Holy Boldness and Spiritual Authority
The more someone is with Jesus, the more that person becomes like Christ in purity, holiness and love. In turn, his pure walk produces in him a great boldness for God. Scripture says, “The wicked flee when no man pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1 NKJV). The word for bold…
To Die Is Gain?
Paul said, “To die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 NKJV). That kind of talk is absolutely foreign to our modern spiritual vocabularies. We have become such life-worshippers that we have very little desire to depart to be with the Lord. Paul was torn. He honestly wrote, “For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire…
The Lesson of the Prodigal
We often approach God with preconceived ideas of how he will receive us. For example, if we have done something to grieve his heart, we may feel that he loves us but will be slow to forgive. Jesus clears this up with the parable of the prodigal son. The story goes that the young man…
The Power and Simplicity of Prayer
Don’t you love listening to a child pray? Many of us can remember praying as children. It was simple then because our young hearts approached God with sweet, unguarded directness. “Gentle Jesus meek and mild, look upon a little child.” As we grew up, our prayers changed. We looked to parents or other believers or…
The Last Bank in America
As you are committed to the work of God on the earth—choosing to invest in people, even those who are difficult to love—the Lord is placing something in your hand. He is unlocking his provision to you as well as through you. He is giving you an authority and strength that is supernatural. You will…
Getting Real with God – Part 2
Sadly, great numbers of Christians do not know God’s voice. Some can go for months, even years, without ever receiving an intimate word from the Lord in their inner man. Oh, God did speak to them at one time; but over the years, they’ve learned to silence his voice in their hearts. Others have been…
Getting Real with God – Part 1
In desperation, David cried out, “Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications” (Psalm 130:2, NKJV). This sounds to me like the plea of a dying man. David obviously wasn’t just uttering “thought prayers.” He was face down on the ground, broken, contrite, pleading from the very depths…
Only by Faith
God’s forgiveness can be obtained only by faith. We can’t reason it out. Christ’s gift to us of his blood atonement is so deep, so gracious, so mysterious, it’s far beyond any human ability to understand. We may see the law clearly applied to our sin. We may feel condemnation, fear and guilt over our…
What Is the Inherent Nature of God?
After all his weeping and crying out to the Lord, David ended up declaring, “But there is forgiveness with you, that you may be feared” (Psalm 130:4, NKJV). The Holy Spirit began to flood his soul with memories of God’s mercies, and suddenly David recalled all he had learned through the years about the Father’s…
Start Small, Trust God
We live in an age of ‘Big.’ With one click, we can take a global tour and become immersed in the world’s problems. Think about the catastrophic headlines that flow through your phone. It takes your breath away, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed. We may rightly ask, “Why doesn’t God sweep in and save…