I was once a guest preacher in a church in the United States with a foreign-born pastor. I noticed that amazing growth had taken place in this pastor’s church—over five thousand people had joined the congregation in two years. This was very uncommon. I asked...
November 2016 Jesus came to reveal not only Who God is, but who we are. Here are a few revelations that the Scriptures give us about Who Jesus is and how much we—all of us—are like Him: “[Now] He [Christ] is the exact likeness of the unseen...
Nothing is cheap, easy, or free. Salvation itself came at a great price to God and Jesus Christ. He was willing to pay a price we could not pay, so we would experience a life we did not have. Those who receive Him receive that...
In a healthy discussion with a pastor friend of mine, we talked about the attributes of God and how this question is a subtle but great divider in the body of Christ. It will help you to know the answer. If you answered ‘yes’ to the question,...
“Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude.” —John Henry Jowett When we moved to Russia in the early 90’s it was a very grey place. I remember the heaviness...
Religion cannot help you. It has ritual, tradition, and history—yet it has no life to offer. Religion has postured itself as the connection to God, and requires you to go through various forms and rituals in order to keep this connection. The Good News is that...
There was a young man at one of our services who was mentally ill. Because of his illness, he could not speak clearly. It was almost impossible to understand what he was saying. His life was terrible: he lived in the streets, feeding from the...
Many years ago, my husband and I went to the Philippines where I preached to a big congregation. I remember how during the sermon the Holy Spirit urged me to repeat again and again, “Jesus saves! Jesus heals! Jesus saves! Jesus heals! Jesus saves! Jesus...
In the early 1990's when we were pioneering church plants across Russia, we set a goal to launch 5 churches in the now open city of Kazan, which had a long history of being half Muslim and half Orthodox. People were walking away from atheism to...
I believe there are moments that transform a life. Your future does not always hinge on the long hours you put into building your present—a new person, new opportunity, or new thought can set you on a dramatic new course. One of those moments occurred in...