Faith News Network

Many so-called Christians today have abandoned the teachings of Jesus and the Bible and taken on a belief system that denies the power of the cross and the infallibility of the Word of God. In his new book, Hope for This Present Crisis, Dr. Michael Youssef writes, “Why do they deny 2,000 years of orthodox Christian doctrine and tradition? I believe it’s because many of today’s false teachers want to be accepted and admired by the world. They don’t want to be lumped in with all those ‘rigid,’ ‘narrow-minded,’ ‘intolerant’ evangelical Christians. They want to be admired for their ‘enlightened,’ ‘open-minded,’ ‘inclusive’ approach to religion.

The body of Christ needs a massive overhaul when it comes to certain doctrines, and we need to return to the simplicity of the gospel. Though I use the word simplicity, I’m well aware that there is tremendous and complex depth to the gospel, and it will take endless ages to search out such understanding.

This past weekend I preached at a growing church in Lake City, Florida, about an hour west of Jacksonville. For several weeks the pastor, Chris Jones, has been taking his congregation through the book of Acts—chapter by chapter—because he wants to create a culture of hunger for the Holy Spirit.

When I was in my 20s, I was praying about whether I should enroll in graduate school. Then one morning in my devotional time I came to Psalm 32:8a, and it seemed to be flashing like a neon sign. It said, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go.”

Continuing with a recent theme I’ve been sharing on, concerning visions and warnings of the times we are living in now. Men of old saw these days and were moved on by the Spirit of God to speak and share these things with us.

A pro-life rule that we fought for—and you did too—is under attack.

We were all devastated last May when Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias died of spinal cancer at age 74. Our souls were crushed again last week when we learned that the famous author and preacher had been involved in years of predatory behavior with women.

Have you ever been thrown into an unwanted situation that forces you to become the solution to someone else’s crisis? I think most of us have at one point or the other.

Of all the Christian books I’ve read and re-read, Charles Spurgeon’s 1875 classic Lectures to My Students is the most worn out. In fact, the cover fell off two years ago, and I just taped the book together and read it again. I love it not only because of Spurgeon’s biblical revelation but also because of his honesty about his frequent battles with discouragement.