November 2016 Blog Posts (22)

know Thanksgiving is over. Most of us have already unpacked Christmas decorations, and begun preparations for the biggest holiday of the year. But I would like to suggest that we hold on to the Thanksgiving holiday a little longer. In fact, I think we should continue to celebrate it 365 days a year.

Let me draw your attention to a Scripture passage that is so rich that all of you are familiar with it. Philippians 4:6 reads,…

The majority of the world lives without the hope offered by Christ. The open door to God’s throne is a unique post-resurrection-ascension-enthronement Christian notion and unique privilege. That we can pray, pour out our souls to a God who cares, is an incredible privilege. That we get answers from God is beyond incredible. Sadly, prayer is now seen as passé. It is the most under-utilized privilege afforded believers. The average American Christian prays only four minutes a day. God leaves…

Are you praying for the impossible? I begin my daily devotionals by going over key verses through which God has spoken to me. After each verse I have several long term prayer requests. Under one of those verses I have this prayer.

I want to wait prayerfully for You to accomplish what is absolutely impossible in human strength.

I pray for God to help me trust Him for the impossible. But I don't want to pray for just…

The Testimony of Thanks

1 Chronicles 16:8-13, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth, O seed of Israel…

Father, we acknowledge that the hearts of presidents, kings, and all leaders are in your hands.  You are the one who brings people into positions of leadership and you are the one who moves them out of these positions.  The times of nations are in your hands also.  You are sovereign over all.

Lord, what we see in our country disturbs us - the division, the self-centeredness, the moral drift, the challenges to the very foundations on which this country was built.  We see the…

Are you familiar with the Old Testament principle of gleaning? It is stated in Leviticus 23:22.

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap all the way to the edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident; I am the Lord your God."

Landowners, even poor farmers were commanded to take less profit to help the poor and the stranger. The Old…

My father used to have a “personal proverb” he lived by, a saying I heard him repeat many times when I was young. He said: “Keep your expectations low. Don’t trust anybody, and you’ll never be disappointed.” 



To my little ears, this seemed like a pretty good formula for success; after all, who has not been betrayed or…

From Voting to Veterans: Thanking Those Who Fight for Our Freedom

Psalm 18:1-6, "I love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me. The cords of Sheol surrounded me;…

Father, on the eve of our elections, we come to you in gratitude and supplication.  Thank you, Lord, for a country that has free elections and for the widespread ability to participate in those elections.  Thank you for the candidates and for all who have worked so hard on this campaign.  And thank you for the prayer you have raised up from your church concerning this election.

Please protect the integrity of our elections tomorrow.  In each voting place, clear the way for all who are…

The Change Challenge

   Well here we are; election week has finally arrived. While millions of votes have already been cast in pre-voting opportunities the decision is yet to be made. As millions more Americans head to the election sites on Tuesday we are blessed to exercise the privilege we have as Americans to choose our leaders from local to national offices. It is really an amazing thing when you think about it. So many countries have their leaders chosen…

Last week in my other blog, http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/, I wrote about the complexity of the issue of abortion. Like many social problems its roots are deeper than its legality. I did not mention that the law acts as a teacher and does play a part in changing the thinking of society. But it is also important to note that we are facing spiritual strongholds that must be brought down to make radical changes in our…

“God’s purpose may be thwarted or it may be accomplished depending, to one degree or another, on the obedience of His people and their willingness to use the weapons of spiritual warfare that He has provided. God is powerful enough to win any battle, but He has designed things so that the release of His power at a given moment of time often is contingent upon the decisions and the actions of His people. A principle weapon of spiritual warfare is prayer. Not just routine or…

This edition of Spotlight covers the Midwest Prayer Conference held at Worthington Christian Church in Columbus Ohio on October 21-22.  For coverage of the pre-conference held on October 21, see the previous Spotlight.

After a time of extended worship, Dave Butts kicked off the 2016 edition of the Midwest Prayer Conference with a session on…

Encouragement is a rare commodity. Strife and division abound in today’s culture, so much so that it seems things have never been worse. Even within the church, we find sharp divisions between believers over politics, doctrine, gifts, and personalities. Despite our call to love one another,…