FIRST-PERSON: Keep your heart with all vigilance
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) – Proverbs 4:23 consists of an exhortation and an explanation, a command and a reason. The verse begins with a call to keep your heart with all vigilance. Like a soldier defending his post against attack, you must guard your heart.
FIRST-PERSON: Lesson from a generous widow
The recollection of squandering a needy widow's love offering as a young preacher helps H.B. Charles remember the need for pastors to fight materialism.
FIRST-PERSON: Preaching under pressure
SBC Pastors' Conference President H.B. Charles Jr. shares principles for preaching through seasons of congregational conflict. "Preaching through a storm," he writes, "anchors the pulpit to the tried and proven Word of God."
CALL TO PRAYER: It’s a ‘first response, not a last resort’
Florida pastor H.B. Charles Jr. notes that prayer must be "our first response, not our last resort" to difficulties and disappointments. "It may seem nothing is happening" as a result of prayer, Charles comments. "But God is at work. Don't stop praying!"
