Building relationships is a lost virtue in our society today. Guys ask girls out on dates via text messages, we make friends by clicking a button on a website and hoping the other person reciprocates, and despite all of our technological advances, we are becoming more and more isolated.

Has God recently placed something new on your heart? Perhaps you’re feeling burdened to launch a new ministry or begin a new goal? There’s nothing that fuels my energy like dreaming for the future and planning action steps for a God-given vision! But before I begin something new, I always try to take a careful look at what foundation I am planning to build on.

If you are like me, you wake up one day and you’re thirty-five with five children, and you realize, “I am not young anymore.” I feel young. I may even look young. But I am not considered young anymore—at least not by the next generation.

There seems to be a great deal of confusion regarding church music. On the one hand, there are those who believe that if music is not of the formal, anthem-ish type, it cannot glorify God. On the other hand, there are those who select music only on the basis of what they like, forgetting that their flesh may like any number of things that are unscriptural and displease the Lord.

On July 11, 1976, our nation’s bicentennial, Liberty Baptist Church held its first service at the South Coast Westin Hotel in Costa Mesa, California. Eighty-nine people attended that first service. Some came out of curiosity; others were already seeking a local church fellowship. Less than a year later, the young church relocated to the chapel of the Southern California College, now Vanguard University, allowing them to begin a graded Sunday school program and Wednesday evening prayer service.

Men like me who are over fifty are often baffled by the demographic shift in mindset represented by the Millennial Generation. (According to Pew Research Center, millennials, sometimes called Generation Y, include people born between 1980–2000.)

One of the things we must do to stay alive is eat! Along with air, water, and sleep, our bodies need food. The nutrients contained in the food we eat keep us healthy and strong. If we neglect to nourish our physical bodies, our health will inevitably decline. The human soul works the same way! We must regularly feed on God’s Word to stay alive and spiritually healthy. We must continually and purposefully nurture our souls with the Word of God.

After twenty-six years of pastoring and thirty-two years of preaching, I can tell you that preaching is no problem at all—it’s practicing what you preach. This came home to me one day through the actions of a young lady. She transformed my preaching ministry.

Throughout the years I have seen many Christians who possessed a great passion to share their faith in courageous ways. They would seize every opportunity the Lord would bring across their paths to be faithful witnesses for Him. I embrace this same passion wholeheartedly! What a thrill it is to share God’s wonderful message of salvation with someone and then see that person make a personal decision to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. That one decision changes his life and eternity forever!

Physiologically, a fresh calendar suggests a fresh start. But realistically, January 1 cannot obliterate the needs and burdens of December 31. What can you do practically to renew your soul for the new year?