July 2017 Blog Posts (26)

HEALING PRAYER

“If anyone among you is sick let him call for the elders of the church to pray over them anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make them well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.”

James 5:14,15

Few things that we do in the church are more Christlike than…

When we get that for which we pray, we say God answered our prayer.  When we fail to get that for which we pray, we say, God didn’t answer our prayer.  Is it possible that God answered your prayer by saying, “no?”  When some would-be followers of Jesus requested to first bury their father, the answer was, “no” (Luke 9:57-62).  When a mother requested of Jesus to let her sons sit in places of prominence in the kingdom, the answer was “no” (Matthew 20:20-23).  When Jesus asked the Father to…

Have you ever noticed that before a mission trip or some great event or in fact before a great work of God in your life, you have intensified spiritual attack?

I believe there is a reason God not only allows but arranges attack in your life. There are a number of benefits that come to us through spiritual attack. Toughening strengthening of faith, the necessary humility, the development of character, and…

The title of the book, On Stories, is taken from the first essay. In it Lewis said he was surprised at how little attention critics paid to story. They were much more interested in the development of characters, the writing style, or the message of a book or play. He went on to talk about the distinct pleasure of story. Lewis notes that there are some people who just enjoy the excitement, the tension, the danger of a story. To them one story is as…

We so often see with earthly eyes and not spiritual, and need reminding that the recent Middle East turmoil surrounding Qatar is both geo-political and in the heavens. 

Due to the wealth of the nation, daily lives of residents and locals seem unchanged. The supermarket shelves have been refilled after an initial panic, water and electricity continue, and the minor inconveniences include finding flights that don't go through certain airports.  Locals are hanging Qatari flags on…

Nothing is more important for praying together than a listening heart. Do you remember the story of Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 3? The Lord told Solomon He would give him whatever he asked. In 1 Kings 3:9 Solomon asked God for a “discerning heart.” The Hebrew word translated “discerning” is “shema.” Some of you have heard of the Jewish prayer called “The Shema.” Shema is the first word of Deuteronomy 6:4. “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Shema means to…

One of the fun parts of this ministry is that I get to meet all kinds of amazing people who love the Lord! One of my favorite people is Teresa DeMatos, who co-pastors the church I attend with her husband, Lee DeMatos. Together, they have experienced some powerful encounters with Jesus and - even…

Have you ever been in a dynamic prayer meeting, a heart stirring, life changing, earth shaking prayer meeting? I know of a number of such prayer meetings in history, some even in my own lifetime. And there are several prayer meetings in the book of Acts that I would have given anything to be part of. Fortunately the Holy Spirit inspired them and Luke communicated them to us in such a way that you can almost step into them simply by reading…