Do you remember the prayer of Jabez? Several years ago Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book that brought prominence to this obscure person in the genealogy of Judah. The little volume on his prayer in 1 Chronicles 4:10 sold millions of copies. Jabez was noted as being more honorable than his brethren and his four-part prayer […]

The foundational principle of our salvation is the substitutionary death of Christ. It is the basic concept that is central to our faith. It may defy our ability to understand how the death and resurrection of Jesus more than 2,000 years ago can be effectual in redeeming us from the penalty of sin, but that […]

I don’t think I am different from a lot of Christians in the tendency to feel deficient in ability and motivation for what I ought to be doing. We know we ought to consistently share our faith with others, should probably take a leadership or teaching responsibility at church or go on that mission trip, […]

No one was more conscientious about praying and religious piety than the Pharisees. But Jesus had nothing but condemnation for their hypocrisy and pretense. It is sad that we, too, have a tendency to allow our Christian life to be reduced to legalistic practices instead of the fulfilling Spirit-led freedom we should have in Christ. […]

Jesus tells an interesting story in Luke 18:1-8 that is identified as the parable of the persistent widow. It is about a widow who continued to appeal to a unjust, insensitive judge to handle her case and give her justice against her adversary. The judge was unmoved and disinterested but finally intervened because the widow […]

I doubt if there is anyone who has not struggled with the issue of unanswered prayer. We know all the promises about God hearing and answering our petitions, how He honors the prayer of faith in Jesus name and so forth. But often, in spite of our prayers, a sick child is not healed, financial […]

Scripture is prolific in revealing God’s sovereignty and power over all things. We often speak of His providence. That term comes from two Latin words; “pro” and “video.” Video means to see; with the prefix “pro” it means God is able to see beforehand all that is going to happen, even tragedy and adversity, and […]

Why is prayer so difficult? Why does it feel like we are just talking into the air and no one is listening? Why does our mind wander and thoughts about other things infringe on our efforts to focus on God? Preparing to lead a prayer conference at my church, Morrison Heights, I have had an […]

Years ago our daughter was visiting us during her college Christmas break. We were impressed with her evident maturity and growth in her walk with the Lord since we had last been together. Reflecting on something that grew out of her discipleship group, she asked me one day, “Daddy, do you have a life verse […]

Reminders of the lessons God taught us continued to surface during our recent visit to our first missionary assignment in Indonesia. I’m not sure how the concept came into focus, but we discovered that praising the Lord in all things was a real key to walking in victory. Perhaps it was the testimony and encouragement […]