Ps. 46:10
What would happen if you took 24 hours away from your routine sometime within the next month to be alone with God? What might be the results? I have put this question to many pastors and administrators over the past few years. Here are some of the common responses:
• God would refresh me.
• I would experience more of God.
• I wouldn’t be so stressed.
• God would probably tell me things I do not want to hear...
Stop walking alone. Jesus didn’t. Nor should you.
You may disagree, perhaps thinking, “You don’t know what I am going through.” You are correct—I don’t. But Someone does. On December 30, 2024, I began a new private study in the written Word on Jesus’ dependence on His Father. I am searching the Gospels for everything I can discover about Jesus’ relationship with His Father while on earth. In my journal I list...
In 2012, I looked over the early morning bustle of Jakarta, Indonesia, from the rooftop of the hotel where I was speaking at a convention. From a nearby mosque, an imam’s call to worship soared across the neighborhood. I listened as I waited for those I had invited to join me. Sometime later, several dozen delegates from multiple countries met with me to pray. I read Scripture, and then we all scattered across the roof to pray...
Isa. 55:8-9
The big question is: How do we enjoy unrushed time alone with God every day?
Here are a few practical pointers that have been helpful to me:
I hugged and kissed my family goodbye and said, “I will see you in 16 days!” as I waved goodbye and caught my ride to the Calgary International Airport. It was March 10, 2020, and I was on my way to call for a revival on the campus of Adventist University of the Philippines. I was also to equip all the pastors of the new Cavite Mission to disciple the new generations for Jesus Christ. In addition, I was to disciple couples who wanted stronger marriages and wanted to disciple their children.
COVID-19 was gathering steam globally as my plane sped down the runway and up into the skies to Vancouver and then straight to Manila...
Every time God says “No” it is to leave room for His “Yes” to something greater. When God told me to cancel my flight from the Philippines home, I did not know how long I would be “stuck” on the campus of Adventist University of the Philippines. When God says “No”, we often have no idea why...and sometimes those answers will only come in eternity. This time, the answer came after 80 days of lockdown.
The Adventist University of the Philippines usually is a beehive of activity as several thousand students study, work, worship, eat, play, and sleep a little. Days after arrival, the campus was on official lockdown...
Luke 1:17
The girls excitedly pointed to the setting sun as they waited. This was the day! It was not just any day; it was THE day for their friend’s wedding. They smoothed out the wrinkles in their new dresses, retouched their hair, pinched their faces to bring out their color and gazed down the lane for the first sign of their friend’s husband. They were there to welcome him with the light of their lamps.
The glow of the day softened to pink and then faded into the early night. The girls watched the road anxiously. Nothing! Not a sign of the man who was to marry their childhood friend. They carefully sat down beside the road; but as the stars appeared and the hours crept by, each fell asleep...
It was 3:00 a.m., November 22, 2016, when God called me to wake up. It was not an audible voice, but rather the still, small voice of God to my mind and heart. I knew it was Him. Every morning, He fulfills Isaiah 50:4 by awakening me to meet with Him.
I jumped out of bed, threw on warm clothes, grabbed my Bible and a flashlight, and headed out into the starlit night into the woods and rocks near the mountain. I placed my Bible on a stump before me, knelt, and prayed. Nothing happened.
I knew God had called me out to pray. For months, my wife April and I had been asking God to guide us about how we best should serve him...
What do you do when others look to you for spiritual leadership and you are tired, weary, and worn? Do you pretend your strength is invincible? Do you put on an act that you are untouched by discouragement, trials, and darkness?
Elijah the prophet stood unflinchingly before a vast crowd of past believers in the living God. His voice sounded like a trumpet across Mount Carmel, “‘How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ But the people did not answer him a word” (1 Kings 18:1)
Throwing caution to the wind, Elijah eyed the broken-down altar of the living God. He knew what he must do. He called out to all the people, “‘Come near to me.’ So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar to the Lord which had been torn down” (1 Kings 18:30)...
Matt. 9:37-38 & Isa. 6:8
God is more than a story in a dusty book. He is much more than a religious building, a doctrine that seeks to explain Him, a painting hoping to capture Him, or a well-rehearsed choir whose songs of Him inspire audiences around the globe. God is alive!
God has never failed me. God will never fail you. I am constantly learning that He is present when I can’t see Him, and that He provides in His perfect timing…always.
Many know that it has been said that God did mighty things in days long ago. The world is filled with many books of such miracles, divine providences, and the direct leading of God in the past. But God still lives NOW in the present...
Elijah set the rules of the contest high: The priests of Baal would call on their god; he would call on the name of the Lord, and the one who answered by fire would be acknowledged as God. The people agreed. The priests of Baal must have looked nervous.
These ministers of Baal worship prepared their sacrifice and called out all morning long for Baal to hear their prayers. There was no answer. They cried out all afternoon, even cutting themselves to get his attention, but there was no response.
Elijah watched the priests of Baal with interest, and so did the people. The priests stood before an impressive altar that was well maintained. The worship of Baal had pomp, excitement, grandeur, and popular support...but no living God...
A woman shyly approached April and me at the end of a revival in a small church across the prairies of Alberta, Canada. “Would you come and call for a revival in my church?” she asked. “We desperately need a revival!”
“Have the pastor of your church call me, and if God calls us to come to your church, we will come.” I assured her. Months went by. Nothing. We prayed for her church.
One day, the pastor called and invited me to come and talk to his leaders. I drove through the snow, praying as I traveled. I walked into the church and shivered. I walked down a dark hallway and finally found a side room with a small circle of discouraged leaders, waiting to talk...
A few years ago, God sent my wife April and me to live in a small mountain town. The place where I was working at the time was far away in the valley, and I had a long commute. We often wondered why God would lead us to live so far away from where I worked.
Then one day, we were fascinated to hear that just a mile or so away from our little cottage lived a wealthy couple who had not been in church for over forty years. We were told that they lived on a big piece of property, with a big iron gate guarding the entrance.
The iron gate made a statement about the man’s desire to keep his distance from his neighbors. He was known as wanting his privacy. No one ever saw him much. He just kept to himself. I began praying that I would have a divine appointment with the man who seemed impossible to reach...
A few months ago a Pentecostal Bishop reached out to American Christian Ministries (ACM) and asked for someone to be sent to preach the good news of Jesus and to disciple church leaders. He and his people had been listening to some Christian messages through ACM and he was hungry for his people to be ready for Jesus’ soon coming.
The question was, “Who would go?” The bishop lived in a remote part of South Africa known for its violence, kidnappings, and robberies, especially of foreigners. When I got an invitation from ACM to go, my wife and I were puzzled why this bishop in such a remote place would want me to come and preach to His people and disciple them. We asked God, “Is this invitation only from the bishop, or is it from You?”...
Marcus is an Elisha in my life. I flew into his country and met him for the first time. He had a hunger to know God personally, to call his community of faith to revival, and to disciple the new generations.
He asked me lots of questions, many of which I had never thought about before. Sometimes I had to request some more time, so I could pray for wisdom. He asked me what I did in certain situations and why I did what I did.
Impressed by God that Marcus was an Elisha God was calling me to invest my life in, I asked him, “What can I do for you?”
Sign up to Receive our Ministry Updates & Stories, sent out Quarterly!
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.