This was no time for Paul to be tolerant or passive. We live in a culture that virtually deifies tolerance. One lady recently said to me with a broad grin, “I love everybody; I even love the devil.” I call that “tolerance gone to seed.”
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People Pleasing
I need to make a couple of observations about the nature of ministry. The way God chooses to lead His ministry is often difficult to get our arms around. Finding direction in the corporate world comes somewhat easier.
Read MoreThe Power of Two
Do you recall what David did after he killed Goliath? God had already appointed the young shepherd as the next king of Israel. Most young conquerors would have located the nearest Macy’s and tried on crowns. Not David.
Read MoreTrusting God in the Shadows
I want to dispense a fresh supply of hope. To help accomplish that, let me suggest four principles. They may mean more to you later than now—in a time when God leads you to wait in the shadows.
Read MoreStubborn Independence
Rather than considering yourself (even secretly) indispensable, remind yourself often, It’s the Lord’s work to be done the Lord’s way. I first heard that principle from Francis Schaeffer while attending one of his lectures.
Read MoreSlow Down!
Part of the solution is to pursue the benefits of solitude and silence found in times of obscurity. For the first time in seven years, I took six weeks off one summer. No preaching, no writing, no counseling, no speaking engagements . . . no nothing.
Read MoreFollow in Obedience
Job’s response prompts me to think of what this says to our twenty-first-century world. What needed messages it offers to our times! The first: If God’s ways are higher than mine, then I bow before Him in submission.
Read MoreStay with the Truth
Chances are good that many of you who are reading these lines are currently the target of someone’s lying accusations. That can be an anguishing cross to bear. I’ve been there, so I speak from painful experience.
Read MoreA Humble Servant
No words can describe what happened in that little upstairs bedroom when the corpse began to stir and Elijah saw life returning to the boy’s body. No words can describe being in the midst of such a trial . . .
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