Goals are as unique as we are. They should reflect our unique personality and passions. And we arrive at them via different avenues. But these ten steps to goal setting can guide us as we circle our life goals. 1. Start with Prayer Prayer is the best way to jump-start the process of goal setting.…
Crash the Party: Radical Repentance
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, He went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood…
Unanswered Prayers: What’s Going On God?
No Answer For much of my life, basketball was my life. When I graduated from high school, I went to the University of Chicago on a full-ride scholarship and earned a starting position on the basketball team by the end of my freshman year. Then I transferred to Central Bible College, where I earned first-team…
The Holy Dare: All in for the All and All
More than a hundred years ago, a British revivalist issued a holy dare that would change a life, a city, and a generation. That timeless challenge echoes across every generation: “The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and…
Pray Hard
The Cattle on a Thousand Hills Shortly after Dallas Theological Seminary opened its doors, their doors almost closed because of bankruptcy. Before their 1929 commencement day, the faculty gathered in the president’s office to pray that God would provide. They formed a prayer circle, and when it was Harry Ironside’s turn, he circled Psalm 50:10…
What Is God’s Favor? And How Can I Get It?
The Point of Precedence I don’t know what went through Noah’s mind when God told him to build a boat, but I’m guessing it was either You’ve got to be kidding or You’ve got to be crazy! Noah didn’t even have a cognitive category for what God was calling him to build. It was absolutely…
One Decision Away
Few Americans have stamped the collective consciousness of our country like Jonathan Edwards. He was an intellectual prodigy, entering Yale University at the age of twelve. And he is buried at Princeton University, where he served as president until his death in 1758. Edwards was the author of dozens of volumes, both theological and inspirational.…
Prayer: A Secret Weapon in Parenting
I’m a connoisseur of testimonies. And the most poignant prayer testimonies I’ve received over the years come from parents who are circling their children in prayer like never before. Parents are praying the promises of God around their children. They are interceding for future spouses, believing for miracles, and praying a hedge of protection around their children. And parents aren’t just praying…
A Praying Parent
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. – Deuteronomy 4:9 Compared to parenting, every other challenge is child’s play. Being…
Praying Circles Around Your Children
I want to be famous in my home. This is the deepest desire of my heart and the greatest challenge of my life. Parenting our three children is far more difficult and far more important than pastoring thousands of people. Just the other day, I said to [my wife] Lora, “I feel like we’ll finally…