Life is “ticking” away, one second at a time. Are we using our time wisely and making the seconds count for eternity? Or are we wasting time doing things God never intended for us to do? It seems that life gets busier each year, and we live at breakneck speed. At times, it feels like we’ve lost control. We have pressures of deadlines, family responsibilities, job duties, home responsibilities, church and ministries in which we want to
Read More →I have asked Dr. Joye Baker to write a guest post this week while I’m in India. Joye serves as Adjunct Professor and Women’s Advisor in Christian Education at Dallas Theological Seminary. She is a good friend of mine and one of my mentors in Dallas. She taught the Role of Women in Ministry class with Dr. Sue Edwards and gave me a love for Women’s Ministry through that class. She was also my advisor at
Read More →I’m a little stressed today (Saturday, October 13). Why? I leave for India in five days and I am sick with a bad chest cough. India is a tough trip when you’re feeling well, but it’s hard to imagine starting off the trip feeling under the weather. I have a number of talks to prepare for and I haven’t had much time to work on them. My 96-year old mom had to make an emergency
Read More →Devotional times or “quiet times” are vital to our spiritual growth. Seek to spend time alone with the Lord each day in His Word and in prayer. There is no one way to do it, and the method may change from day to day and in different seasons of life. The important thing is that you spend time with Him consistently. The purpose of a quiet time is not to do Bible study, although spending
Read More →Have you ever taken time to read epitaphs on tombstones? Some are very touching, while others can be downright funny. Here are some actual writings found on tombstones. “Here lies the body of Margaret Bent. She kicked up her heels and away she went.” “The children of Israel wanted bread and the Lord sent them manna; Old clerk Wallace wanted a wife, and the devil sent him Anna.” “They abounded in riches but she wore
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Are you growing in your Christian life? When I disciple a new believer, I always emphasize four areas she needs to keep balanced in order to grow deeper in her relationship with the Lord: Time in God’s Word Time in prayer Fellowship with other believers Sharing the gospel with non-believers The first two areas strengthen our vertical relationship with God, and the second two areas strengthen our horizontal relationships with others. All four areas are
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When I disciple someone and take them through the Spirit-filled life, there are always questions. Here are some of the questions that typically come up. 1. Are all Christians Spirit-filled since all believers have the Holy Spirit? No. I was a believer but not a Spirit-filled believer my first two and a half years in college. The turning point for me was when I went on a date with a guy in one of my
Read More →Have you been praying for something that is a desire of your heart? You may be single and asking God for a husband. Or perhaps you are asking God for your first child and it’s taking longer than you had hoped. It may be a specific job, or a “dream” of accomplishing something, or a new direction, or healing from a condition or disease. How do you handle it when God doesn’t give you that
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How do you become a Spirit-filled Christian? To be Spirit-filled means to be controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, but how do we get there? Although God does not give us a step-by-step “formula,” He does give us direction in His Word. 1. Sincerely desire to be filled and directed by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 You must want it. If you don’t want the Lord to be in control, then it’s not going
Read More →Last Monday I celebrated a “milestone” birthday. You know – the milestone birthdays are the ones with a zero at the end. I have to admit that it is sobering to realize I have lived over half my life on this earth. I want to finish well. My day started off with a surprise. My assistant greeted me at the church Monday morning with a wheelchair and “rolled” me down to the All-Staff
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