Sex! Advertisers sell it, Hollywood exalts it and Billions of dollars are given every year in search of it. But, there is something we crave even more than sex – it’s just that we often don’t realize it.
SEEKING GREATER INTIMACY
Valentine’s day is just around the corner. It is a time when people romanticize and think a great deal about the perfect, mutually-fulfilling relationship. Sadly, that kind of relationship appears increasingly difficult to come by. Life is busier, more distracting and frustratingly complicated. It also doesn’t help that culture persistently inundates us with confusing, and often opposing, ideas of what the ideal relationship is actually like. Continue reading “Sex: What Does it Have to do with Worship?”
Good evening Saints and soon-to-be-saints, I hope you are having a great day!
To all my Shenandoah Valley friends: I am greatly looking forward to being with you the weekend of Friday, February 16 – Sunday, February 18, 2018.
I will be kicking off the weekend by joining members of various churches for the monthly Friday Night Fire, hosted by Pastor Terrance Williams and held at Common Ground in Fishersville, VA at 7 pm. It is freely open to everyone.
After what promises to be a powerful time of Praise and Worship with a great group of skilled musicians, I intend to release a brand-new Word that God has been stirring in my spirit for several years. It’s time for this baby to be born! Like Elizabeth, my baby is leaping at the sound of the Messiah. I can’t tell you how excited I was the other day when I sensed God saying this was the time and place for this Word to be born.
This promises to be a content-rich message, so feel free to record or purchase one of the CD’s the hosts are planning to make.
We have a limited number of spaces available for the Bible Study I will be conducting in Stuarts Draft, VA on Sunday afternoon February 18th at 3:30 pm. I feel deeply that this needs to be personal and up-close, so if you are interested in participating, please let us know as soon as possible so we can get you on the list before all slots are filled.
Many of you know that this area is home for me. My visits are far too few, so I am prayerfully and excitedly looking forward to all that God is going to do! I hope I get to see you while I’m home.
One the most challenging aspects of Christianity – both to understand and to live out – is what I call, “The Law of Opposite Actions.” It’s one of those topics that, even though I have taught, preached and wrote on it numerous times, never diminishes in importance or urgency. In one of my older blogs, I called it Jesus Judo for Biblical Blessings. While some things are for a season, this message is life-long. I believe it is also one that God has chosen to emphasize in 2018.
You can get more details in the links below, but the basics work like this. Jesus said, “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also… Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High.” (Luke 6:27-29, 35-36)
I am encouraging everyone connected to me, to place a special emphasis on Jesus Judo for the next 40 days. In addition to traditional prayer and fasting for God’s presence, protection and guidance for ourselves, our families, our churches, our communities, our nations and our world, I am also encouraging you to train your mind to think Kingdom rather than culture.
So, when you are talking around the coffee pot in the breakroom, on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, or other social media, at school, the grocery store, on the phone or anywhere your life takes you, pray this simple prayer,
“Lord Jesus, what do You want to do in these people’s lives, and how may I assist you in your work?”
Then just listen and do what God says. The answer may come in the form of a scripture memory or an inner knowing of the right thing to do. God may use another person to give you important information. In reality, there are no limits on how God can reveal something to you. As long as it lines up with scripture, you’re good to go. The devil would probably never tell you to show godly love to someone. You will be amazed at how quickly your ears will become open to hear the voice of the Lord and how much your own life will be enhanced when you are in full-service to God and People.
Next, resist negativity and judgment. We know that God sent His only son so that EVERYONE would have the opportunity to be saved. (John 3:16) When we act as ambassadors of the Kingdom, our role is not to judge who can be a part of God’s Kingdom and who can’t – God already invited everyone. Our role is simply to help him spread the word – extend the invitation. He has employed us to help lead people out of darkness into His glorious light. So, for the next 40 days, God is asking you to forgo cynicism and judgment, set aside earthly politics and culture, lay down your negative world-view glasses and instead see God’s ability to redeem and restore everyone and everything. Imagine how different people and situations will be when God finishes His great work.
In the days ahead, I will be releasing specific teachings on how to overcome evil with good – in your personal life and in the culture. Please make sure you are subscribed to my free email list so you don’t miss a single principle that will help you prosper spiritually and naturally in this new year.
May this be your best year yet as you grow closer to God and His creation.
God is doing a great work in our days in the area of illuminating our understanding of grace. Perhaps more than any time since 1779, when former slave ship captain John Newton penned the words, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me…,“ – people are asking the question, “what is grace?” and “what does it mean to me?” Let’s take a look at a few of the ways grace changes our lives. Continue reading “Illuminating Grace: 4 Ways that Grace Changes our Lives”
As we prepare to celebrate the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross this Friday, a great way to look forward is to first look back. About 2000 years before Christ, Abraham the Father of Faith, was commanded by God to sacrifice his only begotten son, Isaac. Coincidence? Absolutely not! God was setting into motion prophetic symbolism that would verify the authenticity of Jesus Christ as Messiah. Continue reading “The Past is the Future”
The Apocalypse has been the subject of fascination by Bible students, Hollywood and many in between. Unfortunately there are many misconceptions about the “End of Days” that are way off base when compared to what the Bible actually has to say. Here are a few common misconceptions to help stir your intellectual juices:
Is the Christian Church prospering or is it falling apart? Depending on who you listen to or which statistics you study it appears that it could go either way.
Those of us who deeply love the Church, can take great solace in the fact that this is not – as they say in Texas – our first Rodeo. There have been many times throughout history where all hope seemed lost. Gnosticism, the Nicolaitans, the political takeover of the church by the Romans, the crusades, the inquisitions, the indulgences of the middle ages, church splits and the list goes on. Continue reading “”
In the quintessential definition of rebellion, much of modern American culture appears to be tolerant of everything EXCEPT the traditional morals and values of our ancestors.
What was once considered obvious common sense is now labeled “out of touch”, “antiquated”, “bigoted” and “hateful”.
From protests to Nightly News and Social Media, some members of our communities are increasingly being told to keep their big mouths shut. The rhetoric is mind-numbing.Continue reading “Big Mouth Christians”
