This week, I was listening to a Q&A session with a variety of highly respected and well-seasoned ministers. One of them mentioned that he’s never heard a good explanation of the difference between a word of knowledge and a word…
What to Do with a Prophecy
There are quite a few resources out on the internet about how to test a prophetic word to see if it is true. I’m thankful for these resources, as too many prophetic words miss the mark either in content (no,…
Mercy vs. Truth (and Spiritual Gift Checks and Balances)
In 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about how we are one body but many members – and how we need all members of the body and the gifts they bring. We need all of the gifts to function and to encourage…
Clothed with Strength and Dignity
A couple of weeks ago, a friend sent me a birthday card which contained the verse from Proverbs 31: “She is clothed with strength and dignity” (v.25). I thought, “Well, Lord, I get the clothed with strength part. But dignity?”…
Worshiping with Love vs. Truth
Many of my favorite worship songs proclaim the attributes of God. We sing that Jesus is Lord of all, that He is King, that He is holy and worthy and many other descriptions found in Scripture. Declarations like this are…
What is Holiness?
We often sing about the holiness of God. “You are holy,” we sing with all our hearts and adoration of the attributes of the Trinity. And yet, I wonder how much we understand what we’re ascribing to God when we…
Removing “Should” From Our Vocabulary
Last week, I talked about prioritizing what God is prioritizing as a way to reduce anxiety. Today I have another anti-anxiety trick: What if we removed “should” from our vocabulary? What if we didn’t think in the “I should be…
Why God Uses Prophets & Friends (instead of speaking to us directly)
Last week, I wrote a few thoughts about prophecy, and, specifically, what prophecy is and what it is not. You might be asking why God uses other people to prophesy encouragement and direction toward the testimony of Jesus instead of…
A Few Thoughts on Prophecy
The prophetic has come under fire in the last few months, and for very good reason. The best I can say about some of these so-called “prophets” is that they’re pretty good at swindling the gospel. As Paul told the…
Bible Verses About the Wilderness
The Bible talks quite a bit about the wilderness, in part because there is a lot of wilderness in the land where the people of the Bible lived! Everyone knew about the wilderness; the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for…