If you didn’t know, my nine-month sabbatical ended in mid-August and now I am gradually re-entering the ministry world. So let me answer that question up front for all who are wondering.
Read More
God designed the ground to lay fallow after seven years or else it would lose the power of fruitfulness. Our human frames are similar, since we are made from the ground. No matter how called, anointed, or gifted we may be, we are not made for constant work. We have to sleep a third of our lives just to function. We are commanded to rest one out of every seven days of our lives in order to worship and rest. Seasons of sabbatical are required because our frame, though wonderfully constructed, is essentially weak. I am no different. Starting November 15th I’m taking a nine month sabbatical.
Read More
I’m beginning to believe that vulnerability is as much a currency of the kingdom as spiritual hunger.
Read More
Rather than writing another teaching article or something that is currently a hot topic, I’m just going to bare my soul because at this moment I’m compelled to be brutally honest in humility.
Read More
I have met many Christians over the years who I share a precious and deep desire with - You long and ache for more of God. You want to go deeper. You want an encounter. You want revelation in the Word. You want to see with your own eyes the things the Bible promises. You’re looking for the real thing and you’re not satisfied with just going through the motions. I just want to tell you that you're not alone.
What are the promises you have received from the Lord?
Often when the Lord speaks something that He is going to do in our lives we imagine the fulfillment of the word to be immediate. However, there is always a process that He takes us through to bring His word to fulfillment.
Read More
I woke up this morning with this phrase on my mind and I instantly knew the Lord was inviting me to consider His desires for what the church can be. I began to get clear thoughts about the necessary changes we need to make to see the church become “the city set on a hill” God has destined her to be. In this blog, I want to share some of these thoughts with you.
Read More
I wrote last week about Christian Nationalism and our great need for humility in this hour. I have been concerned and preached about the danger of this mixture for the last decade. National allegiance isn’t wrong in and of itself. There is a godly and healthy version of patriotism that the bible encourages and there is an unhealthy pride and national allegiance that the bible repudiates. If our national allegiance supersedes our allegiance to Jesus and His Kingdom we are on dangerous footing and we need to re-evaluate where our devotion truly lies.
Read More
There has been a lot of stir recently about comments Beth Moore made regarding mixing Christianity with Nationalism. She took a lot of heat for calling out this mixture. She said it was dangerous and then further explained that the singular essential allegiance for Christians should be Jesus and not a political party or either of our most recent presidential candidates.
For a believer with a “kingdom of God first world-view’ (Mat 6:33) those sentiments seem obvious enough. I understood her statements to be a warning that anything that we exalt above Jesus is an idol, including our president and our president-elect.
Read More
“This is the way He governs the nations … 32 He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark. 33 His thunder announces the coming storm…(NIV) Job 36:31-33
When you search what God says about storms in the Scriptures you find 1) He governs through storms, 2) He is the shelter in the midst of the storm, 3) Shockingly, He IS the storm!
God is not surprised at the challenges of this year. He has been behind them. He is not behind the rage and the vitriol that has been the human reaction, but He is setting the context in our nation, through pressings and trials, so that men will grope for Him.
Read More
The clear word I have for the church right now is, “A storm is coming”.
Many may ask, “Isn’t a storm here? Haven’t we already had storms in 2020?”
My answer is, “Yes, 2020 has given us storms, but there are even greater storms coming.”
Read More
Prov 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast of restraint
We need a prophetic vision of the activity of God in the earth to be able to live a life that makes sense in light of what is coming in the days ahead, at the end of this age, and in the age to come.
Read More
As an American I’m incredibly grateful for the blessing of freedom that we experience in the United States. I’ve traveled to many, many nations, and there is no place like America. At the same time, I’m convinced that America, specifically the church in America, must turn to God with her whole heart or she will face judgment. God’s judgment begins in His own house. I’m deeply concerned that instead of humbling ourselves in repentance, many have become emboldened around political parties and political arguments. Oh that we would mourn over the transgressions of America instead of placing our hopes in human solutions, especially American politics.
Read More
Last night was the first debate in what is shaping up to be an incredibly emotional and heated presidential election season. I’m burdened because of the vitriol I have seen in public discourse from both sides.
Read More
The one key transition is the realignment of the church around the person and presence of Jesus. God is putting a priority on gathering together around Jesus’ presence as the centerpiece of church expression. The church has been centered around many programs but rarely has it been centered mostly on His presence. I believe God is changing that right now.
Read More
I am convinced God has used the tumult of 2020 in order to reset our methods and models. He is changing the understanding and expression of Christianity in this generation.
Read More
While I was at UpperRoom this past weekend, Michael Miller and I had a conversation on intimacy with God and leadership influence that really sparked my heart. I want to share some of these thoughts with you especially if you are someone with a leadership role in ministry.
Read More
The difficulty of the challenges the nation and the church has faced in these past months has truly been unprecedented.This weekend my local spiritual family will resume “in-person” Sunday services for the first time in four months. I have tried to use this season as a time of reflection. I have tried to only speak publicly when compelled by the Lord. I have focused mostly on ministering to my family, helping tend to the needs of our local spiritual family, leading our staff, and staying faithful to the Lord in the Word and prayer. As we all begin to re-emerge in public assemblies, I want to offer a few takeaways from this season in hopes that it will give you a plumb line and rudder for the days ahead.
Read More
In late March after the WHO labeled Covid-19 a worldwide pandemic I began to hear the Lord speaking, “consider your ways”. I knew it was a bible verse, but I couldn’t recall the reference. I searched and found the familiar passage in Haggai 1:5, 7. I knew that it was a word for this “Covid-19” season but I didn’t know the specific application (whether for our spiritual family or me personally). I decided to sit on it and allow the Lord to clarify it to me.
Read More
I want to emphasize again that I believe we’re in a critical hour. Our greatest need is to prioritize the presence of Jesus above everything else in order that we may obediently follow the Lord’s leadership through the myriad challenges of the days ahead. As a result, this will require us to say ‘No’ to good things in order to say ‘Yes’ to God things. The parable of the ten virgins gives us a great example.
Read More