Every now and then, I read a passage in the Bible that touches my heart in a way that leaves me speechless. Literally speechless – nothing at all to say. And that isn’t an easy task considering I’m someone who makes a living out of talking - and talking specifically about the Bible!
But recently I found myself at that exact point as I was reading and meditating on the story of the Prodigal Son (see Luke 15:11-32).
Read MoreGentlemen, grab a pen and get ready to start taking notes. In this week's message, I share the vital information that every man needs to understand in order to be successful in relationships. Trust me, this one piece of information has the power to transform your relationships if get it right.
What is it? Check out Part 2 of INTO THE WILD and see for yourself.
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“By day the banished sun circles the earth like a grieving mother with a lamp.”
Even for those of us that seek to avoid it, these days it seems the brokenness of the world is inescapable. We are divided in our nations, our communities, and even our families. Old wounds reopen, buried grievances resurface, hidden tragedies are revealed. The way we communicate and engage with each other is changing faster than we can process.
Read More"Being Christian is not enough to be successful in relationships. I must understand the rules."
Relationships. They aren't as easy as they look. Sometimes it can feel like trying to navigate your way through a wild jungle. But thankfully, it doesn’t have to be that way. Help is on the way!
In Part 1 of our latest series, INTO THE WILD, we looked at what I call "The Indisputable Laws of Relationships" - three rules that you need to understand if you hope to win at relationships.
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“Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid.” Mark 10:32
I’ve come across this verse many times before but this time, something hit me. It has to do with the way the sentences are ordered. The order doesn’t seem right – the second sentence doesn't seem to align with the first. Actually, it ignores it as if it's not even there!
Read MoreIt's time for the maestro to walk onto the stage. And when He does, the INVISIBLE hand of God turns into the INVINCIBLE hand of God!
Don't miss the finale of the series, The Invisible Hand of God, and find out what God does when there's no solution in sight (hint: He solves it anyway).
Also, at the end of the message, there's a song that I reference called "Death Was Arrested". Definitely worth the 5 minutes to check it out.
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"To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us...Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace... Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” Thomas Merton
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Below is a post I wrote at the start of this year and given the current state of our nation, I thought might be relevant today. Its message is one that I believe is at the core of our Christian faith (and our national identity as well). I pray that one by one, more and more people in our country - especially within the Church - would see DIFFERENT doesn't mean WRONG. It just means different.
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Can two people think differently and BOTH be right? Is that possible?
One thinks we should open our borders; another thinks we should close them.
One thinks we should help the poor; another thinks we should hold them accountable.
One thinks we should focus on evangelism; another thinks we need more Bible study.
Can they both be right? Or does someone have to be wrong?
Read MoreSometimes the most powerful action you can take is no action; it's WAITING on God.
That's the message of Part 3 in our series, The Invisible Hand of God. We see how Esther's willingness to wait on God turned the whole story upside down. Her patience opened the door for God to work mightily.
And it might just do the same in your life too...
Read More"Just because there's nothing we CAN DO, doesn't mean there's nothing we SHOULD DO."
Part 2 of our series The Invisible Hand of God and this week we look at what happens when evil enters the story and we find ourselves face to face with hatred, injustice, and bigotry.
By her example, Esther teaches us that SEEING the invisible hand of God is great, but BEING the invisible hand of God is even better!
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Today’s guest post comes from my good friend, Walter Rooks. Walter is currently serving as an Air Operations specialist in Afghanistan, but he is also a certified John Maxwell speaker, coach and trainer (what he calls “his true calling in life”). You can read more of his work on his blog, Journey of a Lifetime.
Read MoreLook who's back! After a four week hiatus, I am back to doing what I love to do...PREACHING ABOUT THE GREATNESS OF GOD!
We kicked off a new series yesterday titled THE INVISIBLE HAND OF GOD: A Look at Esther. In it, we're talking about a subject which I am sooooooo passionate about and I think if you watch the message, you will be too.
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Today's guest post comes from Pastor Steve King, senior pastor of Cherrydale Baptist Church in Arlington, VA. Pastor Steve has faithfully served in the ministry for close to 40 years and has become both a friend and mentor to me personally. Below is a letter he wrote to a group of ministers about "losing heart." While the letter was written originally to people in full-time ministry, I think it has tremendous value for all who call themselves a servant of Christ.
Read MoreOur journey has come to the end. For the past 4 weeks we've been looking at REdiscovering the God we thought we know - aka, Meeting (again) for the First Time. This week we looked at the false god that many of us grew up with, GUILT GOD - the god who loves you but doesn't like you.
Special thanks to my good friend Emmanuel Gergis, the academic dean for Holy Transfiguration College, for sharing his personal experience on the subject. If you struggle with guilt and forgiving yourself, YOU NEED to listen to the message above.
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“But first I want you to tell me this: do you know the power of love? Christ passed over all the marvelous works which were to be performed by the apostles and said, ‘By this shall men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’” --St John Chrysostom
The idea of hospitality has challenged me over the past few weeks and seems to have culminated in the latest Vesper and Liturgical Gospel readings both regarding how we treat one another, and how we rely on the Holy Spirit to work in us, God to provide for us, and Christ to show us the way to be holier hosts (Luke 14:7-15, Luke 9:10-17).
A word often used for hospitality in the New Testament, philoxenia, combines the idea of loving as if you would love someone bound to you by blood or faith (philo) and applies it to a stranger (xenos).
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Recently, I was looking through the list of some of my most-viewed posts of all-time and much to my surprise, the post below appeared near the top of the list. Originally written back in 2012, it speaks to an issue we all need to be aware of: THE POWER OF LITTLE SINS.
They might be small, but they are deadly!
Read MoreThis week, we were honored to receive a special visit from a longtime friend and partner in the ministry - Fr. Abraham Fam. Fr. Abraham has been serving as a missionary priest in Lusaka, Zambia for 10 years, but this weekend he was gracious enough to join us for part 3 in our series, Meeting (again) for the First Time.
And his topic was a good one...BOYFRIEND GOD! Fr. Abraham addresses the question: how can I believe in God if I don’t feel His presence at all times?
Read More“Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.” William James
Never is that more true than in marriage. There is no such thing as a marriage that doesn’t have conflict. The only marriages that don’t have conflict are the ones where they aren’t trying – where either one or both of the people involved have simply given up.
Conflict is the most difficult part of marriage – it’s the part that can cause tremendous pain and hurt. But it doesn’t always need to be negative.
Conflict can actually strengthen a marriage (or any relationship for that matter), if we simply learn to follow some Biblical principles on how to fight fair. In fact, conflict is often times the very thing that catapults relationships to new heights and new depths.
Therefore, I believe the following: the goal of marriage is not to be conflict-free. The goal is to handle the conflict correctly when it occurs.
Read MoreIt's Part 2 in our latest series, Meeting (again) for the First Time and this week, we hear from a very dear friend of mine, Maryan Farag. Maryan shares her personal journey into discovering the truth about God and answered prayer. Is God there to simply give us what we ask for? Or is there more to the story?
Check out the video above and listen for yourself and Maryan candidly reveals what God has taught her about this subject.
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This is a guest post from Linamize, a first-year graduate student originally from Eritrea, who is now studying to be a physician’s assistant in California and who has guest posted before. In today's post, she shares an eye-opening "moment of truth" she experienced while reading a passage in Scripture recently. If you too are interested in guest posting, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.
"And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?" (Isaiah 5:3-4)
When I opened my Bible this morning and read that, I felt as if the Lord was speaking directly to me (or about me).
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