My readers often ask me how I do it – how I manage marriage, motherhood and ministry all at the same time. The short answer is “I don’t” and the long answer is “He gives me grace”. Though a book could be written on each aspect of my life and someday, probably will, today I want to start addressing these topics in little bites on my blog. You’ve heard the expression “How do you eat an elephant” and most of us know that the only way you can do that is “one bite at a time”. So, that’s how we’re going to start to cover these topics… a little at a time.
I will begin with a little background on where I came from and my thoughts about where I’m going. I will always be completely open and transparent about everything because I believe that people are looking for other REAL people, not people wearing masks or personas. The Lord knows we have enough of those kind of people! When I’ve opened up like this in the past, some have said that it’s just TMI (too much information) and I need not tell every little detail of my life! READ MORE →
Apparently this event is going to receive worldwide attention, because every¬one around the world will be transfixed by the images they will see on their televisions, computers, smartphones, and tablet computers, not to mention the amount of traffic on social media outlets. The news media will be over-whelmed trying to describe and analyze the significance of these developments in the Middle East. The Antichrist will want the whole world to see that he has won and that God’s prophets are dead (Revelation 11:9).
Worse still, the world will respond happily, even gleefully. The scene will be like a satanic Christmas celebration, a counterfeit yuletide, as people rejoice over the deaths of God’s messengers (v. 10). Ironically, this is the only rejoicing we’ll see in Revelation until Christians get to heaven. Obviously the preaching of these two prophets will anger most people. READ MORE →
Jim tells a story about one of his darkest days in prison when he turned his face to the wall and cried out to God. Suddenly, he felt as though he was being lifted up out of his troubles and he asked God, “what is this?” God replied, “these are the prayers of the saints.”
There is nothing in this world any more powerful than the prayers of the saints. Prayer can and does affect every single aspect of our existence in this world. It will comfort, cover, correct, caution, and encourage us and others for whom we pray. READ MORE →
In Revelation 11:3, John is told about the two special witnesses who will preach in Jerusalem for 1,260 days (three and a half years). The Bible doesn’t tell us specifically who these two are, but some scholars say the two are representative characters, not real individuals, but symbols of the law and the prophets, the law and the gospel, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Most scholars, however, believe the two witnesses are two individuals, and they speculate about their identities.
Some say the two witnesses are Enoch and Elijah. Enoch walked with God and the Lord “took him” (Genesis 5:24). Similarly, the prophet Elijah was taken up “by a whirlwind to heaven” (2 Kings 2:11). Neither of these men experienced death. As such, some see them as the two witnesses of Revelation 11. READ MORE →
This week, John Shorey will be back with us to discuss the timing of the Lord’s return. I think it’s the right time to share with you my studies on this topic.
To me, Revelation 11 is one of the most exciting chapters in the Bible, because I am convinced that we see the Second Coming in these verses! The chapter begins with some strange instructions for John to measure the temple (11:1–2). The prophet Ezekiel was directed to do something similar after God’s people had been taken captive and exiled in Babylon (Ezekiel 40–43). What’s the purpose of these measurements? In Ezekiel, I believe God was reminding His people that the temple belonged to Him and it would be preserved. I think that same message underlies these initial verses in Revelation 11. READ MORE →
The phenomenon of the success of Duck Dynasty has taken this country by storm. I am a huge fan of the show and I’ll tell you why. These people are Godly people with a sense of humor! They live their lives according to the principles of God’s Word and yet they are so down to earth and real! That’s my kind of people.
The Duck Dynasty folks appeal to young and old alike. Young people like this show because, let’s face it, they can smell a phony a mile away and they run the other way. Look at how they’ve all run out of our churches…. just sayin’. READ MORE →
I have often said, “It’s not your ability God is looking for, it’s your availability”.
Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
In my testimony, I tell people about how I was delivered from a wasted life of sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. In the beginning of my Christian walk, I often wondered about my life’s purpose and just how I could be used by God. I knew He had saved me and healed me for a reason. I knew in my heart that my testimony was important to encourage others who were still caught in that kind of life. READ MORE →
In light of recent world events, Lori and I were flipping through the Christian TV channels, trying to find something relevant to the times we are living in. Instead, we found more of the same old “love of money” gospel we have been hearing for decades.
Interestingly, it is the scientific community, not Christian theologians, announcing that we are living on the precipice of destruction. Hollywood is heralding the news that the earth is about to encounter something cataclysmic. READ MORE →
When I was in Master’s Commission in Phoenix, I memorized over 450 verses of scripture as a requirement of the program. Over the years, the Word of God that I “hid in my heart” has guided my life through many different situations. The Word of God has the answers for every problem, every decision, and every fork in the road… and there have been many.
As a result of learning so much of the Word of God, my ears are tuned in to what’s right and what’s not. Discernment comes from knowing God intimately, and knowing God and knowing the scriptures are inseparable. You can’t have true guidance in your life unless you do know the Word. READ MORE →
A Reuters news article portends a dire future for churches in debt, noting that a record number of churches are defaulting on their mortgages, and banks are foreclosing on churches in record numbers. In 2010, 270 churches defaulted; in 2011, 138 churches defaulted. The article notes, “That compares to just 24 sales in 2008 and only a handful in the decade before.”11
Listening to some television evangelists, you would think they have won the entire world to Christ. The Bible, however, says, “The way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”12 This is sobering, and I think we all need to examine our hearts. If we are truly in the last days, “the beginning of sorrows,”13 things are not going to get better. For the Antichrist to arrive, mankind must be in a hopeless situation. READ MORE →
