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Newsletters

  • A Fresh Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

    When God breathes the breath of his Spirit, everyone knows he has come. Luke, the author of Acts, writes, “Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind” (Acts 2:2). I like a different translation of this last phrase, calling it “a strong wind, a blast.”

    According to this verse, God’s breath came at Pentecost with a “sound from heaven.” Luke says this sound was mighty, rushing, filling the whole atmosphere: “It filled all the house where they were sitting” (2:2).

  • That Dreadful Day No One Wants to Talk About

    “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

    “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

  • Called to Be Christ-Like

    Recently, a dear Christian woman told me, “I’m learning my purpose in life through a class I’m taking.” She was finishing an eight-week course meant to help people discover their calling. She said everyone in the class was anxious to find their purpose.

    I heard a pastor on the radio advertising something similar. He offered to help listeners discover their spiritual gifts. If you would request his questionnaire, fill it out and send it in, his staff would evaluate your particular gifts. Then they would tell you how to find your place in the body of Christ.

  • The Unreasonableness of Faith

    When God says to humankind, “Believe,” he demands something that’s wholly beyond reason. Faith is totally illogical. Its very definition has to do with something unreasonable. Think about it: Hebrews says faith is the substance of something hoped for, evidence that’s unseen. We’re being told, in short, “There is no tangible substance. There isn’t any evidence at all.” Yet we’re asked to believe. Can you think of any demand that’s more unreasonable than this one? It says, simply, “Accept this without evidence. Trust the unseen.” It’s totally beyond logic.

  • An Ever-Increasing Faith

    "The apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5). The men who comprised Christ's close circle were asking something important of their master. They wanted a greater understanding of the meaning and workings of faith. They were saying, in essence, "Lord, what sort of faith do you desire from us? Give us a revelation of the kind that pleases you. We want to grasp faith in its fullest meaning."

  • Keep Yourself in the Love of God

    Thirty-five years ago, God put it on my heart to start a boys' home in Amityville, New York, on Long Island. I truly sensed the Lord was behind this work. Yet, after just a year and a half, state officials put impossible stringent regulations on the home. They told us we had to have a full-time psychologist on staff, as well as a priest or rabbi if we took in boys who were Catholic or Jewish. We couldn't afford to operate under those restrictions, so we simply shut our doors.

  • The Heaviness of Sin!

    You know the story of King David - how he committed adultery with Bathsheba and secretly arranged for her husband's death. Yet, after the prophet Nathan exposed David's sin, holding it up before his face, the broken king repented of his horrible misdeeds. And he later wrote four psalms expressing the distress and terror he had felt as a result of his sin.

  • Tame Your Tongue

    "But the tongue no man can tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison" (James 3:8).

    In this verse from his epistle, James is talking about the tongues of believers. He is issuing a call to the church to gain control of their tongues — before they are destroyed by them!

    How serious is this matter of taming the tongue, you ask? Can an "unruly tongue" really be that sinful?

  • Sin Shall Not Have Dominion Over You!

    "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14).

    Beloved, if we did not know God's Word is absolutely true, I believe we would think this verse a mockery!

    It is amazing to me how long people can continue living with hidden sin in their hearts. By putting on a good front, they can get away with it for a long time. They can hide their sin from their husband, wife, children, friends and pastor. But the Bible warns: "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).