The Unusual Humility Of William Seymour

In 1906 something very unusual began happening in a small meeting in Los Angeles. People testified that the Spirit of God was coming upon them and filling them with joy and power and praise for God. Their lives were transformed. It was the beginning of the Azusa Street Revival which was the leading contributor to the biggest movement in the Christian church in centuries: Pentecostalism. It was also the second largest social movement of the 20th century after communism – and unlike communism it was still skyrocketing by the end of the century. In the year 2000 over 500 million Christians worldwide considered themselves Pentecostal or charismatic. The pastor of the church that hosted these meetings on Azusa Street was a black man named William Seymour. The meetings were filled with whites as well as blacks and many other nationalities. As news of the meetings spread many ministers spoke against Continue Reading →

Truth That Reigns Above All Others In Love – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true” I Jn 5:20 (ESV) Today there is an explosion of different ideas and philosophies that claim to tell us what is true. Many are versions of the idea that the only truth is what you choose, or what is inside you. This idea just leads to narcissism which is why we see so much self-centeredness and destructiveness in the world. But Jesus gave us understanding. He showed us God’s truth so that we could stay anchored in reality. And God’s reality is that He loves us and leads us to love one another and grow communities (churches) that shine with His light. This truth is higher than every “truth” that others claim. His truth frees us from self-centeredness and connects us to Himself so we can Continue Reading →

Does God Seem More Distant? It’s An Opportunity!

God is very big on faith. It is the way we connect with Him and it is even the way we are saved. In  human relationships faith, or trust, is a precious commodity as well. We might love someone with all our heart but still not trust them because we deem them untrustworthy. A mother may be willing to die for her wayward adult son, but not trust him enough to let him live with her because of his destructiveness. But God is not destructive, just mysterious and challenging, and trusting Him takes time. This is why He goes to great lengths to develop faith in us. After we have been following Jesus for several years God will typically take away our sense of His presence in order that we might learn deeper faith. He does this because He loves us and wants to be more united with us. And Continue Reading →

The Spirit In Us Overpowers The World – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

“For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ” I Jn 4:4b (ESV)  This verse is one of our bulwarks against all that would tear us down! God is all powerful and his Spirit lives in us. We have his spiritual power that keeps us focused on love and truth and no spirit, no person, no institution, and no destructive desire inside our outside of us can cause us to stumble when we stay centered on God’s Spirit who has made us his temple and lighthouse for the world. Try putting your name in this verse and repeating it ten times. Then repeat throughout the day and see how this strengthens you. See The Salvation Of God In Your Life – Weekly Words Of EncouragementOctober 26, 2026God Will Deliver You – Weekly Words Of EncouragementOctober 19, 2026Are You Walking With The Spirit?October 16, Continue Reading →

10 Temptations of Spiritual Renewals In Your Life – Part 2

Do you ever face these temptations when you are trying to let the Spirit guide you? Keeping ourselves open to the Spirit is essential to a complete Christian life but it comes with temptations that can gradually derail us. This continues a list of temptations that individuals and churches experience which we began last week. Bad principles of discernment. When the Holy Spirit moves people are happy and everyone wants to encourage and trust each other in what they do and say. But this causes problems especially in the area of prophecy, (i.e., speaking words from God.) The temptation is to encourage people that if they are focused on God and asking for words from God then if something comes to them then it is probably from God. I’ve been in more than one gathering where this was clearly taught. But Hebrews 5:14 states “But solid food is for the Continue Reading →