Talk Less, Pray More (Part 1)
I can’t remember when I was first introduced to Oswald Chamber’s devotional book, “My Utmost for His Highest.” I do recall that it had all the clarity of sanctified hieroglyphics. I found out later that it had been compiled as a labor of love by his wife, following his death in 1917. She took her
Prayer – Lighting the Night With Joy (Part 2)
Paul understood that joy was the result of consistent companionship with Jesus. There was no need for him to give into the fear of failure or the despair of abandonment. When he prayed, his problems shrank in His Presence. Lloyd-John Ogilvie, Chaplain to the U.S. Senate, wrote in Discovering God’s Will: “Knowing God’s will in
Prayer – Lighting the Night With Joy (Part 1)
Nehemiah served as the cupbearer to the king in the court of Artaxerxes. One day, preoccupied with bad news from home, he was caught by the king wearing a sad expression on his face. This exposure filled him with great fear. “So the king said to me, ‘Why is your face sad though you are
Prayer: Team Up and Take Down
One of my earliest athletic experiences involved a brief career as a junior high wrestler in the 89 lb. weakling weight class. Brief as it was, my time on the mat taught me an unforgettable lesson. Three minutes is an eternity when your face is buried in the armpit of a pungent pre-teen who has
Refresh My Memory…Please!
“Do this in remembrance of me!” –Jesus Along with my receding hairline, one of the side effects of the aging process has been my fading memory. I’ll be in mid-sentence and suddenly become stumped by the loss of an essential piece of information stopping me dead in my tracks. Someone once described this to me
Winning the War (Part 2)
Know Your Enemy “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies.” Ephesians 6:10 Obey Your Commander “And My People who are called by My name, humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn
Winning the War (Part 1)
Twelve years ago, while searching through a bookstore in Albany, Georgia, I discovered Turnaround Churches by George Barna. Today I am still challenged by his statement, “ Until the church owns prayers as a world-class weapon in the battle against evil and cherishes prayer as a means of intimate and constant communication with God, the
Prayer Lighting the Night with Joy (Part 1)
Nehemiah served as the cupbearer to the king in the court of Artaxerxes. One day, preoccupied with bad news from home, he was caught by the king wearing a sad expression on his face. This exposure filled him with great fear. “So the king said to me, ‘Why is your face sad though you are