesterday, I spoke of God responding to the faith of the widowed woman of Zarephath. Let’s look at another Gentile, Naaman the Syrian, a great general who served the king of Aram but was afflicted with leprosy. One of Naaman’s servants, an Israeli girl, said, “My lord, if you go to my home in Samaria in Israel, there’s a man of God who can heal you.” With a letter of permission from the king of Aram, and a peace offering, Naaman approached the king of Israel and told him he heard that he can heal leprosy. The king became terribly upset, thinking war will be declared if he can’t heal him. Hearing

December 6, 2022 No Comments

God Responds to Faith

“You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” – James 2:22 God cares a lot about faith and wants you to trust Him. Today, we will see the widow’s faith in Zarephath as found in 1 Kings, Chapter 17. Zarephath was a Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast. Because of a terrible drought, people were not only thirsty; they were starving for food. The Lord instructed the prophet, Elijah, saying: Go to Zarephath and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food. Isn’t it interesting that God would direct Elijah to one without resources or hope as a supply source? So Elijah went to Zarephath and saw the widow there gathering sticks. He asked her, “Bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink.” He also had

December 5, 2022 1 Comment

Apply What You Know

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” – James 1:22 In today’s society, we have this real obstacle called the “knowing/doing gap.” Allow me to explain. Many people today are getting master’s degrees, taking amazing courses in great subjects, and putting hard work into learning, but they’ve yet to actually apply their knowledge. I’m all for educating oneself, but most of these people haven’t built a building, created an organization, or designed an excellent policy. All they’ve done is continue taking more classes. I’m convinced that some people do this because they are afraid of life and putting what they’ve learned into practice. As people of faith, we love education, believe in educated clergy, and depend on our creeds and confessions — and we should. But your faith is not measured by what you affirm. Your faith is measured by what you

December 4, 2022 No Comments

Step Into the Water

“And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” – Joshua 3:13 I remember a movie from the 90s with a brilliant concept that I will share! When we’re children, our spiritual cup is very small, and it doesn’t take much to fill it and to help us feel closer to God. As Christians, when we get older and grow in our faith, that cup gets bigger. We need more of God in our life, more times of prayer, and greater actions of faith. We need more of Him, His word, and His life. And if we neglect that, we feel empty in a way that we wouldn’t when we were children. A great example of this in the Bible is when the

December 3, 2022 2 Comments

Hope is Not Enough

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1 Today is a day of hope, and we need it like never before! Hope is something that sustains us when we’re going through hard times, and it’s the thing that keeps us positive. If we lose hope, we begin to lose our dreams and our confidence. But can I tell you something? Hope is not enough if you’ve been a Christian for a long time; God wants more from you than that. He wants faith. He wants you to have hope, but He wants it realized in knowledge and action, which is precisely what faith is. I have a message entitled, “Hope is for Noobs.” Do you know what a noob is? It’s a noobie, novice, or rookie. Hope is for people who are new to faith or have an

December 1, 2022 No Comments

Obey the Spirit’s Promptings

Words Are a Big Deal

Life With God is Good

Where Your Focus Goes, Your Energy Flows

Grafted Into the Tree of Life

Hear the Word of the Lord

God Responds to Faith

Apply What You Know

Step Into the Water

Hope is Not Enough

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