During one of the darkest times in ancient Israel, Midianite invaders began a campaign of terror. Everybody was hiding in caves and mountain strongholds. They had seen the Lord do miracles in the past to deliver Israel, but this time, they lost all faith. But then the angel of the Lord visited a frightened young man named Gideon who was hiding in a winepress. Gideon assumed God had given up on Israel. I'm sure he was shocked when the angel greeted him by saying, "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor" Judges 6:12b). He thought the angel was talking to the wrong person.
I'm grateful for my friend Quentin Beard, who pastors one of the fastest growing churches in South Dakota, Sioux Falls First Assembly. Because Quentin wants his congregation to experience the Holy Spirit, he scheduled a special weekend of meetings so that people could be baptized in the Holy Spirit, get healing prayer and receive personal prophetic ministry. The day before the event, I asked Quentin if we could have a larger-than-normal bottle of oil on the altar near the stage.
I'll never forget where I was sitting in the Orlando airport in Florida several years ago when I heard an unusual announcement on the public-address system. A male voice said: "George Mueller. George Mueller. Please contact a service desk for a message." George Mueller? I suppose there really was a man by that name in the airport at that moment. But I couldn't help but think about the George Mueller of history, a courageous Christian leader from England who died in 1898. I had his biography but hadn't read it in a while.
A few years ago, I heard a preacher tell a roomful of ministers that they couldn't work miracles or exercise apostolic authority unless they used the word "apostle" as a title. So some of them ran out and printed new business cards—as if putting the word in front of their names were the magic ticket to reclaiming New Testament power. That was a bad idea. For the past two decades or more, thousands of people have been wounded and countless churches have nosedived because immature leaders thought they could gain apostolic status the easy way. We are so eager to qualify ourselves that we forget God alone calls, prepares and sends true apostles.
All my life I've heard people make up excuses for missing church. Long before funny memes were invented for social media, absentee churchgoers joked about attending "Bedside Baptist," "Church of the Holy Comforter" or "Church of the Inner Springs" to imply that they decided to sleep in on Sunday morning. I'm not going to condemn anyone for taking a week off from church if they are overly tired, going on vacation or hosting company. But today we have a growing subset of Christians who have developed a complex theology of church delinquency.
On Feb. 17, 1967, exactly 50 years ago this month, a miracle happened near Pittsburgh that the world has largely ignored. It happened at a small Catholic retreat center called The Ark and the Dove, where a group of students from Duquesne University had gathered for a weekend of prayer. Suddenly, and without any warning, those students were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Patti Gallagher Mansfield, one of the first students to experience this outpouring of the Spirit, says she knew something remarkable and otherworldly had happened.
God has had so much more for you. The apostle Paul told the Ephesians that God desired them to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The fact that we need to stay filled means it is possible for a Christian to run on empty only to scratch the surface of what God offers us. He does not want us to simply splash in the water or wade in the shallow end of His River. He wants to take us to the deepest depths. Ephesians 5:18 says: "Be filled with the Spirit." Some Christians are content to attend church one day a week for an hour and have a quick, 15-minute devotion a few days a week.
Six months ago I started a serious fitness plan. I had gained weight, and I was watching guys my age pack on pounds. Because I have some big dreams that will take several more years to achieve, I need to stay healthy and able to travel. So I talked to some friends about their workout routines, joined a gym and changed my eating habits. The hard work is paying off. I've not only lost weight and gained muscle but I've learned some valuable spiritual lessons in the process. God speaks to me even while I do planks, sit-ups and bench presses! Here are 10 lessons I've learned that will help you get fit both physically and spiritually.
For more than 2,000 years the church has survived wars, persecution, heresies, tyrants, charlatans, false prophets, swindlers and divisive rebels. Satan has attacked the church from outside and infiltrated it from within, yet Christianity is growing faster in some parts of the world than at any time in human history. But that doesn't mean the devil is backing off. He is a relentless enemy, and we must constantly be aware of his schemes. When the devil attacks, he normally uses human agents to carry out his work. That is why church leaders are called to protect God's people from those who might hijack our mission.
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