Category Archives: Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Forgetfulness

March 17, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. —2 Peter 1:12

A number of years ago, I received one of those dreaded notices in the mail. It was time for me to take my driving test again. I thought, I’ve been driving for many years. I don’t think I need to read the manual again. When I showed up at the DMV for my appointment, I was handed a written test. Some of the questions stumped me a bit, but I thought I did reasonably well. I realized that I could only miss three. I took my test back to the DMV employee and watched her as she pulled out a red pen and, with great relish, began to look over my test. She marked one . . . two, then three, four, five, six. . . .

“You have to take the test again,” she told me.

I took it again and passed the test — barely. It was a humiliating experience. Because I have driven every day for years, I thought I knew all of the basics. But obviously I didn’t. It reminded me that I don’t necessarily know as much as I think I do.

There are things in life that we forget. That is one of the reasons Peter wrote his second epistle. He said, “Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me” (2 Peter 1:13-14). If you focus on these things that you should never forget, God says you will never stumble or fall (verse 10), and He will give you an abundant entrance into His kingdom.

Greg Laurie – Faithful in the Little Things

March 15, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. —Luke 16:10

When I was a young Christian attending Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, I would listen to Pastor Chuck Smith and some of the other pastors and think, That is what I want to do. I want to serve the Lord like that. I want to speak.

I had been a believer for about three or four months when I went to see Pastor Chuck one afternoon. I sat down in his office and said, “I’ve been listening to you speak. I want you to know that I want to be used by God. Whatever you want me to do around here, I would be happy to do it.”

I was kind of hoping he might say, “Greg, why don’t you teach for me Sunday morning?” or something like that. Instead, he suggested that I talk to Romaine, another pastor at Calvary Chapel. (Romaine was a former drill sergeant in the Marine Corps.) So I went to Romaine’s office and told him, “I want to be used by God.”

“You do?”

I said, “Yes, I do. I want to serve the Lord.”

“That’s great,” he said. “See that broom? See that tree? Start sweeping.”

There was a pepper tree on the church property, which I believed had only one function: to drop leaves. I would sweep under this tree, and one minute later, there would be two hundred more leaves. I would sweep it up. Two hundred more leaves. That was all I did for weeks, even months. I just swept that tree and did little things around the church. But that was good. They were testing my faithfulness. Do you want to be used by God? Then be faithful in the little things.

Greg Laurie – Spreading Our Wings

March 14, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

You know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. —James 1:3–4

When a mother eagle teaches an eaglet to fly, she will very unceremoniously kick it out of the nest, which is usually ninety feet or more above the ground. As the little bird is falling, she will wait until it almost hits the ground. Then she will swoop down, pick it up, put it back into the nest, and kick it out again. She will do this again and again. After a while, that little eaglet starts using its wings. Now, this may seem like a cruel way to teach something, but that is how eagles learn to fly.

Sometimes God will kick you out of your nest. You might be in a comfort zone in which everything is going the way you want it to. Then the Lord will say, “It’s time for you to grow up. It’s time for you to stretch your faith. It’s time for you to spread your wings.”

God will test you because He wants you to mature. He wants you to develop a walk with Him that is not based on your fluctuating emotions, but on your commitment to Him as you learn to walk by faith.

Notice that James 1:2 does not say, “Count it all joy if you fall into various trials.” Rather, it says, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (emphasis added). It’s only a matter of time until the next trial will come along. It isn’t an option. We all will be tested. The question is, when these tests come will you pass or fail?

Greg Laurie – The Trap of Compromise

March 13, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

We are not ignorant of his devices. —2 Corinthians 2:11

When I was a kid, I collected snakes. I don’t know why, but I thought snakes were very cool. It was my goal in life to become a herpetologist. I read up on snakes and owned a number of them.

My mom, who was very tolerant of my hobby, took me to the pet store one day to pick up a new snake. We put it in the trunk of the car in a little box, but by the time we got home, the box was empty. The snake was gone.

My mom said, “I am never driving my car again.”

But a situation arose in which she had to drive. As she was waiting at a traffic light, she felt a cold coil drop onto her ankle. She thought the missing snake was making a reappearance. So she opened the car door and jumped out, screaming at the top of her lungs. A police officer happened to be there and asked what was wrong. She told him that a snake was in her car. He went over to investigate, and as it turned out, the “snake” she felt actually was a hose that had come loose and fell down onto her leg.

We never found the snake. There had been just a little opening in that box, and it escaped. The Devil is like that snake. When you give him a small opening in your life, watch out. You may think, I’ll just compromise a little bit here. . . . I’ll just lower my guard a little bit there. I can handle it. This is no problem. But the next thing you know, the Devil has sunk his fangs into you, and you’re going down fast. So be very, very careful.

Greg Laurie – The Law That Liberates

March 12, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. —James 1:25

One afternoon, a brightly colored little bird landed in my backyard. My German Shepherd was a few feet away, and I knew the moment he saw that bird, it would become an appetizer for him. So I went over to the bird and bent down. It was shaking, with its feathers fluffed. When I held out my finger, the little bird hopped on.

I walked into the house and said to my wife, “Cathe, look at this little bird.” She turned around to see it perched on my finger.

“Where did you get that?”

“Our backyard.”

“It must be someone’s pet.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know who it belongs to.”

Just then, my son Jonathan walked in. He told us about a girl down the street who had a bird that died. He offered to run and get the cage. When he brought it back, we put it on the kitchen counter, opened the door, and placed the bird inside. The bird, which had stayed frozen on my finger all this time, suddenly came alive. He started chirping and hopping from perch to perch. His feathers smoothed down. It was obvious that he liked his new surroundings. Then it dawned on me: what we saw as a means to contain this little bird was, from his standpoint, a means of security and protection.

In the same way, God gives us His law. He gives us His standards. While we might see them as restrictive, they are, in reality, our source of protection. This is “the perfect law of liberty” that James is speaking of.

Greg Laurie – His Way or Your Way?

March 11, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

For Such a Time as This

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.— James 4:13-14

The Bible doesn’t condemn the person who makes plans for the future. Rather, it criticizes the person who makes those plans with no thought whatsoever for the will of God. That is a dangerous thing to do. God won’t share His glory with another.

There is nothing wrong with making plans. Paul told the believers in Ephesus that he would return for renewed ministry among them, “God willing” (Acts 18:21). He wrote to the Corinthians that he planned another visit “if the Lord willed” (1 Corinthians 4:19). On other occasions, Paul spoke of his plans to do certain things and how the Lord changed his plans. We have our plans. We have our purposes. We have our agendas. But the Lord may redirect us.

Jesus taught us to pray, “Your will be done” (Luke 11:2). Our prayers will be effective and successful when we align our will with the will of God and pray accordingly. Prayer is not getting our will in heaven; it is getting God’s will on earth. It is not moving God our way; it is moving ourselves His way. We need to remember that His will may be different from ours. And we must be willing to accept that.

The God who knows you inside out also knows what lies ahead for you in life. We can always fall back on the simple promise of Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

God’s plans for you are better than any plans you have for yourself. So don’t be afraid of God’s will, even if it’s different from yours.

Greg Laurie – For Such a Time as This

March 10, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? —Esther 4:14

The book of Esther contains a wonderful and dramatic story of a beautiful, young Jewish girl named Esther who actually won a beauty contest and, as a result, was made the queen of the kingdom. She was taken into the palace of the king, where she could enjoy the finest food, wear the most beautiful clothing, and have numerous servants at her bidding. She was living in the lap of luxury.

But there was a wicked man named Haman working for the king. He hated the Jewish people and devised a wicked plot to exterminate all the Jews living in the kingdom. Haman was going about his business, seeing to it that his plan would come to pass.

Esther had an uncle named Mordecai who was concerned that his niece was in a place where she could influence the king to turn away from Haman’s horrible plan, yet she was afraid to act. So Mordecai sent this message to Esther:

Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:13-14)

So Esther went to the king and appealed to him, and Haman’s wicked plot was averted. Who knows that God has not put you where you are right now for such a time as this? In whatever situation you find yourself, seize the moment. Do what you can. That’s what Esther boldly did.

Find yourself in a situation not of your own choosing? Esther did. Yet she seized the moment and made the most of where God placed her. . . .

Greg Laurie – Not the Time to Stop

March 8, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

You, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith. —Jude 1:20

A sign posted at the end of the road on an airport runway reads, “Keep moving. If you stop, you are in danger and a danger to those who are flying.” We could apply the same principle to the Christian life: Keep moving. If you stop, you are in danger.

Why should we keep moving? Because we have a natural tendency to slip back into our old, sinful ways. Just as a car parked on a hill will naturally roll backward when shifted into neutral, we will naturally go the wrong way if we shift our Christian lives into neutral and stop seeking to learn and grow as believers.

Take a flower and a weed for example. Our old nature, that part of us that doesn’t want to obey God, is like a weed. Our new nature is like a flower. Now, my wife Cathe loves to grow flowers. She will tend them, care for them, fertilize them, and pull any weeds that get remotely close to them. And in the time it has taken for those flowers to grow a few inches, a weed will have found a crack in the sidewalk and has grown eighteen feet tall. How much nurturing did the weed need? None. It simply took off. Like Cathe’s beautiful flowers, our new nature needs nurturing. We need to do the things that will build us up spiritually. But if we cease to do those things, that old nature will come back to haunt us.

The Christian life isn’t just about obeying commandments. It is also about wanting to please the Lord, wanting to grow, and wanting to become more like Him.

Greg Laurie – An Undivided Heart

March 7, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. —Matthew 5:8

The apostle Paul said, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Philippians 3:13).

Now, there is a person who had an undivided heart. Many of us today could say, “These eight things I do” or “These four things I do” instead of saying, “This one thing I do.” It’s the problem of a divided heart.

The word pure in Matthew 5:8 means “undivided.” In other words, blessed, or happy, is the person who has an undivided heart. Happy is the man or woman with a pure heart. Happy is the person who knows where he or she is going in life, who has priorities and lives by them. Happy is the person who isn’t trying to live in two worlds.

We live in such a wicked time in which we are exposed to so many things that could be spiritually harmful. It seems that we are lacking purity today. But according to Romans 16:19, we as believers are “to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.” Another translation reads, “I would have you well versed and wise as to what is good and innocent and guileless as to what is evil” (amp).

God is offering you true happiness, which is not contingent on how much you have, but on whom you know. If you don’t get your life properly aligned with God, you always will be chasing an elusive dream. But if you get your life aligned with God and start seeking Him, you will find purpose in life. You will find the happiness you are seeking.

Greg Laurie – Poor in Spirit

March 6, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” —Matthew 5:2–3

When Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” the word poor that He used is a verb meaning “to shrink, cower, or cringe.” It describes a destitute person or someone who is completely dependent on others for help.

But Jesus didn’t just say, “Blessed are the poor.” He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Jesus was not addressing a person’s economic situation but their spiritual condition. Let’s not miss what this is saying: Blessed, or happy, is the person who recognizes his or her spiritual poverty apart from God. Happy is the man or woman who sees what they really are in God’s sight: lost, hopeless, and helpless.

Apart from Jesus Christ, everyone is spiritually poor. Regardless of our education, accomplishments, or religious knowledge, we are all spiritually destitute. How often we will look at someone in prison or the down-and-outer or the drug addict and think, Now, there is someone who is spiritually destitute. Then we look at ourselves. Maybe we have lived a relatively refined life. Maybe we have a good education or have accomplished certain things. We say, “I am not as destitute as that person.” In one sense, that may be true. But in another sense, it isn’t true at all. Before God, all people are spiritually destitute and unable to help themselves.

Some people have a hard time admitting this. It’s difficult for us to acknowledge that we need to reach out to God, that we need His forgiveness. But if we want to be forgiven, if we want to be happy, then we must humble ourselves and admit our need.

Greg Laurie – What Is Happiness?

March 5, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord. —Psalm 144:15

A distraught, miserable man was looking for help and sought the counsel of a liberal minister. Looking at the unhappy condition of the man, the minister said, “Just forget about those things. Why don’t you go see that famous comedian who’s appearing at a local comedy club? I hear that he’s keeping everyone in stitches. Go listen to him, and you’ll forget how miserable you feel.”

After a moment of silence, the man said, “I am that comedian.”

What is happiness? I think the world’s version of it is quite different than the Bible’s version. The happiness of this world depends on circumstances. If you are in good health, the bills are paid, and things are going well, then according to the world’s philosophy, you are happy. But if someone cuts you off on the freeway, or if something else goes wrong, then suddenly you are unhappy. Your happiness hinges on what is happening at a given moment.

The Bible gives us a completely different view of this thing called happiness. According to Scripture, true happiness is never something that should be sought directly; it always results from seeking something else. When we are trying to be happy, when we are trying to be fulfilled, we rarely are. But when we forget about those things and get back to the very purpose for which God put us on earth, suddenly we find the wonderful byproduct of happiness popping up in our lives.

When we seek holiness, we will find happiness. When we seek righteousness, we will become happy people because our will is aligned with the will of God as we walk in harmony with Him. The rest of life will then find the proper balance.

Greg Laurie – Strength in Numbers

March 4, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. —Matthew 18:19–20

No question about it, when Christians get together and pray, things will happen. It is good to join forces with other believers. But let’s not misunderstand. It doesn’t mean that if two Christians agree to pray together that God will give them a Learjet, God will answer their prayers. What Jesus was saying is that if two people get their wills in alignment with the will of God, agree together in that area, and keep praying about it, then they will see results.

That is why we need to pray with our Christian friends. That is why we need to call up people and say, “Let’s pray about this together.” That is why Christians need to be involved in church. If you want to grow spiritually, then you must be a part of a congregation of believers. It isn’t optional. You need to become part of a group of believers, build friendships with them, and become a productive part of that body. If you aren’t involved in a church on a regular basis, then I would venture to say you that you are probably floundering spiritually.

Just as you must eat, drink, and breathe to live, you must read the Bible, pray, and be involved in a church to stay spiritually alive and vital. You never will outgrow these things. You will need them until your final day on this earth. And if you neglect these things, I guarantee that you will have a spiritual breakdown.

Greg Laurie – Waiting for Answers

March 3, 2014 broboinhawaii 1 Comment

He said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.” —Daniel 10:12

An interesting story in the Old Testament book of Daniel offers us a rare, behind-the scenes look at what happens when we pray. The Bible tells us that Daniel was praying and that his prayer reached heaven. God heard Daniel’s prayer and dispatched an angel with a special message for Daniel. But the angel who was sent from heaven was held up for twenty-one days because he was engaged in spiritual warfare with a powerful demon spirit. As a result, God dispatched Michael the archangel. (You might say that Michael is a head honcho among angels.) Michael was sent, who overruled the demon power, and the answer eventually was brought to Daniel. But it took twenty-one days for the answer to get there.

Sometimes when God doesn’t answer our prayers as quickly as we would like Him to, we think that He is letting us down. We need to understand that delays aren’t necessarily denials.

When we pray and don’t see an answer as quickly as we would like, it may be a result of circumstances that we can’t see. There might even be a spiritual battle raging behind the scenes. Maybe you’ve been praying for someone to come to know the Lord. Maybe you’ve been asking God to heal you. Perhaps you’ve been asking the Lord to open doors of opportunity for you to serve Him. Don’t give up. Don’t be discouraged. Keep praying. Jesus said to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, and the door would be opened. So be persistent. And watch what God will do.

Greg Laurie – Just Pray

March 1, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. —1 Timothy 1:8

Three ministers were debating the best posture for prayer. One claimed the best way to pray is to always have your hands pressed together and pointing upward. The second insisted the best way to pray is on your knees, while the third was convinced the best way to pray is stretched out on the floor, flat on your face.

As they were debating, a repairman from the telephone company overheard their conversation while he was working in the next room. He walked in and said, “Excuse me, gentlemen. I don’t mean to interrupt, and I am certainly no theologian. But I have found that the most powerful prayer I have ever prayed was when I was dangling upside down from a power pole, suspended forty feet above the ground.”

When we look at instances of prayer in the Bible, we discover that any posture will do. People prayed while standing, lifting their hands, sitting, lying down, kneeling, lifting their eyes, bowing, and pounding their chest.

We also see that any place will do. People prayed during battle, in a cave, in a closet, in a garden, on a mountainside, by a river, in the sea, in the street, in a home, in bed, in prison, in the wilderness, and in the belly of a great fish. So any place will do.

Last, we find that any time will do. People prayed early in the morning, in the mid-morning, in the evening, three times a day, before meals, after meals, at bedtime, and at midnight. Both day and night are good times for prayer. Isn’t that great to know? You can pray anytime, anyplace, and in any posture. So just pray.

Greg Laurie – The Great Thing About Prayer

February 28, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Never stop praying. —1 Thessalonians 5:17

I clearly remember when I was a new Christian and first began to pray. I had never prayed in my life. I wasn’t aware that I could know God in such a way as to call on Him and listen to Him. I also remember the first time I prayed with a group of other Christians. I was so nervous. With every word, I was convinced I was bombing in my prayer. My heart was pounding and my throat was dry.

Sometimes we think we don’t know how to pray properly because we’re not sure how to phrase certain things. We wonder if we should use some special kind of language or pray in a certain posture. But these aren’t the main issues at all. Far from it! The most important thing is our hearts. The great thing about prayer is that God looks primarily at our hearts. Even if our prayers aren’t perfectly structured, even if they aren’t eloquent, if they come from a heart that is directed toward God, then they are pleasing to Him.

God keeps up with all the latest terminology, so don’t worry about that. He knows what you are saying. He knows what you are thinking. The main thing is to start praying. Just start where you are and speak to God straight from your heart.

Luke 18:1 tells us that Jesus told his disciples a story “to show that they should always pray and never give up” (NLT). So spend time in prayer. You can pray at home. You can pray while you’re stuck in traffic.

We read in the Bible that people of all ages from different walks of life prayed every day, always, in any posture, and under all circumstances. God can hear prayer at any time in any place.

Greg Laurie – Ask for Help

February 27, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. —Luke 11:10

The Bible tells the story of Simon Peter, who was out walking on the water with Jesus. When the impossibility of the situation began to dawn on him, however, his faith faltered. He cried out, “Lord, save me!”

How easily Jesus could have said, “Where is your faith, Peter? You made your bed; now lie on it. Try swimming.” But the Bible says, “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him” (Matthew 14:31). Immediately. I like that.

When you begin to sink and cry out, “Lord, save me!” He will immediately reach out. But you must cry out for His help. That is hard for some of us to do.

As a kid, I spent a lot of time at the beach. When I was out bodysurfing one day, a big set of waves started coming in. So, I did what I was supposed to do: I swam toward the waves and went under them. When I looked up, there was another set. I swam under those too. One set after another came. The people on the beach were looking like little ants. Suddenly, I felt exhausted — with no strength left and nothing to hold onto. In that moment, I knew I was in trouble.

I realized I had two choices. I could cry, “Help!” and the lifeguard would come running with his life preserver. When we got to shore, my friends would laugh, and I would never live it down. Or, I could drown with dignity.

I cried out! A lot of us don’t want to admit our need. We don’t want to cry out to God. We want to maintain our dignity. But every day of my life, I need the best God has to offer. And you do too.

Greg Laurie – Bring Your Flowers Now!

February 26, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

She will always be remembered for this deed. The story of what she has done will be told throughout the whole world, wherever the Good News is preached. —Matthew 26:13

My granddaughter Stella loves to pick flowers. She will come to me and, with a smile on her beautiful face, will say, “These are for you, Papa!” It always warms my heart. There is a story in the Bible of a woman named Mary who understood what Jesus meant when He said He was going to die. Though it somehow did not seem to penetrate the minds of His own handpicked disciples who had spent their every waking hour with Him for three years, Mary understood.

One night, Jesus and His friends were gathered at the house of Simon in Bethany. She listened as the Lord quietly spoke to the audience gathered. But with the intuition inherent in women, she saw and heard something else. She saw the lines etching His face and read aright the problems reflected in His eyes. An inner sense told her that the disciples were wrong in expecting a kingdom. The Master meant what He had said and said what He meant: He literally was going to Jerusalem to be crucified.

She couldn’t begin to grasp something so terrible but accepted it because He said it. She had to do something. She would not wait to give some floral tribute at His funeral. She would bring her flowers now! She would give the very best she possibly could.

So Mary took some very expensive perfume that was probably a family heirloom and poured it on the head of Jesus. Some were angry at her and criticized her for such a waste, as the street value of such a perfume was around $25,000. But in Mary’s mind, nothing was too good for Jesus, and she wanted to show her love to Him.

Jesus was impressed and even commended her for it. He said “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her” (Matthew 26:13). Nothing is ever wasted if it is given with a right heart for God’s glory.

That’s a good thing to remember about people you love — people who have impacted you as a Christian. Don’t wait until their funeral to say it. Say it now. Bring your flowers now.

Greg Laurie – An Appointment with God

February 25, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” —Genesis 3:9

In addition to walking in harmony with God, Amos 3:3 provides another nuance of meaning. It also gives the idea of keeping an appointment. Did you know that you have an appointment with God? You do. It is there, written in eternity. In fact, God wants to meet with you on a regular basis.

I wonder just how many times each day that God wants to speak to us, but He can’t get a word in edgewise. The Lord might say, “I have wanted to talk to you for a long time, but you are too busy. This morning I wanted to talk to you, but you didn’t have any time for Me. You read the newspapers and watched TV and talked on the phone. You never opened the Word. You never prayed. At lunch I tried to say something, but your prayer was so fast. Later I tried to talk with you. You have been so busy. You have an appointment with Me. Why don’t you keep it?”

Remember how Adam had an appointment with God every day in the Garden of Eden? He would hear the voice of the Lord in the Garden in the cool of the evening. One day Adam missed that appointment because of sin. God said to Adam, “Where are you?”

I wonder if the Lord would say that to some of us each day: “Where are you? Where were you? I have been looking for you. I wanted to speak to you. I want you to walk with Me, and I want to walk with you.”

Just imagine, the Creator of the universe wants to spend time with you! Is there any appointment that is worth keeping more than this one?

Greg Laurie – Going His Way?

February 24, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction? —Amos 3:3

I have a German shepherd that was a former guide dog for the blind. Because he had slight hip dysplasia, he was put up for adoption. When we got him, he was perfectly trained. We could take him anywhere. He was happy to sit next to us. Another dog would walk by and he couldn’t care less.

Then I got a hold of him. I would unleash him and let him run around in the park. Day by day he started getting worse. The next thing you know, he was lunging at dogs and taking off after cats and rabbits and squirrels.

I called the people we got him from and asked what went wrong. They told me I couldn’t let him do all that “dog stuff.” I couldn’t let him stop and sniff where he wanted to sniff. I couldn’t let him chase rabbits. They gave me a little muzzlelike device to put on him. Gaining control of his muzzle meant he would obey, because it would hurt to pull away. When I took the device off him, he was in sync with me again.

We can be like that with God sometimes. We are running around and being crazy, doing what we want to do. So the Lord has to pull us back into line because He wants us to walk with Him.

To walk with God means that I must get into harmony with Him. I must go the direction that God wants me to go.

How about you? Are you walking with God today? Or are you pulling against Him, trying to do things your own way? If so, then it’s time to stop, ask God’s forgiveness, and get in sync with Him once again.

Greg Laurie – Dealing with Distraction

February 22, 2014 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. —1 Corinthians 9:26

In first-century track competitions, each runner would be assigned to a lane on the track. Each was expected to stay in his assigned lane. In the same way, as you and I run the race of life, our competition is not with other believers. Rather, our competition is with our enemies, who are the world, the flesh, and the Devil. The goal is not to outrun someone else. The goal is to outrun those wicked influences that could bring us down.

You might justify your slow pace by pointing to other people still running behind you. True. But there are probably some people ahead of you too. You aren’t to concern yourself with who is behind you or who is ahead of you. You are to run the race before you. God has not called you to run someone else’s race. We are each called to run our own race.

An incident from the life of Peter illustrates this truth. After Peter had been restored to the Lord following His denial, Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Then the Lord proceeded to tell Peter how his life would end. As they were talking, Peter noticed another disciple, John, was walking behind them. Peter asked, “What about him, Lord?” (John 21:21, NLT).

Jesus said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, you follow me” (verse 22, NLT). A loose paraphrase would be, “Peter, My plans for John are none of your business. You just do what I’ve told you to do.”

I ask you today, are you just offering a half-hearted effort in the race of life? Or are you running the race to win?

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