Our lifestyle should reflect a heart of worship. This is not optional, it’s vital. We cannot live like hell all week and expect heaven to fall during worship. We cannot fill our mind with darkness all week and expect the light of Christ to shine during worship. We cannot worship ourselves, and things, all week and expect to turn our affections toward God on one designated day.
Do we want the worship time to hurry and finish? Are we dreading another song as our eyes glance at the clock? Do we come late to miss the boring worship? If so, I would seriously encourage heart examination.
I recently spoke in El Paso, Texas, at a large Hispanic church called Vino Nuevo. You can watch the message here with translation.
I appreciated the heart of the pastors I had the privilege of meeting. Their eagerness and desire for revival reminded me of the church where I pastor in Southern California, Westside Christian Fellowship.
I’m sure we can all agree that evil surrounds us in America. Daily we are bombarded by reports of heinous crimes and lawlessness being committed throughout our land. How can Christians not only remain peaceful and hopeful during these turbulent times but also dare to anticipate revival—perhaps a Third Great Awakening? I believe we can. But we must be willing to wait on God and seek Him like never before because “He acts for the one who waits for Him” (Isaiah 64:4).
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The results are in: America’s stage four cancer has metastasized to the family and the church as well as to the government and the schools. We are more depraved than ever before. Animals are guarded but innocent children are slaughtered. Porn is protected and sex-trafficking is on the rise. Cardi B’s lyrics get a pass but Scriptures are banned on social media.
I’m sure we can all agree that evil surrounds us in America. Daily we are bombarded by reports of heinous crimes and lawlessness being committed throughout our land. How can Christians not only remain peaceful and hopeful during these turbulent times but also dare to anticipate revival—perhaps a Third Great Awakening? I believe we can. But we must be willing to wait on God and seek Him like never before because “He acts for the one who waits for Him” (Isaiah 64:4).
I recently spoke in El Paso, Texas, at a large Hispanic church called Vino Nuevo. You can watch the message here with translation.
I appreciated the heart of the pastors I had the privilege of meeting. Their eagerness and desire for revival reminded me of the church where I pastor in Southern California, Westside Christian Fellowship.
Do we want the worship time to hurry and finish? Are we dreading another song as our eyes glance at the clock? Do we come late to miss the boring worship? If so, I would seriously encourage heart examination.
Our lifestyle should reflect a heart of worship. This is not optional, it’s vital. We cannot live like hell all week and expect heaven to fall during worship. We cannot fill our mind with darkness all week and expect the light of Christ to shine during worship. We cannot worship ourselves, and things, all week and expect to turn our affections toward God on one designated day.
Money can be a wonderful servant…but a terrible master!
Of all the attributes of God described in the Bible, holiness is seen most often. Men fell down in the holy presence of God. Leaders, priests, and kings all trembled at the sheer magnitude of His holiness. The angels cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy is our God.”
Holiness is the key to truly understanding God. This is why sin is serious. It separates us from God; it stands in direct opposition to Him. It corrupts our character and our testimony; it prevents holiness and quenches and grieves the Spirit within.
There is a dangerous trend in the evangelical church today. A futile attempt is being made to conform God’s Word to social norms, rather than to conform social norms to His Word. As a result, truth is vague, doctrine is blurred, and the fundamentals of the Christian faith are often avoided. The need to speak the truth in love has never been greater.
Fearing the Lord isn’t the type of fear one would have toward an abusive father, but rather, it’s the type of fear that involves respect and reverence for God.
Although many great Bible teachers are divided on the issue of divorce and re-marriage, one thing is certain: God will direct those who commit their lives completely to Him…this we know.
To carry the weight of responsibility as husbands, leaders and fathers we must continually focus on building and strengthening our relationship with Christ. Unmistakably, the foundation we build today provides the strength that weathers the storm tomorrow. It’s unfortunate that today’s society focuses largely on external factors such as money, position, status, and recognition. These superficial values have left our nation in a moral, as well as a spiritual crisis.
A common question for many is, "Can I lose my salvation?" I’ve heard both sides of the argument, and only God truly knows a person’s heart, but I can share a few thoughts. One thing is for certain, salvation is a gift from God that cannot be earned.
“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower). Historically and biblically, we know that God judged those nations who continually tolerated sin; wrong choices had devastating consequences. Historians realize that a republican democracy, like ours in America, cannot last forever. Eventually, there is a collapse due to moral decay and financial irresponsibility—liberty often leads to abundance; abundance to complacency; complacency to apathy; apathy to a loss of freedom. Based on this, where are we today?
When you truly seek God’s help, you can control temptation instead of allowing temptation to control you.
“I’m just not convicted like that.” I recently heard this honest statement following a message on holiness.
A genuine revival is God reviving His people. Those who use past revivals to in an attempt to validate odd events today, perhaps have not truly researched revivals. Nowhere do those leaders encourage the hysteria or the outright weirdness that we sometimes see today. There is a desperate need to preach and proclaim God’s Word with genuine power if we are to experience true revival. Without God’s authority and power, words are lifeless. Where are those with uncompromising power and authority in the pulpits today? The one thing that all of the great revivals in church history had is the one thing that we often lack—the power of the Holy Spirit.
There is a saying that one generation plants trees for the next generation. I’m concerned that instead of planting, we are removing and destroying the very covering that protects us.
Hopeless headlines are dominating the news cycle. It is called psychological warfare, and the goal is to elevate stress to the point of exhaustion and then fuel fear so that people lose hope. To win this battle (the battle of the mind), one must saturate their mind in the Word and ways of God. If My People is a cry for the people of God to turn back to God, to seek His face, and to receive the blessings He promises to those who will humble themselves and seek His face.
