Fear and timidity can paralyze you. Anxiety can control your every decision. Confusion can totally derail your life’s focus. The mind is the battleground of life. You will inevitably face storms and crisis. Your mind will be pressed to the breaking point. How do you persevere until the sun breaks through again?
Everybody prays. Prayer wheels, prayer chains, and prayer lines are everywhere. However, it can sometimes feel like a penny in a fountain. How can we feel a sense of certainty when we pray?
Millions of marriages are smoldering. The passion is gone. The fire is almost out. The excitement and astonishment left years ago. Marriages go through stages as Jesus said: “hot, cold, and lukewarm.” I’ve been married for 40 years and I’m sure I have been through all three of them! If your marriage needs some “hot sauce,” I can help you with that.
Water, water, everywhere. Three times the amount of rain fell on Baton Rouge as fell in Katrina! 7 trillion gallons of water deluged over 40,000 houses. With water comes “mold.” There is a race against time to remove anything wet. Hundreds of volunteers are stripping out churches, homes, and businesses before black mold takes over.
Do you have “mold in your soul?” It is a creeping, silent enemy in your heart. It is a hidden disease, thriving on the darkness.
It’s been tough this week to watch piles of clothes, furniture, appliances, and TVs out in front of every home on my street. It’s dark. It’s difficult. 40,000 homes are under 4-8 feet of water. Nine megachurches are totally flooded. Not one church had services last Sunday.
Jacob was in a dark place. Running from his brother, he found a rock to sleep on. There, in a dream, he saw God. (Gen 28)
It seems we have all been a little shellshocked. What a summer. Terrorist attacks and campaigns. Shootings and tension. Now, it has come home to me more than ever. I have lived on Bethany Church’s North campus property for 53 years. I’ve never seen anything like what happened there this weekend.
How quickly your world can change. From a calm, lazy summer Thursday afternoon to 25 inches of rain and emergency evacuation. I was speaking in Austin, Texas, Saturday when I got word from Melanie that she had grabbed our vital documents and loaded a boat for higher ground.
On time is what every airline strives for. I’m told the Swiss run a news story if a train is a few minutes late! What difference does it makes to be “on time” and how can you hit that elusive mark? I can help you with that.
Every Wednesday morning at 7:30 for six years I met our Governor and his staff for a Bible study. One morning, I WOKE UP at 6:50! In eight minutes I was up, showered, dressed and out the door! I walked in breathing hard with five minutes to spare…and learned a valuable few lessons.
Your prayer life is the most important part of your Christian life. My prayer life greatly improved when I studied the prayer life of Jesus Himself.
I’ve been married to Melanie, the woman of my dreams, for 40 years. I’ve observed how she quietly, but powerfully, has shown her leadership prowess.
It's a shame that many of us men fail to realize the incredible potential in the godly leadership of a woman. Deborah, the prophetess, was a “judge” over Israel (Judges 4).
Here in Baton Rouge, the unthinkable happened this past Sunday morning: three police officers dead and three wounded. From Dallas to Nice to Baton Rouge, we are all on an emotional roller coaster of tragedy.
How do we cope? Where do we find the courage to keep loving, keep forgiving, keep giving? Jesus repeatedly told those in distress to "take courage." It was a COMMAND: "TAKE courage." Don’t leave it laying on the ground, pick it up.
It’s crazy. The images of carnage. The blatant anger. The hurt and frustration. The escalating conflict and animosity between races and with authorities. What is the solution? “Hesed.”
The whole world is upset about borders. From Brexit to the Middle East to the Ukraine, borders are shifting. Some propose tighter borders and others want them totally removed. John Kerry recently referred to a "world without borders." Someone said that he left that speech, got into his armored car, anddrove behind the walls to his home! During the Katrina crisis, we had 900 people sleeping on the floor of our church. Visiting our church, President Bush remarked about a strip of blue tape we put on the floor between each person's private "space." In nine months with Katrina evacuees we never had ONE fight.
We are in a stressful time. Political changes are unnerving. Our enemies are gaining strength. The economy is fragile. Diseases are coming out of nowhere. Travel has become dangerous. It’s always good to come back to my “true north”: “how big is my God?” I was recently in Colorado. I was dwarfed by the massive 14,000 foot mountains. Mt. Everest in the Himalayas is 2 1/2 times their height!
I have six children: five sons and a daughter. I have seven grandchildren with more on the way. I’ve been raising children for 37 years. I can help you do that if you need help. It all starts with a father. Mine just died at 97. His life, ministry, and legacy is legendary. Many of you did not have a “Bro. Roy.”
Steph Curry is the rage of the NBA. He’s the greatest three-point shooter of all time. He, his wife Ayesha, and their little girl Riley have become a model family for America. What a lot of people don’t know, however, is that his parents led their family in a half-hour Bible devotion every morning before school. I’m concerned about the families I see. We raised our six children with the Word of God at the center. That’s probably why all six of them are involved in the ministry.
Everywhere I go, people ask me, “How can I marry someone, like Melanie, who will stay together with me for a lifetime?” Now, after 40 years together with her, I think I can help you in that.
I hate cruise control. I hate it but I love it. But I hate it. It is so limiting. It requires me to go only at a certain pace. I love it because I can relax and just ride. I hate it because I want to get there ahead of the guy in front of me! In our world today, everyone is in a hurry. Patients are dying in hospitals because of the haste to move on to the next patient. Everyone is on the move. We are squeezing every second out of one activity to pour into the next one.
Stress is killing people. Guilt is not far behind. In between those two extremes is a simple word: “No.” Getting that word out is the hard thing. We hint, we beat around the bush, we psychologize. We stay mad because we couldn’t say that word. We avoid certain people and events because we can’t say that word. Business leaders, parents, pastors, and politicians all have a difficult time saying that word. Your world will change when someone shows you how to say “No.” I’ve battled it for years. After all, they’re my friend. What if I ruin a relationship? Didn’t Christ teach me to serve? What if their reputation tells me that what they borrow will never be returned? How can I add another thing to an already overloaded schedule? Stress or guilt?
How do you know if you are going in the wrong direction or making a wrong decision? Is God able to get your attention? Have you ever “gone over the cliff” and you never had a clue you were close to the edge? Balaam was a prophet in the Old Testament. He was headed in the wrong direction (Num. 22). God used his donkey to try to tell him. Balaam was too hardheaded to listen and he finally lost his life. I have seen four ways God uses people to warn me that I am moving in a wrong direction. If you don’t read on, you may be close to the cliff and not even know it!
Thursday, May 8th, 1976 was a big day. It was my 23rd birthday and the day my bride came walking down the aisle…40 years ago. I have to stop and reflect on why I made a good choice.
