Christians are people of hope. Joseph Garlington declared this on the WOW Worship album in 1999.

    My life is in You, Lord
       My strength is in You, Lord
          My hope is in You, Lord
             In You, it’s in You.

The Scriptures declare this fact also!

“But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.” (Psalm 71:14);

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;” (Psalm 130:5);

...

This past Monday evening in his virtual Town Meeting held at the Lincoln Memorial, President Trump said,  “We have to get our people back to church.” “It’s wonderful to watch people over a laptop, but it’s not like being at a church,” President Trump says. “And we have to get our people back to churches, and we’re going to start doing it soon.”  Faith and prayer have helped many Americans during this tough time.

Are we ready to “go back to church” (sacred space)? Most of us would sa...

Lately, pastors tell me, “I’m tired!” “I am working harder now than I ever did before.” “I’ll be glad when we can get church back to normal.” But even as I have heard pastors say these things, I have also been encouraged by and proud of the pastors that I am acquainted with, as they have sought and tried to connect to their congregations in compelling and significant ways.

Let me pose this for you to consider, “Maybe, God doesn’t want us to go back to normal.” Maybe we had this pause to do t...

My neighbors have always been able to talk with one another. We met together in our
Neighborhood Watch Program for about 2 years. Early last summer we hosted a neighborhood picnic with around 30 people in attendance. Soon after, we cease meeting because of lack of attendance. We have been mostly out of touch since. So, this past week I made it a point to connect with the families around me.

One neighbor was experiencing a “new normal.” The company this individual works for was recently purcha...

John 20:24-29
 

Do you have to see something to believe it? If you see a person walking across the
street, do you believe it is happening? Do you have to be an eye witness, or are you
able to believe a person who was an eye witness? Courts usually believe the eye
witnesses. The Bible Gospel accounts are “eye witness” reports.

If you saw something that seemed impossible, would you believe? Or would you think
that your vision was playing a trick on you, even though you believe you saw it? If
so...

On this Maundy Thursday, Luke 22:39-46 sheds light on how to cope with things as they
change in drastic ways these days.

39 – Jesus’ custom was to have regular and consistent prayer. The scriptures tell us also
that He consistently practiced nightly prayer in places of solitude to be with His Father. The
Mount of Olives was one of favorite spots.

40 – It is interesting that Jesus tells His disciples, “Pray that you do not enter into
temptation.” What temptation? Maybe, Jesus was saying, “Th...

Corona Virus Response Message To Pastors During This Time of Isolation

Be Encouraged, Pastor!

As you live in this ever-changing new situation, Be Encouraged! As you are navigating these new waters of uncertainty, you have been challenged as to how to be the shepherd to your “flock,” as well as, how are you going to make it, yourself. This is not a time for business as usual. I would like to encourage you, pastor, to use this time God has given you productively in four ways.

1. Stay focused on...

God, using and orchestrating the circumstances, is giving us all a historic opportunity to make needed changes in our lives. Make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime moment.

1. Focus on increasing your intimacy with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

2. Concentrate on growing in your relationship with your spouse. Don’t miss this divine pause. Go deeper in communicating with your wife or husband.

3. Connect consistently with your children, sharing your love and wisdom to encourage them. They...

I thought this article by Joseph Mattera with Mattera Ministries International was a good one, and we wanted to share it with you.

– Jim Bevis, Mid-South Director with PastorCare 

One of the biggest challenges in life is to stay focused upon the assignment the Lord has appointed for us. In life there are many adversaries and distractions that can take you off track so that your life misses the mark. This is called "mission drift." Perhaps most people in this world have drifted from their prima...

I thought this article by Pastor Rick Warren was a good one, and we wanted to share it with you.

– Jim Bevis, Mid-South Director with PastorCare 

You have weaknesses. I’m sure this statement doesn’t shock you. You know about them, most likely you’ve known about them for some time.

But the real question is this: What are you doing with your weaknesses? You can hide and deny them. Most of the time, this is what we try to do because we’re afraid of what might happen to our ministries if people d...