Meet the Pauleys

These are unusual days for everyone and unique days to serve in a church. Over the last few weeks I have spent a great deal of time talking and praying with pastors who are doing their best, under God, to lead their churches through this crisis time. While these faithful pastors are working to help God’s people, we should also be thinking about how God’s people can help God’s pastors. Remember, we are all in this together! Be prayerful. The most effective use of our words is always in talking to the One who can do something about it! In Hebrews 13 we are encouraged to “remember…follow…obey…and submit” to spiritual leaders (Hebrews 13:7, 17). However, one of the most overlooked…

“Truly God is good…it is good for me to draw near to God” (Ps. 73:1, 28). In these unusual days I am reminded that God is good, and that it is good for me to stay as close to Him as possible! Thank you for continuing to pray for us as we seek to fulfill the call of God to preach the gospel, teach the Bible, encourage churches, and help pastors. We sense your prayers and see answers to them every day. This month has been full of drive-in meetings, recorded messages, and online services. These are unique times! You may be interested in watching some of the messages given for churches across the country. They are available on our…

Father’s Day is just around the corner! While it doesn’t get as much press as Mother’s Day it is a reminder that we desperately need godly men to set the pace for another generation coming along behind them. Personally, I am grateful that my dad is a spiritual man, hopeful that my son will follow Christ all of his life, and convicted that I must be the link that continues that heritage. Proverbs 17:6 says, “Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.” The key to faithful husbands and strong fathers is that first we must be godly men. Everything else builds on our relationship with God. I remember when it first…

We live by lists! Grocery lists, to do lists, lists to keep up with our lists. At this particular time in our world people are more reflective. God has providentially allowed us to have time to meditate and ponder what is truly important. The question is: will we remember what we are learning? Someone said that a short pencil is better than a long memory. It is so easy to forget what God is impressing on our minds. I learned as a student in college that if I intended to take action on something or share it with others then first I had to write it down. After our Lord’s miracle of feeding the five thousand He had the disciples…

Yes, that’s what I said. Stop it. Stop reading the Bible. It is not that the Bible should not be read, rather, it is that too often we substitute Bible reading for the greater work. Reading Scripture passages is just the entry point! Our communication with God must be much more than that. American Christianity has too often portrayed that following a system of Bible reading is the essence of walking with God. This easily creates “a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:5). Merely reading the Bible will not take you beyond a surface understanding, and it will not allow the truth to get beneath the surface of your life. We must go more deeply…

It is a great privilege to stand and preach God’s Word to others. In fact, it is a high and holy calling that should never be taken for granted! Preachers who are serious about what God has given them to do will not only work on sermons, they will work on themselves. You cannot separate the message from the messenger. When I had the privilege of teaching homiletics to college young people we used a well known classic, Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson in the undergraduate program. Currently I am helping to facilitate an online graduate level course and we are using Preaching and Preachers by Martin Lloyd-Jones and Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon. All of these are…

As many of you know we have been praying and working for some time toward a regional God Bless America Rally in our “Jerusalem” of southern West Virginia. 33 churches are laboring together for this gospel effort and there is a real expectancy about what the Lord will do! This is a pivotal time in our nation and people are searching. With the COVID-19 concerns large gatherings have become impossible for a period of time. The very people we want to reach – the unchurched and unevangelized – will be hesitant to come to any mass meeting for the next few weeks. Our door to door effort leading up to the crusade would also be very difficult. God has led…

How well do you know the Spirit of God? Though we live in the age of the Spirit, there is so much confusion about Him. Some fall short of really understanding the Holy Ghost, while others go beyond what Scripture reveals about the third person of the Godhead. I love the Holy Spirit. He is the One who first told me about Jesus (John 16:13-14), and the One who continues to teach me God’s truth (John 14:26). He is my prayer partner (Romans 8:26-27), and constant Comforter (John 14:16). Yes, I love the Holy Spirit! If we do not have to be afraid of the truth, then we have nothing to fear about getting better acquainted with the Spirit of…

Perhaps like me you are beginning to get impatient or bored with the current state of things in our nation. A little stir crazy? We must remember that, like everything in this world, “this too shall pass.” Soon the crisis will be over. The great question is not: “Will the crisis every pass?” but, rather, “What will God’s people do when the crisis has passed?” This could be – should be – a new beginning for the work of God in this world. Remember that it was after the breaking up of the early church in Jerusalem that the greatest gospel advance in the history of the church took place! O, Lord, cause that to be the case in our…

Yesterday we concluded the first stage of our journey through the Psalms. The Genesis Psalms, Psalm 1-41, help us to see God as the beginning of all good things. I have greatly enjoyed the trip so far! Today we take a brief stop before continuing our journey. Along the path of life sometimes the Lord orchestrates rest stops, detours, and brief side trips. I am learning that these are purposeful and help to prepare you for the road ahead. One of the psalms we have just studied reminds us, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way” (Psalm 37:25). George Mueller said as he meditated on this verse the Holy Spirit…