An encounter with the Living God is both life-giving and life-changing! I want to invite all of my friends to join me this Sunday as we celebrate Jesus, the Lord of life, and rejoice in the power of God to bring us life to the fullest. If you know someone who needs a VITAL ENCOUNTER, invite them to join us.

I’m teaching a really fun class right now at Indiana Wesleyan University on “Marriage & Family.” One of the points of discussion is on the whole topic of “Love & Mate Selection.” I came across some wonderful wisdom for our sex-crazed, emotionally driven culture where we are “in love” one moment and “out of love” the next.

Instead of focusing on the feeling of love, set your attention on the essence of love. Instead of asking the question, “Do I still love that person?” begin asking a better question – “What is the level of my commitment in this relationship?”

You see, a couple’s level of commitment to each other is a much better indicator of whether the relationship will endure. Words can be cheap. Emotions can fluctuate. But a commitment to love is a rock solid cornerstone for building a lasting relationship.

Someone once explained the difference between romantic involvement and commitment in a relationship as the difference between bacon and eggs – the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed.

In this day of chicken-hearted relationships, it’s time to ask, “Where are the pigs?!”

As another national election looms on the political landscape, it is important to remember that some issues are absolutely more foundational and critical than others. The issue of LIFE is one of them.

Life is a gift from God and governments have been established, according to our Declaration of Independence, to protect it. That includes the lives of our most vulnerable Americans as they develop inside the wombs of their mothers.

A candidate who will not protect the unborn has no business leading our nation. If you cannot trust a candidate with the issue of life, why would your trust them with your money, the economy, the environment or anything else for that matter.

While abortion is a multifaceted issue involving moral, spiritual, political and constitutional perspectives, it is also an economic issue. Our current economic crisis is due to bad ideas and flawed governmental policies, but we often make no connection to the impact abortion has had on our enemic economy.

An eye-opening study called, The Cost of Abortion, estimates that the loss in Gross Domestic Product from 1973 – 2007 due to abortion in America at a staggering $37 trillion! Because of abortion, we have 52 million fewer taxpayers who would have provided a strong economic foundation for our nation. People are our greatest resource. Abortion has bankrupted our future as millions of entrepreneurs, doctors, teachers, pastors, mothers and fathers have been murdered.

Abortion is an issue that cannot be ignored. This November 2nd, make sure you stand for America by standing for LIFE.