As you invest your life in people, some will disappoint you. There will be people you poured your life into who never really take hold of Jesus and follow Him completely. There will be some that start strong but fall away. Others will oppose you and resist any investment you try to make in their […]
Is God all powerful or all loving? Several years ago, I saw Martin Bashir, a news anchor for MSNBC at the time, interviewing a pastor on national television following a tsunami that killed more than 15,000 people in japan. He started with a question: “Help us with this tragedy in Japan. Which of these is […]
Obeying Jesus means living a holy life. The term holiness has fallen on hard times these days. Just try avoiding something that might be morally questionable and wait for it. People will say you have a “holier than thou” attitude or will call you a “holy roller.” The word “holy” itself is often misunderstood. What […]
When I talk to leaders about personally investing in people, I often get a bit of push back. For some reason there is a resistance when it comes to personal investment in people. When I first became a pastor, I didn’t know much about how to invest in a man’s life. Most of my training […]
Loving people will cost you. Once you decide to become emotionally and spiritually invested in another person, you feel the weight of caring for them and helping them to become all that God has created them to be. My wife and I were married for eight years before we had children. It was a great […]
Jesus can use your greatest weakness as your greatest witness.Up to this point, we have been talking about your testimony; your salvation story. But I’m sure that as you think back over your life, you could find many stories — outside of your salvation — where Jesus met your need or ministered to you in […]
The king was at a crossroads. He had been given a direct command to wipe out the Amalekites. Nothing was to be left standing. But his men were clamoring to keep some of the choice cattle and livestock. Which would he choose? King Saul was one of the most promising men in Israel. At the […]
I’ll never forget sitting behind my desk staring at the report in front of me. It was my first time to be a lead pastor. I had come to this church from a growing suburban church in Texas that had plenty of leaders and resources, and now I was leading an inner-city church in Oklahoma […]
Following Jesus and making disciples will cost you convenience. Toward the end of his life, the Apostle Paul sat down to write his final letter to Timothy, his young disciple. In this letter, he encouraged Timothy to keep making disciples and investing in people. “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is […]
You have a powerful story. Believe it or not, you already have a very effective tool that will help you point people to Jesus Christ. That tool is your personal story. Every believer has a story, and when you tell how Jesus encountered you and changed your life, it yields powerful results. Just think about […]