Make Your Life Count Forever

Calvary Chapel Training Center Ghana, West Africa In December of 2000 my husband Gary began teaching a small group of men how to study the Bible using the Inductive Bible Study method.  Most were from Ghana's northern region which is harsh and inhospi table.  Famine and hunger are common there, but these men had come to a village in the Volta with a different kind of hunger.  They were seeking a feast and the only thing that could satisfy th eir hunger was the word of God. Thirteen years later more than one thousand students have graduated .  Some pastor one or more churches and many others serve in their local churches .  They disciple new believers , teach children, and support the body of Christ in prayer. Even as this present class nears the end of their final term they sit and eagerly listen to the story of how God worked to make it all happen. When asked how to be effective for God, Chuck Smith would say, "Try to find where the Spirit is moving and just

Don't you love this little guy's eagerness? I could almost hear him, "Look Mom, look at me , look I can walk on water". I shot this photo on a lake in Yellowstone National Park. It was early morning and this mother Merganser was patiently teaching her young to fish. All but one that is.    He reminds me of Isaiah who willingly answered God's call. Isaiah 6 tells us his story of 'Stepping Up'.   In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted,   seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.   2  Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.   3  And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the  Lord  Almighty;      the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4  At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5  “Woe to me!” I cr

Today I'm thinking about FOCUS. Crunch time is upon me. I have too many things to do and too little time to do them. I've read enough Productivity Blah, Blah, Blah to know that focus is the key element required when there are too many things competing for my time and attention.  But I have my own spin on the subject, so here's my little Blah, Blah, Blah about productivity and FOCUS.  F First things first. Matthew 6:33 Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Jesus' subject is our tendency toward wrong priorities (earthly stuff) and wrong responses (worry and anxiety). Productivity is about Priorities My first priority is my relationship with Jesus. If it's not right ~ Nothing's right O   One thing at a time. 1 Corinthians 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order. OK, I know that verse isn't about Productivity, but just remember that God took 6 days to make the

Every time I read I Corinthians 14:34-35 I feel rebellion rising within. It's the passage about women keeping silent in church and asking their husbands at home if they want to learn anything. I think I'd hate that passage even if I weren't in the post-feminist era.   My flesh doesn't like rules that "limit" me. SO----This morning I asked God to change my heart and help me to love to do His will. Here's what He showed me: The context of the I Cor. passage was both church order and the marriage relationship. The origin of the marriage relationship is found in Genesis 2:20. This passage reveals Adam's need and God's provision for that need. That's the first place my sinful heart takes offense. Why am I the answer to someone's need? Why wasn't I created for myself, or possibly God's glory and pleasure as Adam was? So, I started with the words. I'm a Bible student and I always start with the meaning of the wor