January 2012 Blog Posts (92)

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I’ve always been an “every man has free will” believer.  Like many others, I’ve been known to make statements like, “They just need to turn their life over to Jesus”!  However, “free will” vs. “sovereign grace” is one of many topics that I’ve been re-evaluating in recent years.  As I re-read Scriptures with a new lens, it seems that my long-standing view may be inaccurate.  Would you be willing to ponder this with me for a few minutes?

If I have “free will,” why was I…

It has been over a year since I was a full-time pastor. However, I have frequently been asked to help out and preach when colleagues are out of town. When I do, I post them.  The blog stuff is mostly stuff I am reading/researching, or that the Lord is trying to teach me.

Last spring I contacted Maurice Smith, and my husband and I met him and his wife.  At that time, I was just looking for a house church, but around that time, they were not part of a fellowship. Apparently, at that…

James 2:18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

I was surprised, excited and inspired as Father and I spent time in James 2.  Here is a little response that carried with it admonition, humor and direction for me. 

Faith is meant to be demonstrated not placed in a show case.  Faith is meant to be lived!  Faith is a demonstration of Oneness with/in…

I have a great story for you to read. Now remember, this is a true tale of Paul's experience as he traveled to Rome:

So Paul warned them, and said, “Men, I can see that this voyage is likely to result in damage and considerable loss—not only to ship and cargo—but even of our lives as well.”

But Julius paid more attention to the helmsman and the captain than to Paul’s words of warning. Moreover, since the harbour is unsuitable for a ship to winter in, the majority were in…

Ordering our Footsteps

Loosing sight of God part 1

Every parent’s desire is for their children to grow up with the values they have been taught, to finish their schooling and of-course follow a good career. Children are encouraged to choose their friends carefully and not to be influenced…

Have you ever sat in church and watched those around you getting blessed, while you felt nothing? They cry; they pray; they worship with tremendous feeling. But you feel dry—a long way from the presence of God and have no great yearning to read the Word. You begin to wonder if there is something wrong with your spiritual life.

During these times of dryness you barely read the Bible, in fact, if you do read it, it is only through a sense of obligation and not desire. When you are dry…

If you are a preacher, missionary or teacher, I want you to think about something. When you go out to evangelize or stand in a pulpit, ask yourself, what are you teaching? Is it what a person taught you? Is it a rehashing of the revelation of some “great” teacher? Or, have you experienced your own personal revelation of Jesus Christ? Now there’s the secret. If you have, is it a revelation that is still growing? Is heaven opened to you?

What I have often seen in my own life…

The fall 2011 student enrollment at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas was 49,861. This included an estimated 4,700 international students fromfrom 126 nations of the world.

No one that I have spoken with in our community – church staff or on-campus student ministries – can estimate the number of students who attend local evangelical churches, or, more importantly, are followers of Christ.

Even though many students are believers and attend local churches, the…

Last August, I shared how several years before, it must have been in 1983 or 84, I don’t remember, but my wife and I visited a brother, Len Bridges, who was dying of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (or ALS, also referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease). He had been in tremendous pain for months. We originally went to minister healing to him, but it ended up that he ministered to us.

I remember his wife telling us how they had prayed for healing and had several different…

As a nation, America has its share of problems and imperfections, be it institutions or systems of justice, finance, politics, government, or religion. We can easily lose perspective on our standard of living when we compare ourselves with neighbors, celebrities, media’s view of the “good life,” and what we want and strive to own.

Please read this sobering, brief article by Annalyn Censky retrieved from CNNMoney.com:

The United States holds a…

Jesus made a magnificent statement. Look in two chapters. First, John 14, then in John 17:

“The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that is who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him” (John 14:21).

To me, that is a tremendous statement. He first said that our obedience is evidence of our love for him, and then he followed that up by saying, if we love him, the Father…

Times of Prayer

The Charismatic movement saw amongst other things lots of witty one liners, at times riddles which never really exhorted people but somehow got them into frenzy. I have heard statements like “THERE IS NO GAIN IF DID NOT FEEL PAIN, IF YOU HAVE NO PAIN THEN YOU HAVE NOT GAINED”. I remember a crowd shivering in anxiety when the preacher said “SUDDENLY” three times, and every time he repeated it he screamed louder but never said anything…

I am always amazed how the Spirit of God works. Let me give you an example what I mean, by sharing something that happened recently. I often receive emails or "Instant Chats," or maybe I meet someone at the store . . . whatever the occasion or format involved, I suddenly discover the Lord getting involved. Just the other day, I was chatting with a friend and he said,

I think I will just try to make it into next year. I am just Just....

I…