I served as pastor of Southern Baptist churches in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana for almost 30 years before taking a medical leave from the pastorate in February 2013 due to dysautonomia (POTS) and moving to Norman, Oklahoma. Blessed with renewed health, I was called as Senior Pastor of Pleasant Ridge Baptist in Morganton, NC in February 2015.
In this blog I share daily devotions from my own personal Bible readings, as well as sermons, book reviews, illustrations -- and occasional humorous "peeks" at life inside this pastor's home!
Tag Archives: perseverance
“Tried By Fire” (I Peter 1:6-7 sermon)
Theodore Roosevelt was a man of very unique character: he gloried in facing obstacles and overcoming them. He would take his guests out on a 20-mile hike – and much to their dismay, the tougher the course, the better he … Continue reading
Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged Christianity in America, confess Jesus, confession, dark year, difficulties, distress, facing death, faith, faith proof, Garden of Gethsemane, Hawaii, I Peter 1:6-7 sermon, I Peter sermon, illness, John Calvin, John Calvin blocks of wood, joy, joy in trials, maturity, perseverance, professions of faith, real faith, refined by fire, rejoice, reward for trials, rewards, run tee shirts, salvation, saved, saving faith, temptations, Theodore Roosevelt, trials, tried by fire, various trials
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“Little By Little” (Deuteronomy 7:22 sermon)
I have a friend whose dad recently passed away, and now he has to deal with all his dad’s “stuff”: here’s a photo he posted on Facebook of just ONE of the storage buildings of his dad’s stuff. Someone might … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged A.W. Tozer, Alive Again, baptism in the Holy Spirit, brick on brick, C.S. Lewis, Christian life, Christianity, cobweb on the soul, Deuteronomy 7:22, Emily Dickinson, Ephesians 1:13, Eugene Peterson, finances, G.K. Chesterton, George MacDonald, glorification, heaven, holiness, justification, justification sanctification glorification, Les Miserables, little by little, lottery, marriage, marriage counseling, patience, perseverance, Promised Land, Proverbs 24, reading, reading challenge, sanctification, sluggard, Tony Robbins, Victor Hugo, x + 1
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Stubbornness or Perseverance?
Reading Numbers 23 I thought, “Man, Balak just isn’t getting it … he’s already asked Baalam three times to ask God curse Israel and He said He is NOT going to do it!” How stubborn mankind can be — always … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged Baalam, Balak, Numbers 23, perseverance, stubbornness
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Living In A Tent
“Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.” (Genesis 18:1) So Abraham literally lived in a “tent.” When angel asked him in :9, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Doctrine/Theology
Tagged Abraham, commitment, discipleship, doctrine, faith, false teaching, Genesis 18, glory, hardship, heaven, Hebrews 11:, persecution, perseverance, prosperity gospel, reward, sacrifice, tents, theology, Your Best Life Now
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Finish!
“But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.” (II Corinthians 8:11) The Apostle Paul was addressing the Corinthian church … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged diligence, finish, II Corinthians 8:11, ministry, perseverance
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“The Christian Race” (Hebrews 12:1-2 sermon)
(Preached at FBC Pauls Valley 2-15-15) Although I have run for exercise for much of my adult life, I have never been very fast. When we lived in Tulsa back in the 1990’s (when I was in my 30’s) I … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Christian race, endurance, Hebrews 12:1-2, Jesus, perseverance, race of faith, sin
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Outlasting Old Habits
Nehemiah learned that if you want to bring about change, you have to stay on top of it. Having led the people of Israel to re-establish many of the practices of the Law, including supporting the Levites with their tithes, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies
Tagged change, church, eccelesiology, habits, Nehemiah, Nehemiah 13:10-11, perseverance, persistence, polity, reform
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