Enjoying the Journey
Posts Tagged ‘truth’
Special Announcement!
I am so very excited about the news I am going to share with you today! At the beginning of this year we began a daily podcast to promote the study of God’s Word. It is a joy to meet people who are being helped by the daily episodes. Friends have shared with me that they are using the podcast in their family devotions. Some are using it for Bible class as they homeschool their children. College students and working people have told me they have made it a part of their morning or evening commute. It is a privilege to teach the Bible to so many precious people. The first weeks of Enjoying the Journey were a study through…
Read MoreA Word to Younger Preachers
Recently a precious friend introduced me as “a young preacher.” I love those words. In fact, I am now at the age where I want to hang onto them as long as possible! As a younger preacher I am increasingly aware of the investment that older men have made in my life. All of us are building on foundations that have been laid by the generation before us. Sadly, many in my generation have decided that they do not need the instruction and influence of older men. You know the reason: “It’s a generation gap.” Perhaps technology and the rise of new mediums of communication have contributed to this gap. Or perhaps the enemy has planted the seed and we…
Read MoreA Simple Principle That Has Had A Profound Effect On My Life
Dr. Frank Sells was one of my favorite Bible teachers. I can see him now, sitting on the platform, in his own conversational way showing some of the most powerful truths I have ever seen in the Word of God. Many of his statements were, as one author said, “velvet covered bricks.” They landed gently but made a huge impression on the life. In fact, I find myself quoting Dr. Sells almost every week. One of his famous statements was, “Truth is not found in the acceptance of one extreme or the other; often it is found in the acceptance of both.” One truth never cancels out another. Do we believe in the sovereignty of God or the free will…
Read MoreA Free Resource for Evangelism
We are only days away from 9/11. So many thoughts and emotions come to our minds as we approach this day of memorial. For those of us who know Christ, one of our thoughts should be that people who are bound in false religion desperately need the good news of Jesus. Recently I was speaking in a meeting filled with enthusiastic believers. The Holy Spirit prompted me to share my experience of being in Cairo, Egypt many years ago and being awakened by the Muslim call to prayer. On that Friday many sincere people spread out their prayer mats and began to pray toward Mecca. In my message I said, “This is dead religion. Sincere, but empty. Only Jesus can…
Read MoreHow To Keep the Next Generation
A fellow preacher and personal friend asked me recently how I believed we could do a better job of retaining young people in our churches. It is a problem of epidemic proportions. The vast majority of young people are exiting the local church by the time they are eighteen. For many years I said to prospective youth workers that we must get young people connected to more than the youth group. It is my conviction that, as early in life as possible, young people must find their place in the church. It must be their church. The pastor must be their pastor. And some work for the Lord must be their ministry. This cannot begin when they graduate from high…
Read MoreThe Book That Saves the World
A few weeks ago I picked up a copy of the Wall Street Journal in a hotel. As I was breezing quickly through the sections my eyes fell on something I could not believe. At the bottom of one page was an ad with this startling header: “THE BOOK THAT SAVES THE WORLD.” The advertisement was for a book written by a biologist. Listen to this description… Presents the reconciling and psychologically helping biological explanation of our ‘good and evil’ stricken human condition. In doing so it unravels the mystery behind human behavior and ends suffering and conflict at its source – providing the now urgently needed road map for the complete transformation of our lives and world. Our problem…
Read MoreThe Best Thing In Your Town
As I travel week after week it is always fascinating to see the buildings and attractions that make each area unique. Large cities and rural communities all have something of interest to discover! Each place is a new adventure. Yet I have come to the conviction that the greatest thing in any town is the greatest thing in every town. At least in every place where one exists. The greatest thing in any little village or bustling city is a local, New Testament church. Ephesus was famed for the Temple of Artemis, but it was the church of Jesus Christ that made Ephesus special. Rome was the center of power in the New Testament era, but it was the church…
Read MoreNew Blog Series!
The Christian life is not lived one day a week. It is lived every day. Walking with Jesus is not an event; it is a way of life. Far too much Christianity is reserved for the church house. Christ is relegated to “His day.” We must always remember that Sunday is the Lord’s day, but every day is a Lord’s day. And every day we are to follow Him. Scripture reveals a host of “daily” truths for the child of God. These are principles and promises which must be considered every day if we are to please the Lord. In the coming blog series I plan to share one of these each week. Here are 3 ways to get the most…
Read MoreGetting More Out of This Sunday’s Sermon
Over the last few days I have been in numerous meetings where someone was preaching the Bible. The messages were delivered by different men with varied styles, but in each sermon I heard the Voice of One far greater than the preacher. When someone is preaching the Word of God it is the Spirit of truth that is speaking. And there is nothing like hearing His voice. I was reminded of this recently when I arrived in another city to preach. I was scheduled to speak second after a man who I did not know well. Because of travel I came in a few minutes after the meeting had begun and took my seat in the auditorium. My mind immediately…
Read MoreWhen Young People Ask Hard Questions
Questions are opportunities to teach. God gave explicit instructions to Israel about what to say when your children ask (Deuteronomy 6:20-25). And ask they will! All of us who have young people in our homes are well acquainted with the question, “Why?” It is the way we answer that determines the outcome. Recently I allowed the young people in our Academy to submit anonymously questions that have troubled them. I was overwhelmed by the response. Sincere questions and concerns. Some doctrinal, some personal – family, eternity, morality, God, the Bible, and relationships. We have since tried to schedule chapel speakers who could address specific topics that are on their minds. Questions cannot be ignored. In fact, they should be encouraged.…
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