Year: 2013

Walk in the Spirit

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So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. Galatians 5:16-18 There is an answer to all of us who at one time or another felt like the Apostle Paul when he asked the question – “oh wretched man that I am who shall save me from this body of death?” The question came after the realization that he was incapable of rising above the power of the sinful nature within himself. At that point he realized that only the grace of God through the redemptive work of Christ could help him break the …

Again in travail …

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Let me start by asking you a question about what you think it takes to start a church. What do you think it takes to win your friends or lead a community into a vibrant life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ? For some of us the answer to those questions may be simple. Simple as get some good connections, a celebrity preacher to do a spot for you, run it on radio or TV – than get a little social on all the social networks and you are on your way. But it wasn’t that easy for Paul and his companions. For them, it was great labor both physically and spiritually. My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. Galatians 4:19 There is one thing worth mentioning in this verse: Besides the many details mentioned in Acts 13 and Acts 14 about his sorrows and bitter sufferings, there had been an agony of travail (like that of a woman in childbirth) on Paul’s part at the founding of …

Holy Spirit Fall

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Sometimes I wonder why Acts of the Apostles is actually called – Acts of the Apostles. From my understanding of the entire book, there is just one person fueling, empowering and anointing these apostles to work miracles, signs and wonders – the Holy Spirit. So, why is the book not called – The Acts of the Holy Spirit? What I mean to say is: If we are to wait for, seek the power the Spirit, that should tell us that we can do nothing without him… Acts 1:8 – you shall receive power… If we are to walk by the Spirit to be victorious over the flesh, that should cause us to rely on him more… Gal. 5:16-18 – live by the Spirit… If the only way we can belong to Christ or be a part of Him is through His Spirit, that should speak volumes of how desperately we need him… Rom. 8:9 – we don’t belong to him… If apart from Him we can do nothing – that we should do everything in our power …

Rich Mullins

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This is a 1996 interview with the late Rich Mullins. Here are some of the things he is talking about in this interview: Ministry Image/ Being who you were made to be The will of God Allowing God to defind you Purpose The call of God Life Expectations Holiness I am almost certain you will enjoy watching this interview: If you have a minute after watching the interview please take a moment to share your thoughts. I will appreciate it!

Fear is not real – It’s a choice…

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2 Timothy 1:7 For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and sound-mind. The only thing we have to fear is fear it’self – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. FDR – First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933 What are fears but voices airy? Whispering harm where harm is not. And deluding the unwary Till the fatal bolt is shot! Wordsworth Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake. Edgar Wallace – The Clue of the Twisted Candle (1916) All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears–of falling, of the dark, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark, or speaking before a Rotary Club, and of the words “Some Assembly Required. Dave Barry Am I afraid of high notes? Of course I am afraid. What sane man is not? Luciano Pavarotti Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is. German Proverb I was particularly struck by Will Smith’s …

15 Invaluable Laws to reaching your Potential

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The Law of Intentionality: Growth Doesn’t Just Happen The Law of Awareness: You Must Know Yourself to Grow Yourself The Law of the Mirror: You Must See Value in Yourself to Add Value to Yourself The Law of Reflection: Learning to Pause Allows Growth to Catch Up with You The Law of Consistency: Motivation Gets You Going–Discipline Keeps You Growing The Law of Environment: Growth Thrives in Conducive Surroundings The Law of Design: To Maximize Growth, Develop Strategies The Law of Pain: Good Management of Bad Experiences Leads to Great Growth The Law of the Ladder: Character Growth Determines the Height of Your Personal Growth The Law of the Rubber Band: Growth Stops When You Lose the Tension Between Where You Are and Where You Could Be The Law of Trade-Offs: You Have to Give Up to Grow Up The Law of Curiosity: Growth Is Stimulated By Asking Why? The Law of Modeling: It’s Hard to Improve When You Have No One But Yourself to Follow This is my personal favorite. The Law of Expansion: …

In all thy getting, get Unction

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The Cinderella of the Church today is the prayer meeting. This handmaid of the Lord is unloved and unwooed because she is not dripping with pearls of intellectualism, nor glamorous with the silks of philosophy, neither is she enchanting with the tiara of psychology. She wears the homespuns of sincerity and humility and so is not afraid to kneel! The offense of prayer is that it does not essentially tie in to mental efficiency. That is not to say that prayer is a partner to mental sloth. But in these days, efficiency and smartness are at a premium. Prayer is conditioned to one thing alone, and that is to spirituality. One does not need to be spiritual to preach, that is, to make and deliver sermons of homiletical perfection and exegetical exactitude. By a combination of memory, knowledge, ambition, personality, plus well-lined book shelves, self-confidence and a sense of having arrived – the pulpit is yours almost anywhere these days. Preaching of the type mentioned affects men; prayer affects God. Preaching affects time; prayer affects …

Is there a “Balm” in Edgard Allan Poe’s Raven?

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Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. ”Tis some visitor,’ I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door- Only this, and nothing more.’ Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow;- vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow- sorrow for the lost Lenore- For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore- Nameless here for evermore. And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me- filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating, ”Tis …