God comes to you during your most vulnerable times. I’m thankful God doesn’t hold grudges. When you suffer the loss of a loved one, God visits you. When you experience evil unjustly, God visits you. When you have sinned and don’t serve it, God visits you. No matter how I feel, God is always faithful,…
John Adams once said, “There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live.” Many teachers and administrators are quitting public schools because children are unruly. They haven’t been taught how to live by their parents. There is a time and place for fathers to exhort and…
With budget cuts, how will peoples’ needs be met? The days of relying on the government are gone. The church will need to step up. Incentives in promoting personal responsibility along with private and public partnerships must be forged so people can live successfully, with dignity and fulfillment. How can we maximize business and service…
Change is often fearful and messy, but can be the time of your greatest blessings. Getting depledged from a fraternity in college allowed me to discover Jesus Christ personally after meeting a new friend in a dorm. Taking a journalism class 16 years after I graduated from college was the first step in writing a…
God is more interested in reconciling broken relationships than you are. He sovereignly arranges circumstances to bring people together. God provides resources to facilitate harmonious relationships. Even forgiveness is a gift of God. God moves heaven to promote reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers, which should be encouragement when you face unreconciled relationships. Joseph…
The biggest obstacle for reconciliation of fractured relationships is selfishness. A husband and wife let bitterness build a wall between them so they won’t talk or allow anger to drive them apart. Hardened hearts cause selfishness and becomes the wedge to break up relationships, including marriages, families and churches. A peacemaker takes advantage of timing, integrity,…
Nothing hurts more than fractured relationships with family members or close friends. A ministry partner went behind my back to undermine my ministry. I was devastated. God used similar principles in reconciling my relationship with this individual as He used in reconciling Joseph with his brothers who had sold him into slavery. God sovereignly arranged…
Fractured relationships occur in families, churches and businesses. Husband and wives selfishly try to get their own way or become self-sufficient, which if not checked, leads to emotional or physical divorce. A parent shows favoritism to a son or daughter and the less favored sibling experiences deep hurt and isolation. A pastor and his church…
A person can’t predict how God might use them. Tough times may seem to disqualify you from effective service. It’s those frustrating and seemly “wasted” circumstances that God redeems for ministry in your city. Joseph thought his life was over while serving prison time for a crime he didn’t commit. Two years later, he unexpectedly…
When life makes no sense, I have a tendency to question God. When people went behind my back in a hostile take over of my ministry, I wondered what was going on. Could God really use this in my life? Yes! Tests like these develop patience and integrity as preparation for future usefulness. Trusting God’s…
Losing my job because I wouldn’t compromise my integrity was a great disappointment. Life seemed out of control after seven months of unemployment and no job prospects in sight. God kept reminding me to trust Him. It was one of the best growing times in my life. In time, God provided the best job up…
From an unknown source: “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an action and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” Gen. 38 illustrates this progression through the life of Judah after he sowed wrong thoughts. Sow a Thought…