All posts tagged: word of God

Praying the Word: Parent Edition

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Effective praying is precision praying. Prayer is most effective when it has as its backbone reliable substance in the word of God. The Bible says that when God sends forth the rain, He aims for a precise result. The same is with the word of God, after it is sent forth, it does not return to God void. It accomplishes exactly what it was sent forth to accomplish. Scripture even assures us that God watches over his word to perform with razor precision what He intended. It is therefore imperative that when we pray, we pray with precision. When we pray we must pray God’s word. In this series, I would like to take us on a journey, an adventure to discover the power of precision praying. I will seek to show you examples of how to pray for various aspects of our lives. So today, I would like for us to begin with the privilege of parenting. Recently my status as a father was upgraded to father of not one, but two teenagers – …

My Beautiful Tension

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Every Sunday morning before I take the pulpit to speak, I wrestle with what I am about to deliver: Is this of God? Is this what the Spirit wants me to share today? Have I study enough, prepared enough? Many mornings I am led to preach something other than I prepared. Other times I walk to the pulpit, heart pounding, not knowing what I am going to say. I would love to say I am spot on every time, but that wouldn’t be true. I miss him sometimes – but when I do hear Him and obey Him, it’s glorious. Every afternoon I take sometime to reflect upon the message preached. I celebrate what God did during service. I praise him for the response of His people to His word. Sometimes I second guess what I shared, even though, I know He was in my preparation. Did I miss God? Was I obedient to His voice? I thank God for testimonies heard I weep sometimes – especially when I don’t see Him move Than again …

More than Conquerors

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I had the privilege of being a part of a missionary work in the West African nation of Ivory Coast, correctly know known as – La Cote D’Ivoire between 1990 and 1994. By the time I signed on, they had planted about 6 or more Churches around Abidjan – capital city. Those days were special: knocking on doors, walking the neighborhoods, holding All Night Prayer meetings and community gathering for fasting and praying. A revival was happening all around us – young and old coming to know Jesus and being filled with the Holy Ghost. These are some of the best days of my life and ministry. The people we ministered to were just like me. They were refugees, displaced, cut off from family, scattered in this foreign land and living among people with a strange tongue. They were often abused, and un-welcomed and mocked in the public square. You would think their pain and sorrow would define them, break them and leave them in despair. You would think their loneliness, loss, and inability to …

Joy is strength: How can I Increase it?

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The joy of The Lord is my strength. Neh. 8:10. What is joy?   Webster’s Dictionary defines joy as “a feelings of great happiness” but there is something much richer and deeper from God’s word about the word. This is because joy is more of an “elevated and spiritual kind.” Joy is of God  “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17 God is our source of joy.  He doesn’t only possess joy, he spreads it abroad. When he releases his joy in us, it moves like the working of his mighty power. A lot of people think that God is this angry, grumpy, always in a bad mood father. Quite frankly, it wouldn’t be a stretch to equate God to a “Happy God.” A few bible interpretors see the word “blessed” in 1 Timothy 1:11 as speaking of a cheerful and delightful God. Joy is God’s will  But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in …

Integrity is not a Cantaloupe, it’s a Grapefruit?

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Integrity – what is it? Some times we say things like, integrity is being truthful, holy, pure, obedient to God, trustworthy, who you are and who you are supposed to be when no on is looking. But the word Integrity is from the latin “integer” and it means “unity.” What that means is, a person of integrity does not live a divided life. There is no difference between who you are Monday through Friday and what you are on Sunday. There is no difference between who you are on the job and who you are at home. Integrity must invade every part of your life. In most of the circles today, I often hear a lot of people say, “you either have integrity or you don’t.” How true is that assessment? Could that statement be misleading? Is there a better way to explain integrity? According to Fred Smith, the author of Leading with Integrity, integrity can be compared to a Cantaloupe and a grapefruit. You can have it in one area of your life, but it …

A Looking Glass, Self Examination and The Word of God

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It is a wonderful thing for people to give up the measure of their own appearance for God’s cleansing. David Guzik Exodus 38:8 He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting. This was a laver to hold water for the priests to wash in when they went in to minister. This signified the provision that is made in the gospel of Christ for the cleansing of our souls from the moral pollution of sin by the merit and grace of Christ, that we may be fit to serve the holy God in holy duties. These mirrors were used for the making of the laver. Either they were artfully joined together, or else molten down and cast anew but it is probable that the laver was so brightly burnished that the sides of it still served for mirrors, that the priests, when they came to wash, might there see their faces, and so discover the spots, …

Cultivating Growth: what church leaders are saying

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Six leaders describe how they foster spiritual transformation in others Article Via Leadership Journal There are many ways Christians grow: Bible study, fellowship, service, prayer, even hardship. Of course all transformation is ultimately the result of God’s work in a person’s heart. But we were curious: what can a leader do to facilitate this mysterious change in those he or she leads? We asked six church leaders to share one way in which they foster spiritual growth. We trust their responses will contribute to your growth, too. Discover the Story Together Scripture is best encountered in community. Sean Gladding For a decade my wife and I have been leading a study called “The Story of God.” Basically, we retell familiar biblical narratives in plain, … Disciplinarians Needed A firm word can lead to spiritual growth. Merrill Powers For the past 11 years, my wife and I have had the privilege of working with individuals who suffer from substance abuse issues. Nearly 600 men … Feed Yourself First If we’re not growing, we have little to …

A Passionate call to seek, preach and live truth

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preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:2-5 P4CM presents Rhetoric 2012, the largest Christian Poetry event. Featured P4CM Poet Jackie Hill delivered her poem “Jig-A-Boo” in front of an audience of nearly 3,000 people. For more poetry and to know when the next Rhetoric will take please check out: http://www.P4CM.com

Show me a Blessed man and I will show you a Godly man

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Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. Psalm 1 Things he doesn’t do: He does not follow the counsel of the wicked He deos not imulate the ways of sinners He does not follow the examples of scoffers Things he does: He delights in the word of God He meditates on the word of God What are the visible results of his choices: He is well norished spiritually He bears all the spiritual fruits He is fresh and never butned out He prospers in whatever he does He receives praise from his maker He has fellowship with the father He is guided by His maker There …