Christian Living

The theme for 2015 at Liberty Baptist Church is “I Believe God.” I am speaking to our church on different ways we can show others that we believe God—not just believe in God. I recently spoke on the subject of how we can believe God through prayer. I handed out the content of this blog to our church because I wanted them to see what a life of prayer can do. I hope that this will be a blessing to you.

It is wonderful that Jesus Christ blessed those He saved with the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, Who has come to meet all of our needs and to work through us to meet the needs of the world! What an amazing truth! He is a well of living water that springs up to satisfy our inner thirst forever. Let us not lose our grip on this wonderful metaphor and the truth it pictures.

I can’t think of anyone who had more trials and battles than the Apostle Paul. I also can’t think of anyone who finished better than he finished. However, if we believe what most writers tell us, very few spiritual leaders finish well.

If we can learn anything from the first-century churches of Asia Minor, it is the propensity of Christians and churches toward decline.

You’ve probably heard the old fable of the man and his son bringing their donkey to market. En route, they encounter so many people who give their opinions as to who should ride the donkey and who should walk that by the time they reach the market, the man and his son are carrying the donkey.

There are a lot of different opinions—some that can be very strong—concerning the matter of “loyalty to the pastor.” One extreme is pastor-worship and the other extreme is no loyalty to the pastor at all.

Someone wisely said, “Aim for nothing, and you’ll hit it every time.” When it comes to goal setting, there are no more important areas for Christian men to set goals than their personal walk with God, their spiritual leadership in the home, and their relationships and service in the local church.

I can hardly imagine a more difficult task than the one Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, was given. Eliezer was to find a bride for Isaac. He was given the full trust and confidence of his master Abraham in this important mission. The way he handled the request is instructive to those of us who want to be faithful servants to our Master.

No one begins the New Year with aspirations to quit. We want to finish the year well, and we want to finish our life course well.

In truth, we serve a God of miracles (hello, just read Luke 2), but our tendency when peering into the future is to predict it based on the rate of past progress. We pray desperately for God to do what we can’t, then we rise from our knees, look at the date the prayer request was first entered, and sigh. “Not gonna happen, at least anytime soon,” we feel, even if we don’t say.

It’s a strange thing about Christmas. We celebrate Jesus’ birth, and we use the celebration to further our efforts in sharing the gospel. But somehow we seem to easily lose focus this time of year more than any other.

Christmas is coming! It is the most wonderful time of the year! Even the unsaved are singing about the Lord! During this season, you are able to freely say, “Merry Christmas,” to everyone you meet! Use this season to tell of the Reason for Christmas.

One of the blessings of the Christmas season is people’s openness to talk about Jesus. In my experience, it’s one of the best times of the year in terms of tender hearts and responsiveness to gospel invitations in the community.

What single word best describes your walk with the Lord? I think all of us would love for that word to be passion. And not just today, but every day. We’d like consistent passion in our walk with God.

All of life is a stewardship. It’s not about what happens to us, but what we do with what happens to us. Of all the things we cannot control, there are two things we can—our mind and our mouth.

We are all aware of our need to communicate—it starts early in life. In order for a baby to communicate that he needs something, he will cry. It is amazing how effective a baby can be at communicating without words. After a while, we learn our first word, and then it isn’t long before we are talking a blue-streak.

In early 1940 the British and their allies sent a force of some 350,000 men into the low countries of Europe to stem the tide of German advance into France, Belgium, and Holland. Caught in a brilliant pincer movement by the invading German forces, the beleaguered British Expeditionary Force was pushed back to the beaches of the small Belgian town of Dunkirk.

You know those seasons when you are so busy you hardly feel you have time to even look at your to do list? And you consider what would happen to your family if you actually lost your mind?

We serve a God who is powerful. There is nothing too hard for Him, and with Him all things are possible!

Peter was a man who, like all of us, was hindered by his flesh. He often spoke too soon, made promises he could not keep, and allowed his temper to get the best of him.