Before you read any further, let me tell you directly what the key to everything is: It's giving.To give is to exercise the key to everything. But the key isn't simply to give in an abstract way or with no motivating reason. Nor is the key utilized by means of a...
Note: This article originally appeared on charismamag.com in May 2013.As often as the word holy is used by Christians, you'd think that we could all agree on a uniform understanding of its meaning. We read our "Holy" Bibles. We receive "Holy" Communion. We...
When you come to the end of any season that's been hard, tough or heartbreaking, it's usually as difficult to conclude as it has been to live. The end of such a time often becomes the start of a soul's long night of restlessness, reliving the struggle and...
Of all the tools God gave you to raise a child, the most powerful is your tongue. Here’s how to use it for good.
It is perhaps among the most humbling features of God’s ways with humankind that He confers upon us a staggering degree of power (and responsibility) in the capacity of our words to cause things to happen. It is within the broad scope of this remarkable truth that the privilege and power of speaking blessings upon our children come into view.
From the opening words of the Bible, the power of the spoken word is in evidence. In essence, words are not only the means by which creation is made, but they are also the substance—the stuff—of which the tangible realm is shaped. “And God said” appears in the Genesis text; and the next thing, what God said appears in our world.
The power of words is not evident just when God uses them in creating. It is also evident in His ways that teach us how to live within that creation. All the Father’s laws are essentially God’s guidelines for making life “work” in the realm He has created for man’s fruitfulness and fulfillment.
What type of worship honors God?" or, to look at the question another way, "After all, theologically speaking, what is it that actually makes worship worshipful to God?"Even though I have practiced, led, studied and preached about worshiping God for over five decades...
The discipline of a fallen leader is not a punishment by others. It is a voluntarily accepted state of one who believes the full teaching of the Word about three things: God’s mercy in forgiveness, God’s summons to restoration and the obligation of every spiritual...
Aside from the hustling crowds and rush-hour traffic jams that define any international metropolis, Jerusalem astounds most of its tourists with how peaceful the city truly is. While the global media assaults readers with reports of nearby suicide bombings and young...
Here are five practical ways to support God’s chosen people: 1. Equip yourself with reliable information, avoiding bigotry and disallowing “blind spots.” Recognize the disposition of the popular press. Assess reports cautiously but not with paranoia. Become familiar...
Watch as pastor Jack Hayford explains the importance of Israel.
Over the years I have sought to teach people both why we worship and how to worship. Worship has often been misunderstood as the musical prelude to the sermon, rather than the means by which we, as the people of God, invite the dominion of His kingdom to be...
My feelings, following the results of the 2012 presidential race, are not predicated on the relative merits or either candidate. They are borne with facts that are true of Americans' lives at this time in the 21st century; some of which are flavored by choices by our...
President Obama’s May 19, 2011 announcement regarding Israel needs to be heard as a trumpet call from God’s Spirit: “Beware – Take Action!”
Our
President’s sadly imperceptive declaration—announcing that any quest
for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians “must begin with a
return to the 1967 borders”—is a naked betrayal of our nation’s historic
and just will to support Israel against antagonists that wish to
destroy her very existence.
Such a proposition is a time bomb with internationally destructive
potential; a tragic commentary on our leader and his aides sidestepping
history to placate war-like political forces that do not seek peace but
rather Israel’s eradication as a people. Neither should it be overlooked
by believers in God’s Word that each step our nation takes in such a
direction is a step toward certain self-destruction.
Jesus used the ancient figure of the
wineskins to warn His hearers against the soul-shrinking thought and
life patters of the traditionalists (see Luke 5:33–39). Not long
ago, I saw how His warning about old wineskins applied to my own
life. a cluster of personal failures brought me face to face with
frightening signs that my once-new wineskins were becoming old and
brittle.
The first incident occurred when I was
ridiculed along with several charismatic friends in a published work
assailing the most visible leaders in this movement. The broadsides
were volleyed by a man I consider a friend, notwithstanding his
anti-charismatic posture.
I’m often asked, “What is the one thing above all others that is a leader’s priority?” My answer has little to do with personal gifts or professional skill. But it is the thing that will become the foremost reason people will trust and follow you and the reason God...