Freedom from the tyranny of the urgent is found in the example and promise of our Lord. At the end of a vigorous debate with the Pharisees in Jerusalem, Jesus said to those who believed in Him: “If you continue in My Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will...
What was the secret of Jesus’ work? We find a clue following Mark’s account of Jesus’ busy day. Mark observes that “….in the morning, a great while before day, He rose and went out to a lonely place, and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35). Here is the secret of Jesus’...
Is there any escape from this pattern of living? The answer lies in the life of our Lord. On the night before He died, Jesus made an astonishing claim. In the great prayer of John 17 He said, “ I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do” (verse 4). How...
When we stop to evaluate, we realize that our dilemma goes deeper than a shortage of time; it is basically the problem of priorities. Hard work does not hurt us. We all know what it is to go full speed for long hours, totally involved in an important task. The...
Have you ever wished for a thirty-hour day? Surely this extra time would relieve the tremendous pressure under which we live. Our lives leave a trail of unfinished tasks. Unanswered letters, unvisited friends, unwritten articles, and unread books haunt quiet...
Guest article courtesy http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2012/spring/contesteduniverse.html?paging=off Have you encountered something in ministry that you would say was clearly demonic? There are many examples, but let me select two. One evening I spoke on demonism,...
Guest article courtesy http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2012/spring/contesteduniverse.html?paging=off Erwin Lutzer has led the historic Moody Church in downtown Chicago for more than 30 years, authored more than 30 books, and is featured regularly on three national...
http://youtu.be/WZMfOBUIA8w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9906mDprd_k&feature=watch_response_rev
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4teq7aKTNJ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GqryVkPiKM
No one is happier than the one who has sincerely repented of wrong. Repentance is the decision to turn from selfish desires and seek God. It is a genuine, sincere regret that creates sorrow and moves us to admit wrong and desire to do better. It’s an inward conviction...
First, they did most of their evangelism on what we would call secular ground. You find them in the laundries, at the street corners and in the wine bars talking about Jesus to all who would listen. Although it was impossible for them to hold large rallies, which...
Other leaders told us that an attitude of excellence engenders an atmosphere of excitement, which in turn encourages church members to invite their friends. A Southern Baptist deacon in Georgia told us, “For over twenty years we would never see more than two or three...
I told a story in my book The Jesus I Never Knew, a true story that long afterward continued to haunt me. I heard it from a friend who works with the down-and-out in Chicago: A prostitute came to me in wretched straits, homeless, sick, unable to buy food for her...
Carrie stood before the bathroom mirror putting the finishing touches on her makeup before rushing off to the county fair with her girlfriends. Just a bit of lip gloss and one more swipe of the hairbrush and she was ready to go. Carrie heard the horn blow as the girls...
Standing on the windswept shores of Lake Michigan one wintry night, ready to throw himself into the freezing waters, a 32-year-old bankrupt dropout happened to gaze up at the starry heavens. Suddenly, he felt a rush of awe, and a thought flashed through his mind: You...
One of the strangest things we observe in therapy is that people who doubt themselves often cannot accept compliments. One would suppose that if people have low self-confidence, they would be eager to accept accolades. But it is the opposite: if their self-perception...
There is another factor that causes us to be obsessed with our limitations: the tendency to compare ourselves with others. There is probably no other habit that chips away at our self-confidence so effectively as the habit of scanning the people around us to see how...
Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie sums up the doctrine well when he says, "Nothing you could do could make God love you more than He does right now."
A few years ago I saw a dramatic instance of such skewed self-perception in one of our therapy groups. We were going around the room talking about body images, and when we got to one woman, she said, "Well, I see myself as fat and pimply." At that, the group broke...
Enjoy some good food and fellowship at Sparky's tonight at 6.30. See you there! Josh PS Anyone in the mood for games afterwards?
All of us have weaknesses. The trick is to determine which ones are improvable, then get to work on those and forget about the rest. For example, some of us will never be as good at math as others. But the important thing is to stop kicking ourselves when we are not...
When Jane and her son Kevin walked into the church for the first time, they felt a bit overwhelmed. “Where are you taking me in this big place?” was the question going through Kevin’s mind as they made their way to Promiseland. After the service, Kevin had a new...
Kayla scans Promiseland as her parents assure her they will return for her as soon as the big church service ends. She watches kids having fun at a variety of activity stations and thinks, “Seems good so far. Nothing boring yet. A lot of kids are having a good time....
A series of studies we conducted regarding the age at which people accept Christ as their Savior highlights the importance of having people invite Jesus into their heart as their Savior when they are young. We discovered that the probability of someone embracing Jesus...
There is only one way to increase your spiritual comfort zone, and acquiring more information alone will not do it. You will have to follow the Path of God, which requires taking a leap of faith. You need to get out of the boat a little every day. Begin the day by...