Tag Archives: laurie

Greg Laurie – Surrender at Gethsemane

March 26, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”—Mark 14:34

Have you ever felt lonely? Have you ever felt as though your friends and family had abandoned you? Have you ever felt like you were misunderstood? Have you ever had a hard time understanding or submitting to the will of God for your life?

If so, then you have an idea of what the Lord Jesus went through as He agonized at Gethsemane.

Hebrews tells us, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it” (4:15–16 NLT).

The Bible tells us that Jesus was “a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (Isaiah 53:3 NLT). But the sorrow He experienced in Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion seemed to be the culmination of all the sorrow He had ever known and would accelerate to a climax the following day. The ultimate triumph that was to take place at Calvary was first accomplished beneath the gnarled old olive trees of Gethsemane.

It is interesting that the very word Gethsemane means “olive press.” Olives were pressed there to make oil, and truly, Jesus was being pressed from all sides that He might bring life to us. I don’t think we can even begin to fathom what He was going through.

But look at what it accomplished. It brought about your salvation and mine. Because of what Jesus went through at Gethsemane and ultimately at the cross, we can call upon His name. Though it was an unfathomably painful, horrific transition, it was necessary for the ultimate goal of what was accomplished.

Maybe you are at a crisis point in your life right now—a personal Gethsemane, if you will. You have your will; you know what you want. Yet you can sense that God’s will is different.

Would you let the Lord choose for you? Would you be willing to say, “Lord, I am submitting my will to Yours. Not my will, but yours be done”? You will not regret making that decision.

Greg Laurie – Easter Brings Hope

March 25, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”—John 11:25

Easter is not about brightly colored eggs, wearing pastels, or enjoying a big meal, although it could include these. Easter is about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

For some, Easter will be a great day, spent surrounded by family and friends. But for others, it will be a sad day, because Easter is a reminder of a loved one who has died and is now desperately missed.

Death seems so cruel, so harsh, and so final. That is what the disciples were feeling when they saw their Lord, whom they had left everything to follow, hanging on the cross. They were devastated. Death had crushed them. But if they would have gone back in their memories, they would have recalled an important event and statement Jesus had made.

They would have remembered Jesus standing at the tomb of his close friend Lazarus. They would have remembered that Jesus did something completely unexpected: He wept (see John 11:35). Jesus wept, because He knew that death was not part of God’s original plan. Humanity was not meant to grow old, to suffer with disease, or to die. But because of the sin of Adam and Eve, sin entered the human race, and death followed with it. And death spread to all of us. Jesus wept, because it broke His heart.

But standing there at Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus also delivered these hope-filled words: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25). Death is not the end. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ proves it.

If you have put your faith in Christ, then Easter means that you will live forever in the presence of God. Easter brings hope to the person who has been devastated by death.

Greg Laurie –Purple Ribbons

March 23, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us—Hebrews 12:1

When I was a kid, I had all kinds of ribbons on my walls for races I had run, but not one of them was blue. Not one of them had the words “first place.” They were all purple. Purple represented “honorable mention.” An honorable mention is not first, second, third, or fourth place. It means “also ran.” In other words, “We don’t want him to feel bad, so we’ll give him a purple ribbon.”

Go for the Gold.

Of course, everyone wants first place. Everyone wants to win the gold medal. That’s where the prestige and popularity are. That’s where you get all the strokes and the “atta-boys.”

But let me say this. I am running this race of life, and the Bible tells me that one day in heaven there will be a reward waiting for me. It won’t be based on how much I have done or how much recognition I have gained in the course of my life. It will be based on how faithful I was to what God called me to do. The same is true for you. Your reward will be based on how faithful you have been through the days of your life to the calling you have received from God.

Run for Jesus.

Let me also say that I am not running this race for the reward. Nor am I running it for other people or to score points. I am running this race for Jesus. He is the One we all should be running for.

The apostle Paul presents the same principle in Philippians 3:10: “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. . ..” Paul was saying, “This is why I’m doing it. My purpose for running this race is to know Jesus Christ.” That is what mattered to him. And that is what should matter to us.

Greg Laurie – The Church’s Forgotten Word

March 22, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”—Acts 17:30

When the apostle Paul proclaimed the gospel to the men of Athens, he used a word that we rarely hear today: repent. He said, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30–31, emphasis added).

Notice that Paul didn’t say, “I suggest you repent” or “I advise you to repent” or “I hope you repent.” Paul was saying that God commands people everywhere to repent. And “repent” means to change your direction. Instead of running away from God, you run to God.

But why should we repent? Paul gives the answer in verse 31: “because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world.” A day of judgment is coming. There is coming a day in which God “will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.”

There was a time when the church was criticized for its hellfire-and-brimstone preaching. But when is the last time you have heard a hellfire-and-brimstone preacher? I would venture to say that it has been a long time.

In fact, there are some preachers who are questioning whether hell even exists, although Jesus spoke about it more than all of the other preachers in the Bible put together.

I have heard a lot of feel-good preachers. I have heard a lot of preachers who say that God wants me wealthy. I have heard a lot of preachers tell me a lot of crazy stuff.

But the Bible says there is indeed a future judgment. And there is no avoiding it.

Greg Laurie – Profound Simplicity

March 21, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek—Romans 1:16

My granddaughter Rylie heard a story in Sunday School about the boy that ran away from home. So I said, “Well, tell me the story.”

So she told me the entire story of the prodigal son: “This boy ran away from his dad, and he did bad things. And then he realized what he did was wrong, and he came home to his dad.”

“What did his dad do?” I asked. “Did his dad spank him?”

“No. No. His dad threw his arms around him and loved him and kissed him.”

“That’s right. So what do you think that story means? Who is the dad?”

“Well, the dad is like God.”

She got it. Jesus told truths so profound that the greatest minds can spend hours, even years, discussing them, but so simple that a child can understand them.

A philosophical argument has its place. However, there is power in the message of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And I have found that if I will just stand up and proclaim this message, that God will do amazing things—not because I am a great preacher, but because I have a great message and have confidence in it. I also believe that when I proclaim it, people will respond. And they do, because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.

We all can proclaim this simple message—so simple that a child can understand it—because that is where the power is. That is what moves people.

The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2: 2).

An effective evangelistic message will make a beeline to the cross.

Greg Laurie – Three Vital Questions

March 20, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest? Has My hand not made all these things?”—Acts 7:49–50

Every thinking person gets around to asking the questions “Where did I come from?”, “Why am I here?”, and “Where am I going?” Science attempts to answer the first question, philosophy seeks to answer the second one, and Jesus has the answer to all three.

Where did I come from? We were created by God in His image. And we were created with a void in our lives that cannot be filled with anything this world has to offer. It can only be filled through a relationship with Him.

Why am I here? We are here to know the God who created us and to walk in fellowship with Him, discovering His unique plan for our lives.

Where am I going? Well, that is up to you. Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Matthew 7:13).

Atheism has gained a little traction of late due to the popularity of books written by atheists. I don’t think most people are atheists, but some might describe themselves as agnostics. They won’t say there is a God, nor will they say there isn’t. They just don’t know.

Speaking in Athens, Paul said, “The One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands” (Acts 17:23–24). Paul was saying there is a God, and He is the Creator of all things.

If you believe that you evolved and came from nowhere and that your life has no eternal purpose, then you have no accounting to give to anyone. But there is a God who made you.

Greg Laurie – Culturally Relevant

March 19, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him–though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ ” —Acts 17:27–28

To reach people with the gospel, we must be culturally relevant. Sometimes we Christians can be paranoid when it comes to knowing anything about our culture. We don’t want to listen to secular music. We don’t want to watch any movies except Christian ones. But to reach someone, we need to know a little about them.

When the apostle Paul spoke at the Areopagus in Athens, he built a bridge with his audience before he brought the gospel message: “For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring’ ” (Acts 17:28). Paul began by quoting one of their Greek poets. He engaged them. He spoke in a language they understood.

I am not suggesting that we should compromise with people to share the gospel. Nor am I suggesting that we do things that violate what Scripture says. But I am saying that we have to go where people are, speak in a language they understand, and know a little bit about the culture around us so we can relate in an understandable way. And if Paul did this, then we need to do it as well.

Many churches today are out of touch with their culture. They are answering questions no one is asking, and they are not answering the questions that are being asked. We can’t expect a culture that knows very little about the Bible to understand the terminology we use. In fact, we can end a conversation before it even begins by insulting the people we speak with. We use language they don’t understand. We come off as arrogant or even condescending.

When Paul shared the gospel, he sought to build a bridge, not burn one. And we should do the same.

Greg Laurie – Dialogue, Not Monologue

March 18, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some—1 Corinthians 9:22

Our world today is full of religious people, but they don’t use that word to describe themselves. They use a different word: spiritual. They will describe themselves as very spiritual and then will add, “But I’m not into organized religion.”

Statements like this can become a segue for sharing the gospel. As believers we can say, “Really? I am a spiritual person too. In fact, I am really into spiritual things, and I want to talk to you a little bit about some really important spiritual truth I have discovered.”

This isn’t compromising. Rather, it is simply using understandable language to build a bridge so you can talk about your relationship with Jesus Christ.

When the apostle Paul addressed the men of Athens, he said, “I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about” (Acts 17:22–23).

Paul didn’t say, “Hey, what you are doing is legit.” He simply used language they could understand to connect with them about the most important message. Evangelism is a dialogue, not a monologue. You ask a question, and they give you an answer. Then you respond to what they said. They say something, and you say something.

This is what Paul was talking about when he said, “Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). One of the best ways to reach someone is to just listen.

However, we must never lower our standards to extend our reach. Don’t compromise your message, but try to establish a dialogue.

Greg Laurie – Strength in Troubled Times

March 16, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Where will you turn in a time of crisis? When tragedy hits? When disaster strikes? Will it be your favorite magazine? The morning newspaper? The evening news? You will need something to give you strength and direction in your time of need—and you cannot find a better resource than the Word of God.

As one writer said, “One gem from that ocean is worth all of the pebbles from earthly streams.” Just a single pebble from the ocean of God’s Word can make all the difference when tragedy or hardship strikes. How many in their affliction have found comfort from the Scripture?

Trusting in what God has said through the Bible can sustain us and give us direction and hope and comfort when we most need it. Little platitudes or clever sayings don’t help, but the Word of God does. It has been said that “he who rejects the Bible has nothing to live by. Neither does he have anything to die by.”

Things go in and out of style, but the Word of God never goes out of style. It never goes out of date, unlike this morning’s newspaper. The Word of God always will be relevant.

That is why C.S. Lewis once said, “Everything that is not eternal is eternally out of date.”

I urge you to get a good foundation in this Book, because it is only a matter of time until hardship strikes you. It happens in every life, without exception. But if you have a good foundation in the Word of God, then you will be ready for difficulty when it comes. Don’t wait until then to try and catch up.

Get that foundation now.

Greg Laurie – Infiltrate, Not Isolate

March 15, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance—1 Peter 3:9

Far too often it seems that Christians don’t want to have any contact with unbelievers. Maybe they don’t want to talk to them for fear of being polluted spiritually. But the church needs to infiltrate, not isolate. And to reach our culture, Christians must go where people are.

I am not saying that we should spend time around unbelievers and stay silent about our faith. We should speak up for Christ when the moment is right. At the very least, we should live a godly life as an example of what it is to follow Jesus Christ.

We see Jesus demonstrating this as He adapted His approach with the people He spoke to. With Nicodemus, who was powerful and affluent, Jesus told him that he must be born again (see John 3:1–17). With the immoral Samaritan woman, He reached out to her and engaged her in conversation (see John 4:1–26).

Before we can reach people, we first have to care. And I think one of the reasons we don’t share our faith more often is because we don’t care. We might think another person’s eternal destiny is their problem. If an unbeliever argues with us, we tend to think, Forget it then. I am going to heaven. You can go to hell if you want to. It is not my problem.

But actually, it is our problem, because they need someone to engage them. They need someone to share the gospel accurately with them. So we need to pray that God will give us a burden for people who do not yet know Him.

The great commentator Alexander MacLaren said, “You tell me the depth of a Christian’s compassion, and I will tell you the measure of his usefulness.”

How deep does your compassion go?

Greg Laurie – Misplaced Priorities

March 14, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols—Acts 17:16

To be able to reach our culture, to be able to reach our unbelieving friends and family, to be able to reach someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus, we must first have a genuine concern for them.

While the apostle Paul was in Athens, “his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols” (Acts 17:16). Another translation of this verse says that Paul “was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city” (NLT).

Have you been angered by something in a spiritual way? I am talking about righteous indignation where you see how the devil is ripping people off, and you actually get a little angry about it.

In Athens, Paul was grieved to see the absolute absence of the living God, with every conceivable substitute in His place.

Do you ever feel that way as you look at our confused culture? It seems as though anything goes—except for Christianity.

Paul could have cursed the darkness in Athens. But he instead turned on the light.

Today we can wring our hands and talk about the state of affairs in our world. Or we can do something about it. All too often, we Christians are known for what we are against and not what we are for. We are for Jesus. And that is who we want to talk about. That is who we want to point people to. That is the primary message we need to give to our culture today. They need to hear the gospel.

If we dwell on other issues and forget the message of Jesus, then we have misplaced our priorities.

Greg Laurie – Always Urgent

March 13, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes—Judges 17:6

The Old Testament Book of Judges speaks of a time in history when everyone did what was right in their own eyes. And the Book of Isaiah offers this warning: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (5:20).

That is exactly where our culture is today. We mock that which is good, and we exalt that which is bad. We laugh at people who try to live moral lives. And a family with one man and one woman raising their children is becoming a novel thought.

In our postmodern culture, moral relativism is the rule of the day. Everything is upside down. And it will take an upside-down church to turn it right side up. In Acts 17:6, we find a backhanded compliment of the early church: “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” The church of the first century turned the world upside down. And we need to do the same in our culture today.

But how do we reach people who don’t believe in moral absolutes? Is it possible to engage them with Scripture? We need to reach our postmodern culture, and I believe that we have opportunities to do so.

Billy Graham said, “The evangelistic harvest is always urgent. The destiny of men and of nations is always being decided. Every generation is strategic. We are not responsible for the past generation, and we do not bear full responsibility for the next one; but we do have our generation.”

I take this seriously. I want to do everything that I can with the life that God has given me to bring the gospel to my generation. We are all called to engage our culture.

Greg Laurie – Saved!

March 12, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

—Romans 5:9

The Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

The answer Paul and Silas gave him is very important: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved . . .” (Acts 16:31).

What does that mean? The word “believe” does not merely mean intellectual assent, acknowledging there is a God, or even that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. To believe, in a biblical sense, is much more than that, because the Bible says that “even the demons believe—and tremble!” (James 2:19). Demons acknowledge the existence of God, but they don’t trust in Him.

To believe means to hold on to, to cling to. It also means to let go of. So in the Bible, belief speaks of both letting go of one thing and taking hold of another. We let go of our sin and take hold of Christ, and Christ alone, to save us. It is not Christ—plus good works that we do—that saves us. Rather, it is just Christ.

I read an article about the pastor of a megachurch who said that he doesn’t believe pastors should use the word “saved” anymore in their preaching because people don’t understand it. But I think “saved” is a great word, and I will keep using it because it is in the Bible.

I also think “saved” is a fairly self-explanatory term. When someone gets caught in a riptide and a lifeguard pulls him out, we say the lifeguard saved him. And “saved” is the perfect word to use when we talk about conversion, because before we put our trust in Christ, we were headed to eternal judgment.

So when we say that we are saved, that is the perfect word.

Greg Laurie – Joy in Unlikely Places

March 11, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed—Acts 16:25–26

When Paul and Silas were thrown into prison in Philippi, they prayed and sang hymns to God at midnight. And they brought the house down—literally. An earthquake struck and shook the prison to such an extent that the walls collapsed.

Their jailer was about to kill himself, because at that time, death was the penalty for guards and their families when a prisoner escaped. But Paul shouted, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here!”

Ultimately, that jailer came to believe in Jesus Christ, along with his entire household. And the next day, the city officials sent word to release Paul and Silas from prison.

This story in Acts 16 reminds us that the child of God can rejoice in the most trying of circumstances. But sometimes the earthquake doesn’t come in the middle of the night. Sometimes deliverance from our circumstances doesn’t come.

Paul and Silas had to endure a beating, getting thrown into jail, and having their feet fastened into stocks before they were delivered. And although God delivered Daniel from hungry lions, he still had to spend the night in the lions’ den.

Because of their unwillingness to bow before the golden image of the king, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace that was heated seven times hotter than usual. But we read that while they were walking around in the furnace, someone was with them who was “like the Son of God.” Many believe this was Christ Himself walking with them.

Sometimes when we pray for God’s help, He will deliver us and heal us. He will provide for us. He will fix our problem. But at other times He will say, “I will be with you through this, so trust Me.”

Greg Laurie – Always Fresh and New

March 9, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Just about everything I can think of in this world of ours has its limits: wealth, time, wisdom, opportunities, even physical life itself. Paul wrote: “For this world in its present form is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31). And John declared, “this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave” (1 John 2:17).

But I’ll tell you one thing in my experience that has no limits at all. It’s God’s Word. In one Bible paraphrase, the psalmist declares: “I see the limits to everything human, but the horizons can’t contain your commands!” (Psalm 119:96).

No matter how many times I read a passage of Scripture, there’s always something new, something I’d never seen or considered, some fresh Word from the Lord. It’s like peeling an onion, finding layer after layer—only the onion never grows smaller. With the Holy Spirit as our Guide and Teacher as we read and study the Word, we will never exhaust the Bible’s wisdom, beauty, and good counsel. No one will. Not ever.

The Bible is full of infinite wisdom, because our infinite God inspired it, word for word. As you read it, the Lord will speak to you, help you, sometimes warn you, but always draw you close to Himself. So take comfort in His words, which are the one and only Truth.

Greg Laurie – The Source of Joy

March 8, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!”—Habakkuk 3:17–18

Whatever we might acquire in life, the novelty of it will diminish over time. Take a new car, for example. Don’t you love the new-car smell? You look for excuses to drive it. You vow to never eat in your car. And then a month goes by and you’re late for work. You have to eat, and sure enough, you have your first spill inside your car. Some time passes, and you get that first little dent in the door. Then the paint chips a little. And after a while, that new car is not so exciting.

We could take that metaphor and apply it to everything in life. No matter how big, how cool, or how fast—whatever it is, everything loses its appeal after a period of time. So if you think happiness comes from what you have, you will find that you are always going to want something else to take its place.

But the Bible teaches that happiness—true happiness—comes from who we know. Listen to the words of Habakkuk: “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” (3:17–18).

Let me update that for modern times: Even when business is slow and there are no prospects in the immediate future, even when my investments have evaporated and the car won’t start, I will rejoice in the Lord.

Our joy and contentment in life does not come from what we have. It comes from whom we know.

Greg Laurie – Strength through Worship

March 7, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

“But the time is coming–indeed it’s here now–when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.”—John 4:23

When we worship on earth, we are in tune with what is happening in heaven. The Book of Revelation gives us this description of worship in heaven: “And they sang in a mighty chorus: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing’ ” (5:12).

When we worship, it helps us to get things into perspective. The psalmist Asaph asked the age-old question, “Why do the wicked prosper?”

And then it dawned on him:

Then I went into your sanctuary, O God,

and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.

Truly, you put them on a slippery path

and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction. (Psalm 73:17–18)

Sometimes we don’t understand why things are the way they are. But when we come and worship, when we hear the Word of God, it helps us gain perspective.

When our son died on a Thursday, my wife and I were in church the following Sunday. People told me my faith was so strong. But actually my faith was weak. I needed help. I needed God’s people. I needed to worship God. I needed to hear a Bible study.

And the moment I walked in, I was surrounded by God’s people. I knew they were praying for me. It helped me gain perspective and see God for who He is and see my problems for what they are. Sometimes we have big problems because we have a small God. But if we have a big God, then we will see, comparatively speaking, that we have small problems.

When we are praising the Lord on earth, we are joining the chorus of heaven. And God is looking for people to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Greg Laurie – Songs in the Night

March 6, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

The Lord will command His loving kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me–a prayer to the God of my life—Psalm 42:8

Have you ever been awakened in the middle of the night and had a Christian song or a worship chorus going through your mind? If so, then that tells me you are laying up the things of God in your heart. Instead of waking up with the latest pop music in your head, you are thinking of a Christian song or maybe a Scripture verse. That is a song in the night God has given to you.

When Paul and Silas were thrown into prison in Philippi, Acts 16 tells us that “at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (verse 25).

The word “listening” that is used here is significant. In the original language, it means to listen very, very carefully. Another way to translate it is “they listened with pleasure.” There are some things that are not a pleasure to listen to—they are painful, like fingernails on a chalkboard. But this was pleasurable, like when your favorite song comes on the radio and you turn it up. Oh, I love this song! This is a great song! That is how the prisoners were listening.

I doubt they had ever heard anyone sing in that dungeon before. And I think just the fact that they were singing to the Lord was a powerful testimony. It was a platform for evangelism. You see, you can talk about trusting God in adversity, but when someone sees it in action in your life, there is an undeniable authenticity. It is a powerful witness. Worship can be a powerful tool for a nonbeliever to be exposed to.

When you are in pain, the midnight hour is not the easiest time for a worship service. But God can give songs in the night.

Greg Laurie – Following His Lead

March 5, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps—Proverbs 16:9

When I first started out preaching, I wanted to be an evangelist more than anything else. I went to a Billy Graham Crusade and said, “Man, that is what I want to be when I grow up!” I never dreamed that I would preach in large stadiums, but I just felt that God had called me to bring the Good News to people. I didn’t feel called to be a Bible teacher; I just wanted to share the gospel.

For a couple of years, I traveled around with Christian bands and shared the gospel. And then this little Bible study opened up in Riverside, California, which no one else wanted to lead anymore. So it was passed around from various pastors, friends that I knew at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. Then they said, “Well, Greg, why don’t you do it?”

So I did. The Lord blessed that Bible study, and it started to grow. So I thought, I have to get someone to take over this Bible study, because I am called to be an evangelist. But it kept growing, and people started calling me Pastor Greg. I thought, I am not your pastor. I am 21 years old. I don’t think you really want me as your pastor.

Then I began to realize that God was calling me to be a pastor. But here was the problem. This church was in Riverside, and I lived in Orange County. I was born and raised in Orange County. I did not want to go to Riverside. That was inland. I wanted to stay at the beach. But the Lord was directing me, and so I went, and I continued to teach. The Bible study grew and grew and grew. Fast-forward a number of years, and it is a church of 15,000 people.

Sometimes God leads us in a different direction than where we want to go. But we must trust Him because He knows the way.

Believe and Receive by Joyce Meyer

March 4, 2013 broboinhawaii Leave a comment

Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness I have drawn you.

—Jeremiah 31:3 NKJV

There is only one thing you can do with a free gift, and that is receive it and be grateful. I urge you to take a step of faith right now and say out loud, “God loves me unconditionally, and I receive His love!” It took me a long time to fully accept His love. When you feel unlovable, it is hard to get it through your head and down into your heart that God loves you perfectly—even though you are not perfect and never will be as long as you are on the earth. You may have to say it a hundred times a day, like I did for months, before it finally sinks in, but when it does it will be the happiest day of your life. To know that you are loved by someone you can trust is the best and most comforting feeling in the world. God will not only love you that way, but He will also provide other people who will truly love you. When He does provide, be sure to remain thankful for those people. Having people who genuinely love you is one of the most precious gifts in the world.

God loves you! God loves you! God loves you! Believe it and receive it!

Lord, I declare Your everlasting love for me. You have drawn me with loving-kindness, and I believe and receive it. Amen.

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