Links & Quotes

The devil wants us to remember what we’ve done or what we still need to do, but Jesus wants us to remember what He has already done. There is a huge difference! Check out this whole message here. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“The most likely man to go to hell is the man who has nothing to do on earth. Idle people tempt the devil to tempt them.” —Charles Spurgeon

“What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we have in life? To know God. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? To know God. What is the best thing in life? To know God. What in humans gives God most pleasure? Knowledge of Himself.” —J.I. Packer

The Bible Archeology Report shares the Top 10 archeological discoveries related to the resurrection of Jesus.

We can learn childlike faith by simply watching and listening to how young children interact with their loving parents. This video is a clip from one of the message in our series called Kingdom Praying.

Technological advancements abound all around us. How are Christians supposed to interact with technology: embrace it? ignore it? This is a thoughtful message to give us a biblical paradigm for our daily use of technology. 

“We must quit bending the Word to suit our situation. It is we who must be bent to that Word, our necks that must bow under the yoke.” —Elizabeth Elliot

“The things you pray about are the things you trust God to handle. The things you neglect to pray about are the things you trust you can handle on your own.” —H.B. Charles 

“Learning to pray doesn’t offer us a less busy life; it offers us a less busy heart.” —Paul Miller

Links & Quotes

God’s blessings are not primarily for me, but they are through me for His glory. This is a short clip from an exclusive video I shared with my Patreon supporters. Become a supporter todayI have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“What to do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.” —Dean Smith

Until the mid-1800s, the historicity of King Sargon II (mentioned by Isaiah) was in doubt. Not only has archeology again affirmed the historical statements made in Scripture, but “the way Isaiah spelled Sargon’s name is an indicator that the prophet lived at the time of Sargon II, and that the book was not penned hundreds of years later.” Check out this archeological biography of Sargon II.

And then there is this archeological report about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Fascinating!

How sweet and gracious even in common speech,
Is that fine sense which men call Courtesy!
Wholesome as air and genial as the light,
Welcome in every clime as breath of flowers—
It transmutes aliens into trusting friends,
And gives its owner passport round the globe. —James T. Fields

“A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.” —Joe DiMaggio

Not using the spiritual gift God has given you is selfish. He gave you these gifts on purpose so that His kingdom could be made more visible and desirable.

Links & Quotes

Peter described the ministry of Jesus as “doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil.” Historical records tell us the first Christians lived this exact same way! This clip is from our current series of sermons on prayerI have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

John Piper has some great advice for finding the main point of a chapter in the Book of Psalms.

Belshazzar was unknown outside the Bible for quite awhile, prompting one biblical skeptic to say, “the whole story [in the Book of Daniel] is disfigured and falsified by the author, who was neither an eye-witness of the occurrences, nor accurately acquainted with the history of them.” Once again, archeology has confirmed the historicity of both Belshazzar and Daniel.

On YouVersion I shared this on Job 1:20-22. The Old English spelling of worship is “worthship.” We worship God because He has infinitely greater worth than any other person or thing. It’s not that Job wasn’t sad about his losses, but He saw Jehovah as the One of greatest worth in spite of his earthly losses.

“Leaders are responsible for building organizations where people continually expand their capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models—that is, they are responsible for learning.” —Peter M. Senge, in The Fifth Discipline

Never stopping praying for your loved ones. It could be that with their very last breath they will call on Jesus as their Savior!

Links & Quotes

Mental health tip: Stop beating yourself up because of what you did or didn’t do in the past. Learn from it and keep moving forward. Check out a whole series of posts and videos on a Christian’s mental healthI have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“God cannot part with His grace, or goodness, or strength, as an external thing that He gives us, as He gives the raindrops from heaven. No; He can only give it, and we can only enjoy it, as He works it Himself directly and unceasingly. And the only reason that He does not work it more effectually and continuously is, that we do not let Him. We hinder Him either by our indifference or by our self-effort, so that He cannot do what He would.” —Andrew Murray, Waiting on God 

The unlimited genius of our All-wise Creator is seen so clearly in the unique and beautiful design of each snowflake. Check out these amazing photographs!

“You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things—to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.” —Sir Edmund Hillary

Biblical archaeologist Joel Kramer takes viewers into a hidden cave to show them an ancient Christian inscription that offers direct extra-biblical, archaeological evidence for Jesus.

Links & Quotes

A great mental health strategy: focus on what is happening today. Trying to fix yesterday or worrying about tomorrow robs you of the peace God wants you to have. Check out the full series of mental health strategies I shared here. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“Compromise and commitment cannot coincide. … Conviction leads to commitment, but the lack of commitment leads to compromise.” —Dr. Tony Evans

I love reading about the archeological finds that confirm the historicity of the Bible! Here is a post from The Bible Archeology Report on the top ten discoveries related to Christmas.

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times.” —G. Michael Hopf

“Luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.” —Denzel Washington

“Ministers are set to be lights to the souls of men in this respect, as they are to be the means of imparting divine truth to them, and bringing into their view the most glorious and excellent objects, and of leading them to and assisting them in the contemplation of those things that angels desire to look into…by which they may know God and Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal.” —Jonathan Edwards

“Scripture the unus sermo Dei—the one sermon of God.” —Augustine

T.M. Moore is presenting another outstanding series of posts, this one about the dignity of work. In one post, he wrote, “A just society requires all members to contribute love for their neighbors, whether they are poor or wealthy. Those who will not work when they can do so should be left to the consequences of their sluggardliness (2 Thessalonians 3:10). It is incumbent on local community leaders to discover ways, analogous to the work of gleaning, of helping to meet the needs of local poor. These might include keeping part-time work available, identifying ‘community work’ opportunities and helping to fund them, offering job counseling and training, and so forth. Churches certainly could pioneer the way in this, creating opportunities for work on their campuses, on behalf of needy members, and for the community at large.”

“The Holy Spirit responds to our walking according to the Word, not merely talking about the Word.” —Dr. Tony Evans

Links & Quotes

Your Heavenly Father never gets tired or distracted. He lovingly keeps His eye on you all the time❣️I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“Could you use some high-octane boldness? If you want to outlive your life, you could. As long as you are stationary, no one will complain. Dogs don’t bark at parked cars. But as soon as your accelerate—once you step out of drunkenness into sobriety, dishonesty into integrity, or lethargy into compassion—expect the yapping to begin. Expect to be criticized. Expect to be mocked. Expect to be persecuted. So how can we prepare ourselves? Simple. Imitate the disciples. Linger long and often in the presence of Christ. Meditate on His grace. Ponder His love. Memorize His words. Gaze into His face. Talk to Him. Courage comes as we live with Christ.” —Max Lucado, Outlive Your Life 

J. Warner Wallace has an excellent teaching on why we can trust the truthfulness of the Bible.

“Unbelief robs them of these blessings. It is possible to hear and yet not to perceive the truth. It is possible to read the Word and not share in the life it brings. It is necessary for us to have the Holy Spirit to unfold the Word and bring to us the life that is Christ. We can never fully understand the wonders of this redemption until we are full of the Holy Spirit.” —Smith Wigglesworth

Fascinating evidence from Dr. Joel Kramer for the dating of the biblical exodus from Egypt and the naming of the pharaoh that reigned during that time.

Links & Quotes

The Holy Spirit loves to give us those “lightbulb moments” when the Word of God almost leaps off the page! I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

It has long been believed that some migratory animals use the earth’s magnetic force to help them navigate. Some researchers discovered that moths can see both the magnetic fields and the stars to plot their course. The lead researcher wrote, “If you have this tiny insect with a brain a tenth the volume of a grain of rice and eyes smaller than a pinhead, that they can do this is surprising.” The protein in their eyes that allow them to do this is unevolved—it’s always been there, implant from the beginning by our awesome Creator!

In the God Speaks Science reading plan on YouVersion, John Von Sloten wrote, “Creation is God’s first book. To read it we need science. Science is not the enemy of the Christian faith; it’s an ally! … We need to read biblical creation references with the Author’s omniscience and original intent in mind. To do that, we need science. … What if you try to connect the next scientific truth you encounter to an attribute of our ever-near God? If everything comes from God’s mind, then everything has something to say about God’s nature.”

Competitive leaders need to keep both winning and losing in perspective. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had about competition on The Craig and Greg Show.

I love studying the archeological discoveries that confirm the historicity of the Bible. Check out this compilation of the kings of Judah and Israel from The Bible Archeology Report. You may also be interested in this side-by-side chart I created of the timelines of these kings.

“Men of peace must not think about retribution or recrimination. Courageous people do not fear forgiving.” —Nelson Mandela

“Leaders inspire others because they are inspired by others.” —John Maxwell

“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” —Teddy Roosevelt

Links & Quotes

God made you uniquely YOU! You have been made on purpose and for a purpose. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

This is an exciting archeological discovery: the first Koine Greek rendering of a psalm ever discovered inscribed on stone rather than on parchment or papyrus.

“The wise recognize before the fight that adversity will come and therefore are not surprised by it. The wise recognize in the fight that adversity is a formidable foe and thus steel themselves for a long, hard struggle to the death. The wise recognize after winning a fight that the war is not over and so never let down their guard nor release their weapons.” —Dick Brogden, in Proverbs: Amplified and Applied

Astronomers have discovered planet-sized objects that are puzzling the best minds. In fact, they have had to create a new category for these objects: Jupiter Mass Binary Objects (JuMBOs). What is baffling the brightest minds is that these planets don’t orbit a star but appear to be gravitationally bound to other JuMBOs. My favorite line is this one: “The new phenomenon challenges current frameworks explaining how stars and planets form within nebula, with astrophysicists claiming such objects should not exist.” There is at least one who isn’t baffled: The One who created JuMBOs along with everything else in our universe.

T.M. Moore is in the midst of a series of posts about the Christian and the government. They are excellent! Here is just a short sample—“The Christian understands that government is a servant of God for good, and that God, therefore, must define the terms of goodness by which a government fulfills its appointed task. As Paul reminds us, the Law of God is holy and righteous and good (Romans 7:12). It is important, therefore, that Christians understand the Law of God and consider the best ways of bringing its influence to bear in the arena of public policy. … Public policy is not about what governments can do, but what they should do, that is, if they are to fulfill their callings as God’s servants for good. When it comes to applying the Law of God to public policy, Christians must make this first principle foundational in the logic with which they approach the work of influencing and shaping public policy.”

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.” —Mahatma Gandhi

Leaders are naturally wired to be either confident or humble. Both kinds of leaders need to remain coachable. Greg and I unpacked this idea on this episode of The Craig And Greg Show, and I also discuss it in greater depth in my book Shepherd Leadership.

Links & Quotes

Questions engage people more than statements do. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had on The Craig And Greg Show. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

How should Christians engage with artificial intelligence (AI)? This is a very thoughtful and biblically-centric post.

The Bible records the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC and to the Romans in AD 70. For the first time, archeologists have discovered evidence of both armies in close proximity to each other. Yet again, archeology confirms the historicity of the Bible. 

“In America, we have a tendency to worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship.” —Lenny Esposito

“Young people are told, ‘You’ve got plenty of time, live a little, first,’ as if life ends after the wedding. The truth about marriage, however, is that it is, statistically, the single best predictor of long-term happiness. Making this even more important to understand is that for at least the last 20 years now, Americans have been steadily getting less happy.” Here’s how John Stonestreet shares this report from the University of Chicago.

T.M. Moore shared an interesting component of early-colonial American lawmaking: “Peruse the civil codes of the American colonies and you will discover a curious phenomenon. Frequently, colonial legislators drafted their civil codes by looking to the Old Testament Law of God.”

Dr. Tim Clarey said, “The global Flood also answers why dinosaurs were still alive and flourishing until the end of the Cretaceous. At that moment in the Flood, they were likely trying to stay on the highest ground available as waters encroached closer, week by week. As the dry land rapidly disappeared, many species herded together. This explains why varied types of dinosaurs were buried together at the end of the Cretaceous. The Flood’s tsunami-like waves eventually crashed over the remaining dinosaurs and entombed them in what’s called Upper Cretaceous strata.” Check out more evidence for the Flood that is recorded in the Book of Genesis. 

Links & Quotes

The Holy Spirit who inspired the words of the Bible is the same Holy Spirit in you. He can illuminate the biblical promises for your prayer time, and He can help you apply the biblical principles to your everyday circumstances. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.

“Carl M. ‘Daddy” Hanson (1865-1954), a spiritual father to many early Pentecostals on the northern Great Plains, earned his Pentecostal stripes on both sides of Azusa Street. He experienced the Pentecostal distinctive of speaking in tongues in the 19th century, and he became an early leader in the Assemblies of God in the first half of the 20th century.” Check out this mini-biography of this Pentecostal pioneer.

I love studying the historicity of the Bible! Isaiah is such an important work both prophetically and historically. “Jesus in John 12:37-40, as well as Paul in Romans 10:16, 20-21 both quote from the beginning and ending of the book attributing it to Isaiah the prophet.” Check out these archeological discoveries relating to the Book of Isaiah.

Absolutely astounding! The silk of spider webs has unique properties that medical science is beginning to use in humans. What an amazing Creator we serve!

In my sermon about parenting, I quoted from Proverbs 22:6. Commenting on this verse, Dick Brogden, in Proverbs: Amplified and Applied, wrote, “The principle regarding our children is that the things they are taught early on will give them every opportunity for stability later in life. This reality does not guarantee that they will make right choices (including whether or not to follow Jesus); it does guarantee that they have the resource of wisdom to draw on should they choose. … Whatever their choice, we can rest in the peace that we laid up for them every resource for good. Our peace (regarding our children) comes from what we have done with our heart and resources, not what they have done with theirs.”