"For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11) Get in the Word or get into trouble. The Spirit of God working through the Word of God is His primary means of accomplishing the work of God in our lives.

Followers of Jesus can falter, even fall, but in the end they all finish!

Followers of Jesus can falter, even fall, but in the end they all finish!

Real utility for Christ always begins with real availability to Christ.

Following Jesus is not ambiguous; it is pretty much clear as crystal. When you go looking for disciples of Jesus, if they really are His followers, you won't need to resort to social archeology to surface them; their convictions and behaviors have a way of announcing them. That is a good thing!"

Corporate worship is never optional, but it is absolutely essential. Because when we come together to worship God then our personal faith is grounded and re-invigorated.

A "bad" day with Jesus Christ is better than the best day without Him.

When unbelievers are in crisis, they are on their own; when we believers are in crisis, we are never on our own–unless we try to go it alone.

The beauty of the Word of God is that on the one hand, it redeems sinners for Christ and builds up those in Christ, while on the other hand, it smokes out those on idle and exposes all our hiding places. The Word is God’s instrument

to help us find where we are as well as discover where we aren’t. Therein lies the power (and sometimes pain) of pastoral ministry—the Spirit working through the Word (and stirring up the dust) is the key to spiritual transformation; otherwise a preacher is just a bag of gas in a blue suit accomplishing nothing. That conviction continues to be our pastoral con dence as we push forward into this new year.

Answered prayer is like aged wine; its taste improves with the passage of time.