Dr Paul Allen

When I was in Bible college, I was told stories of a former professor that used to go around with a notebook in his pocket. He didn’t carry this notebook to keep track of student’s grades, or for his schedule, no. He would use this notebook so that when he went around and spoke with his students or others on campus, he could take down their prayer requests. It was his prayer notebook. He would regularly insert new prayer requests into his notebook, but he didn’t stop there. He would spend devoted time praying for each of these students’ requests. Then, he intentionally would follow up with the students to let them know that he had not forgotten their prayer request and that he continued to bring it before the Lord.  He would also ask if and how God had answered the prayer request. If the prayer was answered, he would praise the Lord. If the prayer had been answered by the Lord, not yet, or seemingly not in a clear fashion at that time, he would still praise the all-wise God and con...

For Love or Money (1993 film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) What we do with money really matters — for the gospel frontiers and for our own families. Whether we daydream about it, or ignore it and wish it would just go away, or hoard it, or spend it, how we handle money reveals a lot about us. “Where your treasure is,” says Jesus , “there your heart will be also” (Matthew  6:21 ). Some of the Bible ’s gravest warnings deal with money. These are some of the sharpest words in all of Paul’s letters: Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. ( 1 Timothy 6:9–10) If we take the Scriptures seriously, we’re right to be at least a little bit scared about what our sinful souls might do with money. Tool in ...

Jesus in Pray (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Prayer , at least private prayer, is difficult to do out of a false motive. One can preach out of a false motive, as do the false prophets. One can be involved in Christian activities out of false motives. Many of the externals of religion can be done from false motives. However, it is highly unlikely that anyone would commune with God out of some improper motive. We are invited, even commanded, to pray. Prayer is both a privilege and a duty, and any duty can become laborious. Prayer, like any means of growth for the Christian, requires work. In a sense, prayer is unnatural to us. Though we were created for fellowship and communion with God, the effects of the fall have left most of us lazy and indifferent toward something as important as prayer. Rebirth quickens a new desire for communion with God, but sin resists the Spirit. We can take comfort from the fact that God knows our hearts and hears our unspoken petitions as well as the words ...