By Steve Horn I had the opportunity to address a group of pastors recently. I was asked to speak to them on the general subject of leadership. My message was simple. “Don’t Get Discouraged.” I think this is a lesson for anyone. I shared from my experiences briefly, but mostly I shared from the Bible story of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was as a great a leader as I have ever studied. Nehemiah got people who had a decades old history of inactivity to build a protective wall around Jerusalem in 52 days. How did he do that? Nehemiah was able to get them to dwell on what God had said, rather than on what others were saying. Compare Nehemiah 2:8, 2:12, 2:20 with Nehemiah 4:2-3. Nehemiah was able to direct attention to the half built wall instead of the rubble. Rubble paralyzes us, but half built walls energize us. Nehemiah discovered friends who encouraged him. I have decided not to waste my time on the people who are critical all of the time. They zap the life out of me. I call them “drainers.” I look for the “refreshers.” We have to listen to critics, but we cannot hang out with critics. We become like them. Finally, Nehemiah decided that his God was bigger than all other struggles. Here is Nehemiah’s motto: “Remember the … [Read more...]

By Gary D. Myers NEW ORLEANS (BP) – A massive pile of rocks and rubble greets the visitor to the ruins of Lachish, 60 kilometers southwest of Jerusalem. The remains of a 2,700-year-old Assyrian siege ramp, this pile of rubble and the other archaeological finds at Lachish bear witness to the trustworthy nature of Scripture. More often than not, archaeology serves as a subtle, helpful tool for the church. Archaeology provides cultural and contextual clues to help us better understand the people and places of the Bible. The finds help close the culture gap created by time, place and worldview. Certain sites and finds offer more than mere context, and that is why I love Lachish. While the archaeology of Lachish cannot prove the amazing works of God, it does offer confirmation of an important biblical account. It was during the reign of Hezekiah that Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, attacked Judah and built the siege ramp at Lachish. You can read about the events in 2 Kings 18 and 19, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 36 and 37. Tired of paying tribute to Assyria, Hezekiah rebelled and began preparing Judah for war. Twenty years earlier the Assyrians had destroyed Israel, and Sennacherib now had his sights on Judah. In 701 … [Read more...]

By Joe McKeever “Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation” –Psalm 51:12. Just because salvation is for eternity, anchored forever in the faithfulness of God, does not mean you cannot lose the closeness and fellowship with our wonderful Lord. A married couple can lose their joy and intimacy for a season, although the marriage is still valid and intact. God’s faithfulness does not wax hot and cold depending on what we do or how we felt when we woke up this morning. He does not undo our salvation when we weaken and falter. The blessings upon us are conditional to our faithfulness and may dry up, but the relationship never varies. Forever, we are His and He is ours. My children may be in or out of my favor at given times, but they are still mine. Just because the Lord brings us into His forever family (through faith in Christ, by His precious blood, as a result of His grace) and promises to “never leave thee nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5) does not mean we cannot lose the joy of that relationship. We can. And many have. Try not to lose yours. Jesus promises us His joy (John 15:11 and 17:13) and fullness of joy (15:11 and 16:24). He promises that no one can steal our joy from us (John 16:22). Jesus sees joy as … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey Most of the people who read this blog are very much interested in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Most go to church and most want the church to do well. What is it that every church needs? Let me give you some ideas. First, people who pray. Almost always we look for the wrong things to be first and foremost about the church. We look at power or prestige or money instead of looking at the prayers of the people. The church needs people who pray—fervently,  believing, and urgently. Second, people who serve. Jesus made serving the centerpiece of the church. He gave the church Himself as an example. He did not come to be served but to serve. Churches are blessed or crippled by the amount of service by the people. Third, people who give. Most churches give far below their potential. We’ve said it many times before, God has provided all we need if only we will give what He has given to us. Fourth, people who exalt Christ. The church is about Christ. It is not about us or our desires. Christ is the head of the church, and we are His body. Fifth, humility. God opposes the proud but exalts the humble. Humility pleases God. Every church needs it. Humility is the recognition that the Lord is God and … [Read more...]

By Greg Laurie My New Year’s resolution is to make no New Year’s resolutions. I’ll tell you why. They get broken quickly. We all have giants we face in life, seemingly insurmountable problems or obstacles. It could be a giant of fear, something that’s frightening you. Whenever you think about it, you’re filled with anxiety and dread. Maybe it isn’t even a rational fear, but it’s a real fear nonetheless. You find yourself asking, “What if this happens? What if that happens?” Maybe you overcame this giant, so to speak, for a week or even a month. You thought you had victory. Then it came back with a vengeance, stronger than ever, and it brought you down. Here’s what you need to know: You can overcome these giants. We need to face them in faith and know that God is bigger than any giant we will meet in the coming year. In the Bible we see what happened in the life of one young man who was able to bring his giant down. His name was David. Here’s what Hebrews 11 tells us about him: “It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They … [Read more...]

By James Dobson In August 1977, my wife and children joined me on a trip to Kansas City, Missouri, for a short visit with my parents.  We enjoyed several days of family togetherness before it was time to leave. As we drove to the airport where we said good-bye, I asked my father to pray for us.  I will never forget his words. He closed with this thought: And Lord, we thank You for the fellowship and the love that we feel for each other today. This has been a special time for us with Jim and Shirley and their children. But Heavenly Father, we are keenly aware that the joy that is ours today is a temporal pleasure. Our lives will not always be this stable and secure. Change is inevitable and it will come to us, too. We will accept it when it comes, of course, but we give You praise for the happiness and warmth that has been ours these past few days. We have had more than our share of the good things, and we thank You for Your love.  Amen. Shortly thereafter, we hugged and said good-bye, and my family boarded the plane. A week later, my father has suddenly grabbed his chest and told my mother to call the paramedics. He left us on December 4 of that year. Shortly after, my mother joined him in heaven. How quickly … [Read more...]

By Joe McKeever “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”  (2 Corinthians 5:1) “We do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” ( 2 Corinthians 5:4) My wife gets attached to cars. I do not.  Recently, I gave my 2015 Camry to my oldest granddaughter.  I’ve done that several times before–starting with the ’96 Camry to my son many years back, later the ’05 to a granddaughter, the ’09 to our twin granddaughters, the ’13 Honda C-RV to my son, and now this one.  I’m happy to pass them along, and as one might expect, they enjoy getting them. To me a car is a thing, an instrument we use.  My oldest granddaughter names them.  The ’05 is Sandy and this ’15 is Pearl (names based on their colors).  Like most cowboys in the old west, I don’t name my mounts.  I take good care of them and have them serviced by the dealer on the recommended schedule, and thus have almost no trouble from the car.  But when it’s time to replace it with a newer version, I’m happy to let it go. Think of that as a parable.  We let things go so they can be replaced by something … [Read more...]