November 2014 Blog Posts (24)

Recently I have been doing a study on God's Restraining Grace where God reaches out to unchristians and

Christians alike and at His discretion prevents one from committing sin.

Now that I have a better understanding of Restraining Grace I can see in my past where God has done

this for me. I think it goes along with "lead me not into temptation and deliver me from evil."

So, here is another area in my life and in the life of others where I/we need to thank…

 I would like to introduce you to a book that will challenge all grandparents, baby boomers and beyond to look at their grandparenting in our broken world.   

Courageous Grandparenting: Unshakeable Faith in a Broken World is a call for grandparents and parents to rise above the conventional view of grandparenting to embrace radically courageous life that stands…

Father, Thank You for urging us to the work of Christ that was done for us, because You loved us. You are EL ELYON, Most High God   עליון   לְאֵ֥ל, In Jesus’ Name we bring this Thanksgiving to you. Amen

Have you ever thought about the benefits of giving thanks to God? There are many. I think the most prominent of them is simply closeness to God. We enter His gates with thanksgiving. We come into his presence in praise.

In Leviticus 7 Moses was told to institute a feast of thanksgiving. The barbeque was identified as a “fellowship offering of thanksgiving." We certainly enjoy fellowship with family and guests in our celebration of the Thanksgiving…

A PERSONAL STORY

A number of years ago, while serving on the State Council for the Church of God in California, I drove to Sacramento for a board meeting. I was near empty when I pulled into the office parking lot. The meeting was scheduled to last until supper, but instead, it ran past ten o’clock. I pulled out on the Freeway and headed home looking for gas stations that were still open. I took the connector route from Highway 99 to Interstate 5. I knew, once on I-5,…

If I took time to list all the medical/dental issues I’ve had in the past two years, readers would get depressed and I’d go beyond my intent to share a one paragraph spiritual jump-start. Needless to say, it’s good that I retired so I’d have time for all my medical/dental appointments. The problem is I keep getting invitations to speak/teach/consult/mentor and the medical/dental issues sometimes cause me to have to cancel my engagements, and I hate cancellations. I need to remember some…

Colossians 4:2 "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."

So, I think this verse says, while in prayer be watchful.

My question, what are we to watch for?

Thanks

“I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free.” (Charles Dickens)

When we’re exhausted, we can seek God’s strength and glide gracefully on eagle’s wings. That is not to say it will be easy—we may have trouble envisioning such beauty,and it may be all we can do just to get to our feet. But if we take God’s hand, He promises to help us fly high above the mediocre world below. On His wings of proven love and absolute truth, our Lord pilots us above gloomy clouds of…

Prayer is not the seasoning for the real meat of Bible study. It is not a necessary additive to the real work of the church. It is not something we do briefly before we begin to worship. It is not to be a perfunctory way of opening to a sermon. I think it might better be thought of as the marinade that must saturate every aspect of Bible study. Prayer is the fire that cooks real spiritual meat; that warms the fellowship; that empowers discipleship; that prepares everything we do for and by…

“The collapse of the Wall is proof that dreams come true, and continues to offer hope wherever freedom and human rights are threatened or trampled on.” (German Chancellor Angel Merkel)

Sunday, March 9^th, marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the event that heralded the collapse of the communist system. More than 300,000 participated in the celebration. Eight thousand helium balloons stretching across nine miles where the…

The following is from my upcoming book, One-Minute Devotions on Prayer:

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they’ll be heard because of their many words.” (Matthew 6:7)

When teaching about prayer, Jesus instructs us to keep prayer simple. But how easy it is to complicate! We worry about placing the “right” words in the “right” places, saying holy statements that sound good, not praying for too long or too short—oh my, what’s the…

A nine minute audio teaching from Eddie Smith

CLICK HERE

Hosea 11:4 has a marvelous phrase describing God's love.

He comes to us "Like one who takes the yoke off our necks." You can almost feel the comfort of the donkey when his master removes the yoke, rubs him down and fills his feed bag.

It is a great blessing to have a purpose…

What are your Thanksgiving Traditions? 

Thanksgiving is a good time to encourage our grandchildren to be thankful for the many things they experience. Help them make a list of their home, food, clothing, school, friends, church, toys and the opportunities they enjoy for which they can be thankful. Gratitude always improves ones attitude. Send them a Thanksgiving card or call them to let them know you thank God for them and you are thankful they are your grandchildren and you…

“Gratitude is from the same root word as grace, signifying the free and boundless mercy of God. Thanksgiving is from the same root word as think, so to think is to thank.” (Willis P. King)

Thanksgiving is more than a holiday on the calendar; it is an attitude of heart that praises our Creator and Savior every day we live.

Surely our greatest blessing is the mercy of God—preserving our lives, forgiving our sins, restoring…

“What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.” (Robert F. Kennedy, The Pursuit of Justice, 1964)

The evil of violent religion was graphically illustrated again this morning when 47 people were killed and 79 wounded in a bombing outside a school in northern Nigeria. An attacker disguised as a…

Our grandchildren are growing up in a self-absorbed, “ME” generation, thinking mostly of themselves and what they want or benefits them.

One way we can teach them to do good deeds is for them to participate in the Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes, a project of Samaritan’s Purse. Millions of boys and girls around the globe live in difficult circumstances and are in…

This is a big week for politics in America. I need to say I am not sympathetic with believers who put their hope in politics. However hopeful or cynical you may be about the election this week, it is crucial that believers join together in prayer for those who govern our country. In his first letter to Timothy Paul admonished us to pray for them.

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and…

God has given us a gift of intercessory prayer. An intercessor is one who intercedes in prayer on behalf of others.

“Pray for each other so that you may be healed.” James 5:15b

Next week we will be celebrating Veteran’s Day so I would l

ike to give you some suggestions of how to pray for Military personnel and their families. Do you know someone in the military from your family, your church or your…