How Do You Value Supernatural Ministry?

Several years ago there was a minister who was a very popular speaker at Pentecostal and charismatic conferences. He was known for his unusual supernatural gifting and older leaders were giving him a lot of support in his ministry. He even went on a high profile speaking tour and many testified to miracles through his ministry. But after a couple years it was revealed that he was having trouble in his marriage, since he was pursuing another woman. Apparently, there had been problems in his marriage for years. His ministry practically dissolved. This makes me wonder how other ministers decided to help promote this person to such a high profile ministry. Why did they think this person was mature enough to be given such influence? Did anyone do personal discipling for him? And why does this keep happening over and over again? In one of the more shocking pronouncements on Continue Reading →

Christ Is In You For Your Destiny – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

“God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  Col. 1:27 (NIV)  The mystery is that Christ is in us. Maybe we are used to hearing that Jesus is in us, but if we think about it we realize it really is a fantastic mystery. If you had no knowledge of Christianity and someone told you that the Son of the personal God can live inside you, then you might think they were crazy. Yet it is true, and it is a “glorious” treasure! But it gets better. The fact that Christ lives in us is also a guarantee that one day he will glorify our bodies and souls and bring us into his glorious community and we will dwell in his presence forever. We Shall Inherit The Earth – Weekly Words Of EncouragementJuly 27, Continue Reading →

Are We Fully Accepted By God Regardless Of Our Good Works?

Boy do I feel some fear and trepidation writing this post! I wonder if Martin Luther would pick a fight with me if he read this. And I’m concerned that some hard-core Calvinists will consider this heresy. But I trust that readers believe in the supremacy of scripture, so here goes. It is very popular with some to talk only about how important it is to rest in God’s love and grace for us. It is said that there is nothing more we need to do to be accepted by God. Certainly these things are true in the sense that salvation is by faith only, not works. But if these ideas are the whole message or sermon then are they truly biblical? Colossians 1:9-10 states: “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that Continue Reading →

Our Supreme Inheritance – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

“Giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.” Col. 1:12 (NIV) God promises to us that we get to share in the inheritance he has planned for his children. If a wealthy person is facing death and he has children that he is proud of and loves with all his heart then he is glad that he can pass his wealth on to his children. He rejoices that he can bless them and help give them a prosperous and happy life. Consider how much more God wants to bless us with a tremendous inheritance. And consider how far God’s “assets” surpass anything that an earthly parent could bequeath to his children. This is the inheritance God has for us! We Shall Inherit The Earth – Weekly Words Of EncouragementJuly 27, 2026I Am A Child Continue Reading →

How Can We Describe Intimacy With God?

I am on retreat this week so the post today is a quote from something I’ve been reading from John Ruysbroec, a Christian spiritual writer who lived from 1293 – 1381. He had deep experiences of intimacy with God. Below is a quote of his description of what he felt. The second paragraph is a description of what we will experience in the next life. They are both from his book The Sparkling Stone, chapter 3. The love and joy he describes are encouraging and inspirational. He stated in other places that he did not believe in a merger of essence with God, so he was not heretical. His vocabulary may seem strange but he was looking for words to describe something that seemed beyond words. [Note: the “spirit” refers to our human spirit.] For students of church history it is interesting that Ruysbroec uses fire language similar to that used Continue Reading →