Richard Ellis Talks: Recent Episodes
Richard Ellis
Have you ever been in a situation where you've felt prompted by God to obey Him...and you've felt your neck stiffen because you just don't want to do it? Those are the instances where we need to ask Him to soften us the most! He's going to call us to action in ways that make us uncomfortable, because He has a purpose beyond what we can see, and often it's not only for our own benefit, but for the benefit of the people around us.
The Christian life is meant to be lived out in community. Those who are more spiritually mature serve as examples to us when they follow Christ and we imitate them. Likewise, there are others who come behind us who can follow us as we grow in our own maturity.
The more we come to understand the magnitude of our sin, the more we're able to appreciate the magnitude of the forgiveness God extends to us. He's made a choice to forgive and pardon us. We've received unmerited grace through Christ's death on the cross, a sacrifice that paid the price for all our sin.
Religion says that we have to follow manmade rules in order to earn God's love for us. But the Bible assures us that we already have His love. Salvation is a free gift, unmerited and unearned, and once we accept it, we can begin to respond to His love by letting Him live in and through us.
Throughout Scripture, God teaches us to pray with persistence. The words we use, big or small, are far less important than the heart behind them -- and whether or not He answers the way we want Him to, He'll transform our hearts through the very process of prayer.
God created the entire universe, and expanded it far beyond anything we have yet to discover. He created humanity. He knows all things -- past, present, and future. The idea that we could impress Him with anything we say or do is laughable in comparison. He sent His only Son to cover our sin so that our lives could bring Him glory, not through our own doing, but through His.
Life wasn't meant to be lived in solitude or isolation -- and the same is true for the body of Christ. When we choose to follow Jesus, we become part of God's family. Scripture teaches us the importance of not neglecting to meet together, but it also teaches us the importance of loving one another the way God first loved us.
The more we try to be in control of our own lives, the more out of control our lives will become. The more we can learn to trust that God is ultimately in control, the less we'll stop fighting to take over. No matter what comes our way, He's faithful to love us and to meet every need.
Men can be a piece of work. Women can be a piece of work. But when both obey the order that God designed for them, they work well together. Though men and women are spiritually equal, He created men to lead, and when we follow His plan as He laid it out for us, it brings immense glory to Him.
Words can speak life, or they can speak death and destruction. When we participate in gossip or slander, we're allowing the tongue to destroy not only the person we're talking about, but also our own integrity. The words we choose to use have the power to harm other people or turn them to the Lord; which do we want it to be?
God intended for His followers to multiply, and we're His plan to make it happen. One of the signs of a mature believer is that he or she is bearing spiritual fruit and planting the seeds of the Gospel at every opportunity. To do that, it's important to first be growing in Him, staying connected in the Word, and walking with the Spirit.
It's likely that many of us are carrying hidden sin through our day-to-day lives. But whatever it is we're hiding will be exposed sooner or later; the only question is, do we want to expose it ourselves or wait until someone else finds out? Whatever we cover God will uncover, but the reverse is also true: whatever we're willing to uncover and surrender to Him, God will cover with His grace and mercy.
In a fast-paced culture that thrives on racing to accomplish goals at the cost of relationships, it requires both effort and intention to slow down and spend time with others -- including Jesus. In order to be used effectively by God, we have to first spend time building our relationship with Him.
All you have to do is read Scripture to know that from the beginning of Creation, people have used excuses to try to get out of having God use them in miraculous ways. Yet when they were finally willing to be used, God was still willing to use them. He has the power to accomplish what anyone would deem "impossible", and there's no limit to what He can do in us and through us for His Kingdom -- if we're willing to get rid of our excuses.
Suffering comes in a lot of different forms -- including choosing to do the right thing in the face of temptation. But even Jesus was tempted like we are today, and when we choose to follow Him, we're also choosing to suffer as He suffered. In those moments when we find ourselves facing a moment or a season of weakness, it's important to remember that the eternal reward of righteousness will always outweigh and outlast the fleeting pleasure of sin.
When Jesus tells His disciples that they're not of this world, He never told them not to be in this world. We're on this earth for a reason, and we can't run away from the sin and struggles that exist because of the broken nature of humanity. It's important, though, that we allow ourselves to be filled with God and His Holy Spirit before we walk out the door every day. When we do that, we're less affected by the world, and better able to affect the world with the eternal hope of the Gospel.
The Bible is filled with promises from God -- promises that He'll strength us, uphold us, and be with us through all the trials and tribulations this world brings. His grace is sufficient for us in our weaknesses; when we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, He renews the Spirit within us to face any challenge the enemy tries to bring.
The story of Daniel in the lions' den is an extraordinary example of what it looks like to obey God even if it means risking one's own life. Our situation might not always look as drastic as Daniel's -- but God might not always rescue us like He did with Daniel, either. At the end of the day, our focus needs to be Kingdom first and not on this world, because our obedience to Him will be rewarded in eternity.
Scripture tells us that when we give our lives to God, He doesn't just refinish what's here -- He makes us completely new. It takes time for new Christians to grow and mature; that's why we all have a responsibility to be discipled and to disciple others.
We tend to gravitate towards people who are a lot like us. After all, that's familiar and comfortable...right? But the closer we get to Jesus, the more "riff raff" people we'll find -- people who God will challenge us to love and accept even though they might think and act differently than us.
God doesn't want us to think too much of ourselves -- but He never intended for us to think too little of ourselves, either. When you and I accept His love for us as individual people who were made in His image, then we can start to view ourselves in a correct perspective as valuable to and for Him. And when we allow Him to love us and we respond by loving Him back, we're better able to love the people around us.
When Jesus commanded us to love one another, He knew that would require us to love people who we don't always like. It's easy to love people who think and act like us; it's something entirely different to love people we disagree with or are even repulsed by. But when we love others -- even when it's hard -- we show the world the type of love that God has for them.
You cannot manufacture the presence of God. When the Holy Spirit fills His people, that's what attracts people to church -- not some fancy building. God can't be contained in manmade walls; He dwells in every believer. May His Spirit be so evident in us that when we're together, people would be able to say, "God is in that house."
Proverbs 12:22 tells us, "Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who deal truthfully are His delight." We not only lie often, but we do it so flippantly, too. If we want to live lives that are pleasing to God then we've got to be truthful to Him and to the people around us -- and that comes from knowing the Truth Himself, Jesus Christ.
Have you ever considered that jealousy is a disease of the heart and the spirit? The world around us constantly plays the comparison game, feeding a spirit of envy within us and making us feel like what we have isn't enough. Scripture tells us that in Jesus, we have more than we could ever need. When our contentment is found in Christ, it leads to a life of joy.
God warns us against sin all throughout Scripture. That's why He's laid out a path for us to avoid the suffering and inevitable consequences that come with disobedience. When we choose to do it His way, we should also be on the lookout to invite anyone who's willing to jump in with us and follow Him.
Often we have to win the small battles before we're ready to win the war. If we keep focusing on the "big" sin that we can't seem to shake, we'll keep losing on the small stuff too. Instead of trying to conquer our biggest sin struggle right away, it's sometimes better for us to focus on simpler victories first -- because once we begin to win with God's help, it triggers a snowball effect.
How often do we get bogged down and overwhelmed by the things this world throws at us, instead of focusing on what we're here to do? Jesus gave us a job before He left: to take the Gospel to the entire planet. We need to live in the mindset that He can use us to take the world for the Gospel's sake, and when we trust Him to accomplish that goal through us, there's nothing that we can't do.
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our faith becomes a reflection of Him to the people around us. That's why it's critical that we find a local church where we can plug in. God wants to use us to serve in ways that only we can, knowing that He'll use whatever is in our past to touch someone else's life.
God invites us to ask Him for anything, and He promises that He'll give us whatever we ask -- according to His will. Like a child asks their parents, He wants us to come to Him in relationship and ask Him. As a loving Father, He knows everything we want and need, but He'll only give us what He knows is best for us.
We're all being used by somebody. The question is, are we being used by God or the devil? It's our choice to obey what God is calling us to do, no matter how dirty our hands get in the process.
When Jesus rose from the dead, even His own disciples -- those in His inner circle -- doubted Him and raised questions. God's big enough to take on our doubt, but we also have to be ready to put our faith in the truth that He reveals to us. Jesus is alive and He sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us; Hallelujah and Amen!
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the pivotal moment through which all who choose to follow Him now have a way of escape from judgment, sin, and eternal separation from God. And with the resurrection came numerous sightings of the risen Jesus, and numerous attempts to discredit the fact that He rose again. Plots by the enemy to attack those who believe that He came back from the grave happened then, and they continue to happen to us today; thankfully, God provides us with a way of escape.
So many tried to stop Jesus. From his birth to His earthly ministry, on every side from the most unexpected places. Yet, no force could. As His followers we must know that His message is still under attack.
When Jesus was crucified, His last words impacted not only those who were around Him that day -- the thief hanging on the cross next to Him; His brother, whom He told to take care of His mother; and the witnesses of the crucifixion as He proclaimed that "it is finished" -- but they also impact us today. His death was the full payment, once and for all, for our sins, and in finishing what He started, we now get to live in freedom and look forward to an eternity spent with Him.
When Jesus died on the cross, He took all of our sin -- past, present, and future -- and nailed it to the cross along with Himself. It's on us to accept the fact that He paid our debt in full, and then move forward in the freedom that can only come from living in God's forgiveness.
It wasn't enough for Jesus to die for our sins - He also had to conquer death. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for us when He was crucified, but it was in His resurrection that He overcame death and now offers us eternal life. All we have to do is accept His forgiveness and surrender our lives to Him.
The Bible tells us that this life is like a vapor. In fact, according to God's time, we're on this earth for mere minutes in the grand scheme of eternity. It's important for us to realize that time is slipping away, not so that we can live in fear of dying, but so that we can utilize what time we have left by following His will and living to glorify Him.
You probably haven't thought much about the donkey and the colt that Jesus needed to ride on when He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. But what if the man who owned them had been unwilling to give them when he heard the Lord needed them? We need to always be prepared and willing to give God whatever He asks, whenever He asks -- even if it means giving ourselves -- to be used for His glory.
God's Spirit takes up residence inside of us when we accept His salvation and submit our lives to Him. And when He's running the show, that means we no longer get to live the way we did before we chose to follow Him -- the way the world encourages us to live. He's the "landLord" now, and it's our responsibility to submit ourselves to live under His authority and for His glory.
Men and women alike are subject to temptation; none of us are immune. In those moments when we feel swayed to give in to the allure of what the world has to offer, it's important to focus on what God has given us at home and be the husband or wife we need to be for our spouse.
Single men and women who are seeking a relationship should be seeking Christ first, because when they do that, they'll find someone who has Christ living in them. Without Him, we have no defense against sinful things, but when He lives in us, we're no longer "only human".
In the same way that it delights a parent when their child obeys and desires to do things for them, God is delighted when we obey and serve Him. When we live our lives to please the Lord, we'll be amazed by the ways He uses us to touch others -- and the ways He rewards us all the while.
Jesus was the fulfillment of the sacrifice needed to satisfy the punishment for all of our sin; it's His blood that washes us clean. He paid the price for our salvation not so that we could continue to be weighted down by the past, but so that we'd be free to run the race before us with our eyes fixed on the eternal prize that awaits us.
The Apostle Paul writes about singleness being a gift from God, because it allows the individual to serve Him wholeheartedly. But he also addresses those who are gifted with marriage, and instructs them to give God their whole lives. If someone who loves and follows and serves the Lord is going to get married, it's important that the person they're marrying loves and follows and serves Him, too.
We're naturally drawn to sin, and the more we sin, the more our lives spiral out of control. But when we submit ourselves to God's reign and rule, He grows the fruit of His Spirit in us, and it gives us the power to control the sinful tendencies of our flesh.
We can listen to sermons all day long, or read our Bibles from cover to cover. But if we never actually respond in obedience to what we're being told, it will eventually cease to have any impact on us spiritually. If we're ever unsure of the response we should have when reading Scripture, we can ask God to give us ears to truly hear what it says -- and then act accordingly.
Jesus didn't teach His disciples to pray for monthly bread or yearly bread; He taught them to pray for daily bread. In other words, Jesus emphasized the importance and necessity of regular time in prayer with the Father. When we make a habit of praying and giving thanks to God, we're obedient to Him in the small things, and over time, the big things as well.
No one can purchase salvation. It's not up for bid; it can only be received as a free gift from God. Even after we accept that gift, we're bound to fall and fail, but because of His relentless grace, we're able to get back up and continue to follow Him.
In America, we have a lot of churches, but not enough disciples making disciples. Our churches are orphanages for new believers, and if we're really following Jesus, we'll put away our fears about what it means to disciple someone else and obey His calling to just go out and do it.
If God is faithful to forgive us of our sins, then why do we have such a hard time releasing them ourselves? He calls us to leave our old ways behind and to power forward in the freedom that comes with our repentance. Other people will notice the change in us when we let go of the past and take hold of the future hope He's promised.
Do you ever feel tired of working for God? When we're constantly trying to do God's work out of our own strength, we just end up weary and worn down. But when we let Him work in and through us, we experience the rest that He promises us when we put our trust in Him.
As Christians, we need to always be listening, not only to the voice of God the Father, but to the prompting of His Spirit. The Lord has given us the Holy Spirit to provide us with direction, discernment, and conviction. Sometimes He tells us to "go" and do something, but other times, He tells us to "stop" -- and in those moments, whether they're big or small, our obedience will ultimately be for our own benefit and for His glory.
The Bible tells us that when we accept God's gift of salvation, we die to sin and are given the power of the Holy Spirit to live righteously in Christ. And when we're dead to sin, that means that things we used to struggle with no longer have control over us. Yielding to our own flesh only leads to sin and suffering -- but yielding to the Spirit leads to righteousness.
So many of us waste this life because we're busy fearing death. But if we've chosen to put our trust in Jesus, we don't need to be afraid; we've been given the hope and the promise of eternal life spent with Him. Instead of killing time waiting fearfully for the end or ignoring other people's fate, let's spend our time here telling as many people as we can about Christ so that they can live in the same hope.
As we grow in faith and discipleship within the Church, we become capable members of the Body of Christ who fight in the spiritual battle that the enemy wages daily against us. God doesn't intend for us to stay infants or children in our spiritual development; He wants us to grow into seasoned veterans for the work of His Kingdom.
We can't perform our way into Heaven; Scripture tells us that by grace we have been saved through faith. The Old Testament Law, and all the earthly rules we could follow, ultimately come with a curse of death because it's impossible to follow them all. Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the grave changed everything, and only through Him can we be saved from the fate we deserve: death up a tree.
When we try our hardest to act godly, the work of trying will eventually wear us down -- and our flesh will reveal itself in the ugliness of sin. But when we surrender ourselves to Jesus, His work in us manifests itself in the fruit of the Spirit that others notice in our lives. To allow ourselves to be controlled by the Spirit is anything but weak -- it takes immense strength.
In Matthew 6, Jesus warns us of the inevitable destruction of our earthly treasures, and points us towards storing up that which will last for eternity. But the only way to invest in something eternal is to invest in other people -- and when we do that, it has to potential to bring both us and them heavenly rewards.
People are attracted to joy, not happiness. The latter is based on our circumstances; the former is based on our faith and trust in the Lord. Those around us take notice when they witness us praise God in all circumstances, not just the easy ones, so let's thank Him for the work that He's done and continues to do in our lives, even in the midst of hard times.
If you've ever played Monopoly, you know about the coveted "get out of jail free" card. But too often, we coast through this life as Christians, knowing we've got our "bonus card" of salvation tucked in our back pocket. That's why Scripture encourages us to wake up and take our obedience to Christ seriously; there will come a day when our time here ends, so it's up to us to make the most of every moment pointing others to Jesus.
One of the telltale signs that we're on the path to wandering away from God is when we lose our connection to the local Church. Like sheep in a herd, the more closely we walk with others, the less likely we are to run astray. God's design is for us to be in community not only for our own benefit, but for the benefit of the other "sheep" in the fold.
The Bible talks enough about fools that we should pay attention - lest we become one ourselves. It instructs us not to live in foolishness, but in wisdom. If we know what Scripture says but don't actually live it out, it has no genuine worth or meaning in our lives.
We've all experienced the disappointment that comes with being let down by another person. But what do you do when you feel like you've been let down by...God? In those moments, it's important to remember the evidence of His character that we see through His Word and through the ultimate sacrifice of His Son on our behalf. He promises to provide all we need for the work He's called us to do, until the day He calls us home to Him.
God calls us to live on the edge -- in the place where we're forced to depend on Him instead of watching and waiting to see how He's going to show up for us. He often brings us to the place where our faith is stretched, but when we seek Him first above all things, He provides for all our needs.
Humanity's struggle with sin is the very reason why Jesus had to come and die on our behalf -- and in doing so, He gave us the power through His Spirit to overcome the sin in our lives. Because God is love and overflows with love for us, He works through us to love people in supernatural ways, showing kindness and compassion to others in ways that make no earthly sense.
God's faithfulness to fulfill His promises has shown true, time and again throughout history. We can trust Him to be faithful in everything He's promised us; the question is, can He trust us to be faithful to Him?
The Bible reveals God's character to us, and it describes all the things He made as "good". In His mercy, He works in us to manifest goodness and mercy in our lives everywhere we go. If we claim to follow Jesus, we should be allowing Him to break off what's bad -- sin -- and trust that what He has for us is so much better.
Ever felt "different" because you were a Christian? If you answered "yes", that's not actually a bad thing. As a follower of Christ, you've been chosen by God and set apart from this world to live out the calling He's placed on your life. Live in such a way that your life reflects the saving work that Jesus did for you on the cross -- and the work that He continues to do in and through you every single day.
Let's be honest: it feels good to have other people notice what we do. But where man's affirmation is temporary and fleeting, God's validation is eternal and everlasting. Instead of finding our value through the world's eyes, let's rest in the knowledge of the immeasurable value God's given us through His Son.
We realize that Jesus died to save us from an eternity spent in hell -- but we often forget that He also died to save us from an earthly life spent in sin. When we accept God's forgiveness, we're justified by His grace and sanctified through His Son's sacrifice. The Gospel is good news not only for our salvation, but for our daily lives.
Almost all of us have experienced the feeling that comes from believing somebody else's life is better, easier, happier, or more successful than ours. But comparison is the thief of joy, and God is focused on working with us from the inside out. Maybe you're in a season of waiting and wondering when God is going to move; trust Him, don't compromise on your standards, and know that some of HIs best refining work happens when we wait on Him.
Discipline is one way that God shows us the areas of our lives in which we need to be refined. The right response isn't to become hardened and allow roots of bitterness to grow towards the Lord; the right response is to allow Him to dig up the roots of sin that are hindering us so that we can experience peace with Him.
Nothing catches God by surprise. Isn't that a comforting truth? Even when we're caught off guard by our circumstances, God is never startled by what happens. He knew every step of our lives before we were born, and when we spend time with Him, like through prayer, Scripture, and fasting, He promises to cover us.
Jesus was the living, breathing, walking embodiment of servant leadership. All throughout the Gospels, he models for us what it means to humble ourselves in a position of servanthood in order to minister to others. As Christ followers, we shouldn't just be willing to serve those around us; we should strive to serve those around us in hopes that they'll be impacted spiritually themselves and inspired to do the same for others.
Every day of this life involves a spiritual battle for our souls; that's why God gives us weapons to defend against the attacks of the enemy. Prayer is a means to protect ourselves and others from the devil's attempts to destroy God's work in us, and Scripture is a tool to fight back against the devil's lies.
Spiritual growth and maturity are critical components of our walk with God. We can't just learn about what it means to follow Jesus -- we also need to apply it so that we can help others grow in relationship with Him.
Billy Graham famously said, "Heaven is my home; I'm just traveling through this world." Can each of us say the same? In Scripture, we read that Jesus is preparing a place in Heaven for all those who choose to follow Him, but those who do not believe will not enter. The choice belongs to each of us -- and if we choose Jesus, then we have no time to waste on this earth sharing the Good News with as many people as we can.
When we come before God with repentant hearts and yield to Him, He can turn even the meanest person into someone who's filled with kindness -- and He gets all the glory. The more we walk in the Spirit, the more naturally His fruit is produced in our lives.
God blessed the Jews out of His love for them. He protected them from countless attempts to destroy the Jewish nation over thousands of years. When Jesus, a Jew, died on the cross, God raised Him from the dead to make salvation possible -- not only for the Jews, but each one of us. The only way into God's family is through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus said that He came so that we might have life more abundantly. God has a plan for each of us, but if we're going to experience it, we have to get up and step into the fullness that awaits us. He offers a life full of purpose; are you ready to receive it?
The difficulties we face are often symptoms of a root problem: sin. And while we can easily make the mistake of focusing on the symptoms, nothing will change in our circumstances until we deal with the problem. God gives us tools through Scripture to help us address our sin, and it's our responsibility to put those tools in our spiritual toolbox so that we can grow and mature in our walk with Him.
There are defining moments of tragedy in every generation where we can't help but ask, "why?" We live in a world that is broken as a result of the sin within humanity, and because of that brokenness, bad things happen. We might not always get an answer to our "why?" questions, but we know the answer to the question, "who can save us?" It's Jesus Christ alone.
The Bible is clear on the reality of this world coming to a burning end. And the only way to be saved from an eternity burning in hell is by accepting salvation through Jesus Christ. When His blood covers our sins and makes us clean, our names are added to the Book of Life, and with that, we're given the promise of eternity spent with Him.
We learn by example. When we see and hear someone else, and they model a behavior, then we're better able to do the same thing ourselves. That's what discipleship is: seeing and hearing what it means to follow Jesus, living it out ourselves, then turning around and being an example to other people so both our lives and their lives can glorify God.
We're all inflicted with the poison of sin, and the only way to get healing is through Christ alone. Jesus was hung to die on a cross so that all who look to Him and believe would be saved. As followers of Christ, we've been charged with the responsibility to be fishers of men, and to point as many people as possible to salvation.
You've probably heard the phrase, "work smarter, not harder". When we wait on the Holy Spirit to move in His power, we avoid exhausting ourselves (and probably screwing things up in the process!) by trying to work out of our strength. And the power of the Holy Spirit doesn't just enable amazing results in our own lives -- it also moves us to be a witness to others about what Christ has done for us.
A foolish person is swayed by the opinions of the world; a godly person is rooted in the truth of God and His Word. When our foundation is built on Scripture and on the character of God Himself, no cultural trends or popular beliefs will blow us away from what we know to be true.
We're a world filled with people who are desperate to find peace -- and we seek it everywhere but in the One who is Peace Himself. Only in Christ can we trade our anxiety and worry for eternal calm, and rest in the fact that He will take care of our every need.
True happiness can be found in Christ alone. When we receive the fact that His love for us is endless and unconditional, we're able to give love in return to God, ourselves, and others. Find hope today in this truth: nothing you will ever do can change God's love for you!
Jesus didn't die for our sins so we could continue to live captive to them -- He died to set us free, once and for all. We have the opportunity to walk out of the prison of sin and live in the liberty that He's given us. And when we're truly experiencing the freedom that He offers us, we're able to help other people experience that freedom, too.
God commissioned us to make disciples -- and that includes within our own families. We may have had a godly example in our own parents, or we may be setting a brand-new example for the next generation. The beautiful thing about God's Church is there are plenty of Christ-followers who are ready and willing to pour into other believers, and to model what it means to form a legacy that reaches far beyond themselves.
There's an entire book of the Bible -- the book of Proverbs -- that's devoted to gaining wisdom. That's how important godly wisdom is! The Lord's waiting for us to ask Him for wisdom in our daily decisions, from the big ones all the way down to the seemingly small ones. Sometimes it comes from Him in prayer, and sometimes it comes in the form of life choices, both good and bad.
When Jesus died on the cross, He made it possible for us to be free. It might sound like a contradiction, but His sacrifice gave us the freedom to choose God as our Master. We can either be slaves to sin or slaves to God; which choice will you make?
God's patience for us is limitless: He extends undeserved, unmerited grace and love no matter how many times we mess up. We can take advantage of His kindness and mercy and continue to live in our own flesh, or we can let Him live in us and watch the fruit of His Spirit begin to grow from within.
Scripture helps light our feet every step of the way, and in doing do, it helps us avoid some of the pitfalls of sin. When we learn what the Bible says about our areas of weakness and temptation, we can use that knowledge to keep us from stepping off the path God intends for us. And as we use that light to illuminate our way, it also shines through us to attract other people to Him.
Scripture tells us of the covenant God made with the people of Israel. That covenant was then expanded and shared with the Gentiles through the saving power of Jesus Christ. That means for all of us who believe, we have been given the right to become children of the living God, Who promises to take care of us. The question is: do you believe that God will keep His promises to you?
The world's way is to base how we love others on how they first loved us. God's way is for us to love others based on how He first loved us. When we have a healthy relationship with the Lord, we understand the depths of His unconditional love, and we can't help but extend the same selflessness to the people around us.
Jesus didn't say that we might have troubles in this life; He guaranteed that we will. Hard times will come, but God designed His Church to be a body of believers who can comfort one another during those times. He wants to use us, not just to help each other, but so that His peace can be made known to the world in the midst of difficult seasons.
God used a handful of people to establish His Church and, in doing so, to reach the entire world. More than 2000 years later, the impact that those obedient disciples of Jesus made on generations of Christians who followed has set a path for us to continue the work of the Gospel. May we strive to emulate their commitment and submission to bring all people to the saving knowledge of Christ!
If you have an ex that you haven't forgiven, you run the risk of carrying around a bitterness that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Jesus tells us not only to forgive our enemies, but to love and pray for them, too. When we forgive those who have hurt us, we experience freedom from the past, and the opportunity to let go and move on.
The devil draws so many people into believing the lie that this life is all that there is. The reality is: if we've accepted Christ as our Savior, then we have the promise of eternal life with Him. But even though Heaven is waiting for us in the end, that's not an excuse to coast through this world; we have a responsibility to finish out the things God's placed us on this earth to do, until the day He calls us home.
God went all in to save us. Why would we expect to do anything less than go all in and give Him our lives in response? He holds all the cards -- the only winning strategy in this life is to bet everything on Him knowing He'll take care of us every step of the way.
Sometimes the worst harm we can do is to sit down and keep quiet when we should stand up and speak out. That's especially true when an opportunity presents itself for us to share our faith with others. God wants to use you and me to reach people for His Kingdom. Let's be ready to give a reason for the hope that should be evident in our lives.
Genealogy has become increasingly popular with the advent of modern technology that allows us to trace our DNA back through time. In the same way that we can see how the choices made by previous generations still impact our earthly lives today, we can also see the spiritual impact of those who have gone before us. It's not only important for us to live in obedience to God for our own benefit -- it also makes a difference to other believers both in the here and now, and in the generations to come.
God made the Church to be His Bride by loving her enough to die for her. Do we, as the Church, respond accordingly in love? Foreplay is used to lead to intimacy in marriage, but in a spiritual way, it can be used to lead to intimacy with God. We need to give Him our time and attention, in worship and prayer, showing that our heart truly loves the One who first loved us.
Have you ever known somebody who has gone through unimaginable hardship, yet they exude complete and absolute joy? It's impossible to be void of joy when we're walking in the presence of God and living in true relationship with Him. That doesn't mean we're free from experiencing sorrow and suffering -- it means that no amount of sorrow or suffering can rob us of the joy we receive from Him.
There's no way to sugarcoat the truth: we live in a dangerous world. Not only do we face physical struggles constantly -- we face spiritual battles every day. The Bible tells us to hide ourselves in God and He'll cover us. He's faithful to protect us from the attacks of the enemy when we call on His name.
We'll never achieve perfection in this life -- but perfection isn't the point. The point is that we strive to obey God, and that we keep trying even when we fail. The more we persevere in our obedience to Him, the deeper both our faith in Him and our relationship with Him grow.
Before Jesus, justice came in the form of "an eye for an eye" and "a tooth for a tooth". But Jesus turned justice upside down when He instead told His followers to love their enemies; do good to those who persecute them; give more than what is asked; go further than the extra mile; and love their neighbor as themselves. What He requires of us goes against our very nature most of the time -- and it requires us to surrender to God and allow Him to extend mercy, love, and forgiveness through us.
True wisdom doesn't come simply from age or life experience; true wisdom is given to us by God Himself. And being wise isn't just knowing what the right thing to do is -- it's following through and doing it. The wisest, most important choice we can ever make is the choice to follow Jesus, and when we do that, He gifts us with the discernment of the Holy Spirit to make God-honoring decisions in every aspect of our lives.
There is a place called Heaven, and there is a place called Hell, and the decisions we make in this life will determine where we spend our eternal life. Choosing to follow Jesus -- or reject Him -- is the single most consequential decision any of us can ever make, because that choice directs our eternity. We all face the same destiny of death in this life, but the only way to have life beyond this one is by choosing to give ourselves to Christ.
The Bible tells us that God will provide us with a way of escape from every temptation we face. But have you ever noticed that it's easier to take Him up on that "exit route" for some sins than it is for others? We've all got our weaknesses, and if we're not careful we can find ourselves getting discouraged about our struggles instead of celebrating the Lord's triumphs in our lives. Through Him and Him alone, we've been made victors over sin.
Scripture's filled with stories of ordinary people who stepped out in faith to God -- no matter how crazy it seemed. As we mature in our relationship with Him, we cease to act childish and learn to obey Him in big ways and small. Sometimes He calls us to listen in ways we don't necessarily understand. The question is: are we ready and willing to obey?
As we resolve to follow Jesus, we enter into a relationship with Him that's based on trust -- trust that allows Him to do His will, in our lives, in His time, and by His means. Sometimes, that means we endure long seasons of loss and heartache, filled with questions, impatience, and many tears. But in the end, though there's pain in the darkness of night, He promises us joy in the morning.
How often have you found yourself seeking everything this world has to offer -- instead of seeking God Himself? We chase money, power, material possessions, in an attempt to feel like we've "arrived". But the only destination that's worthwhile arriving to is an eternity spent face-to-face with the Lord, and no alternative will ever be able to satisfy the way only Jesus can.
God designed marriage to be the most intimate relationship on earth: full of oneness and intimacy. But when sin becomes involved in marriage, as with any other aspect of life, it brings shame and disconnection with it. Scripture instructs us how we're to love our spouse, and in God's design we have marriage the way it was intended to be, but none of it works without the Lord at the center of it all.
The more we knowGod, the more we should fearGod. But it's not an unhealthy fear -- it's the kind of fear that's accompanied by a certain awe and respect that only the Creator of the universe deserves. When we choose to be irreverent towards Him, or to disobey Him, it only ends up costing us in the end.
We all start off "over our heads" buried in sin. But God made a way through Jesus Christ to take it from us, while still leaving some of the residual consequences for us to learn from our mistakes. The more we dive headfirst into Scripture -- and apply the things we read on a daily basis -- the more God's Spirit works within us and changes us for His glory.
Scripture tells us that when we abide in God, He not only lives inus -- He also lives throughus. We can do nothing to bring Him glory apart from Him. When we remain in the Lord, the fruit of the Spirit flows out of us naturally -- and He's able to continually prune us to produce more fruit.
Do you ever feel alone? Ironically, if you do...you're not alone in your feelings. That's why God designed the Church to be a community -- a place where everybody works together to accomplish His plan. In the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, we read that God's people came together to rebuild a city in just 52 days. God wants His Church to work together in such a way that the end result highlights our dependence on one another, and more importantly, our dependence on Him.
We tend to have a hard time accepting God's love -- and His forgiveness for our sins -- when the devil continues to remind us of who we once were. When we come to terms with Christ's sacrifice for us, and recognize that His work on the cross was fully sufficient to cover our sins, we're then held to a higher standard. We have the responsibility and the privilege to extend the same forgiveness and mercy to other people that was first given to us.
From the beginning of recorded time, the heavens have declared the glory of God. Modern technology now allows scientists to estimate that there are trillions of galaxies in space. Yet in the midst of all that vastness, God not only created you, me, and this planet on which we live -- He created a direct pathway back to Him and His love by sending His Son to Earth to show us the way back to the Father.
We doubt God's unconditional love because every other kind of love we experience is...well...conditional. Onlyunconditional love could have caused a Father to send His only Son to die on our behalf. And onlyunconditional love is eternal and everlasting. We might not always be overwhelmed by the emotions and feelings that the world tells us equate to love, but we can always have faith that the Lord loves us, His children -- no matter what.
Scripture tells us that everyone has fallen short when it comes to hitting the mark of perfection. No matter how much we try to act the way we think a Christian should, we'll never be sufficient until we allow Jesus to enter our hearts. Only when He works in us and through us will we begin to hit the "bull's eye" for the life He's called us to live.
A key part of the Christian life is the study of Scripture. But God doesn't just want us to readit; He wants us to be engrossedand embeddedin it in such a way that we apply it to our lives on an everyday basis. When we do more than just read the Bible, and we also obey what it says, then we not only model its life application to the people around us -- we gain credibility to teach others to do the same.
Ever heard the term "return on investment"? This world only has so much to offer that money can buy. But when we invest in others' lives, we're making an investment in the eternal -- in a treasure that we'll receive on the other side of this life. When we lose ourselves to Christ's calling and purpose on earth, we gain so much more in heaven.
Prayer isn't about a perfect script or eloquent speech; it's about having a simple heart-to-heart with a Father who loves us unconditionally. The Bible tells us to seek out a quiet place to talk with Him privately. It not only helps us to build our relationship with Him -- it allows us a front-row seat to witness Him meet our needs and answer our prayers.
God's design for His family is for each of us to be growing with the help of another -- while also helping others to grow. He emphasizes the necessity of teaching His Word to our children, and that includes those in both physical and spiritual infancy. When we lead another person to Christ, let's not abandon them to figure out the discipleship journey on their own; let's take them by the hand and help to grow disciples who make disciples.
God calls us to preach the Good News and make disciples of allnations -- whether we journey to another country for a mission trip, or we walk down to the end of our block to love on our neighbor. The world is hungry to know the one true God, and it's our job to tell them about Him. He's given us the Gospel to share that every person we meet might have the opportunity to become part of His family.
How we handle our finances -- especially when it comes to how we give -- has a way of "tipping the scales" for or against us, because God sees the intent of our hearts. It's important that we're honest with our money, including when paying people who work for us. Are we living lives of generosity like we've been called to do?
When we live in sin, we essentially give the devil a key -- and full access -- to our lives. And while he cannot possess us as followers of Christ, he canget us to believe his lies. God gives us the weapons and the armor we need to keep the enemy and his schemes out of our lives: meditating on Scripture, worshipping, forgiving others, and ultimately, letting Jesus have control.
You'll never fully know whoyou are until you first know Whoseyou are. Our identity isn't found in ourselves -- it's found in Christ alone. Before we go chasing ideas that try to tell us our identity in the world, we need to back up and understand our identity in the Lord...and that can only happen when we die to ourselves and live the way He tells us to live.
Sometimes God speaks loudly. But more often, He speaks softly. He might be speaking to you this very moment, but you're not hearing it because you're too busy listening for some extravagant manifestation of His voice. Listen for the whisper -- and then obey what He's telling you to do.
God designed us to work, but He also designed us to rest -- and true rest can only be found in Him. We have to purposely and purposefully take time out of our work and allow the Lord to refresh our souls in order to avoid burnout. When we do things His way, even the work that we do for Him is rejuvenating.
We each have a conscience built within us that creates boundaries in our lives -- and we can tell when we've crossed those boundaries. Only through Jesus Christ is it possible to receive forgiveness for our transgressions and live in freedom. We get to choose whether we're going to carry the guilt of our sin with us everywhere we go, or whether we're going to find forgiveness and freedom in Christ.
God doesn't suggest that we mightbe tempted -- He all but guarantees it. Temptation is inevitable, and often, we find ourselves being tempted by the same things over and over and over again. But God is also faithful to provide a way of escape...provided we're willing to take it.
What scares you about the future?It's easy to be afraid of what lies ahead, because you don't always know what comes next. But God does; nothing takes Him by surprise. Trust that He holds your future, and He'll lead you according to His will.
God's Kingdom has been described as "the upside-down Kingdom" because it's counter-cultural to what society teaches. But Jesus Himself turned the world upside down when He made the ultimate sacrifice on the cross for our sake -- and that's why He tells us that anyone who loses their life for His sake will find it in Him.
Jesus warns that money reveals the condition of the heart in Matthew 6:21 when He says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Money fosters a love/hate relationship: it can either control us, and we become slaves to its influence, or we can surrender it to God, and allow it to be used as a conduit for His Kingdom's purposes.
We're born sinful, into a world of sin, where we find ourselves naked, exposed, and ashamed. Jesus not only took our sin to the cross with Him -- He also took our shame. When we come to Him "butt naked" and in need, He offers Himself as the ultimate sacrifice and makes it possible for us to be covered by clothing us in His righteousness.
Christians are called to be united as oneBody. That's because so much more is accomplished together than when everyone works alone! The devil makes it his mission to keep the Body from carrying out the Lord's work, but when there's unity among God's children, no power of hell can stop what's being accomplished.
When the devil continues to remind you of your sin, allow God to remind you of your redemption through His Son's sacrifice on the cross. We have a hard time letting go of our past mistakes, but God already forgot them when we were washed clean in the blood of Christ.
Have you ever heard the saying, "be ready in and out of season"? It might surprise you to learn that phrase came straight out of Scripture! It was Paul's advice to Timothy, and it's still sound advice for us today as Christians. God will put us in the spiritual game in due season, in whatever capacity He has planned for us. Whether we're scoring the winning point, carrying water, washing feet, or sometimes even warming the bench, it's important that we show up with humility and patience and an attitude that says we're ready to follow His command.
There's a famous story in the Bible about a paralyzed man whose friends had such great faith in Jesus that they cut a hole through a roof in order to get their friend in front of Him to be healed. Not only did Jesus heal the man's physical ailment -- He also forgave the man's sins. When we have faith that God can do the seemingly "impossible", and when we ask things according to His will, we get a front-row seat to watch His power at work in us and around us.
We think we hold the keys to our own lives -- but we don't. We can try and try to "make" things happen, but if they're not God's will for our life, they're probably not going to work out as well as we planned. The only way to know His will is to walk with Him and spend time with Him, in prayer and through Scripture, and to follow where He leads.
Jesus assures us that if we choose to follow Him and obey His direction, the world will surely hate us. But although there will be people who are against us and what we believe, God may put some of them in our lives so He can use us to draw them closer to Him.
It's not your job to figure out how or if God's going to come through for you.And it's not my job to figure out how or if God's going to come through for me! It's our job to do what He tells us to do -- period. Whatever's holding us back from stepping out in obedience and surrender to Him has to be put aside if we're going to build our faith and watch Him work in our lives.
Have you ever found yourself in a job where you were just passing time? Maybe that's the season or the workplace that you find yourself in right now. It's tempting in that situation to be lazy -- but we're called to do everything for the glory of God. Christians should be known as the hardest-working people in the workplace, because we're working for the Lord, not for the approval of men.
When we choose to follow Jesus, we're branded with a "rebirth mark" that appears like a bullseye to the devil. He comes after us with temptations he knows we'll fall for. And while temptation may be inevitable, Scripture tells us that if we submitto God and resistthe devil, he'll flee from us.
Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control. These are the fruits of the Spirit, and should be the natural byproduct of every follower of Jesus. Tasted any lately?
Every day, we're faced with the choice to deny ourselves or to deny God. Jesus could have denied us for being sinful, but instead, He chose us when He died on a cross, was buried and raised from the dead for our sins. Are you willing to deny yourself so that you can stand up and proclaim Him to those around you?
God is goodin His very being. He's worthy to be praised! He cares for all of our needs as a loving Father. And when we submit to His will, and to living the way He instructs, He promises to never withhold any goodthing from us.
Milk is the key to a baby's physical growth -- and a baby Christian's spiritual growth is no different. New believers need someone to feed them, teach them, and support them as they grow. Churches should consistently be filled with a healthy mix of new Christians and those who help them mature to the point of discipling others.
Have you ever watched a kid try to run while holding onto their security blanket? The blanket inevitably winds up on the floor (or in the dirt!), being dragged along and slowing their momentum. Sin is our security blanket.We hold onto it because we think it brings us stability, yet all it does is keep us from running towards Christ. But the reality is, nothing we cling to is better than the life He offers us when we cling to Him.
Blue flame is so hot that the heat is almost unimaginable, and it represents complete combustion. Sometimes, God turns up the heat in our lives to a "blue flame" degree by walking with us through seemingly unimaginable situations. But because He's God, He has the ability to turn those difficult circumstances into moments of refinement, and in doing so, develop us into a "blue flame" for Him: able to cut through anything and accomplish more for His glory than we could ask or imagine.
How often has God called you to obedience and you've responded with...an excuse? No matter how legitimate the reason might seem to you and to me, everyexcuse not to obey God is a lame excuse. He's merciful to forgive our disobedience, and He's faithful to take care of our needs when we submit to Him first.
Are you growing in your relationship with God on an ongoing basis, or are you stuck in toddlerhood? Growth is a sign of spiritual maturity, and it's also vital to our ability to disciple other believers. Progress, not perfection, will be shown on our crown in Heaven one day -- the crown that we can then turn around and lay at the feet of Jesus.
The devil's out to steal, kill, and destroy...and he's "killing it" at his job. But God offers us another way of life -- abundant life -- when we yield our will to His and walk in obedience to Him.
When Jesus walked the earth, it was filled with Pharisees and people who had studied Scripture -- yet they still did not believe He was the Christ, the Savior sent to redeem humanity. But when we look through Scripture and see prophecy after prophecy, we can clearly see that He was the Son of God, the only One who can save us from our sins and change us for all eternity.
"Do not steal" is such an important subject to God that not only is it talked about all through Scripture, but it's one of the Ten Commandments. Yet there are seemingly small areas of our lives where, as Christians, we might think it's okay, or that it doesn't really "count" as stealing. One example of an area in which we steal from God is by not tithing back to Him what was rightfully His to begin with.
The devil doesn't need to attack the people he's already won over -- the people who are already trapped in their own sin. But when we live in faithfulness to God, clothing ourselves with His armor and trusting His call for us, we become a serious threat to the enemy. Hell's "most wanted" is the devil himself, and it's where he'll end up for eternity. The question is: Do we want to end up there with him?
The Bible talks a lot about submission to authority -- in marriage, parenting, and throughout life. But the ultimate authority we've got to be willing to submit to is God's authority. As our Father, He wants to direct us to the things that are not only pleasing to Him, but that are best for us.
Is it mytruth, yourtruth, or God's Truth that we follow? False doctrine and false teachers are everywhere, saying things that are designed to "scratch the ear" of the listener. And what they say can sound good -- until it isn't. It's important to always run what we hear through the filter of Scripture and ask whether it aligns with God's Word.
Scripture describes Christ as the Shepherd, and His followers as the sheep. And although He promises to come after His sheep when they stray, it's better for the sheep to listen to His voice and obey Him from the start. When we hear God's voice telling us what to do, let's remember this life is short -- and we're better off not wasting it in disobedience!
The Bible is perfectly clear: There's only one way to the Father, and it's through the Son. In a world where live-and-let-live mentalities prevail, countless religions profess to hold the secrets to happiness, and we're all encouraged to seek our own "truth", it can be difficult for us to focus on what's actually true. But Jesus Christ alone died, was buried and raised from the dead for our sins, and the only road to eternal life is through accepting Him as Lord and Savior.
Sometimes we bring suffering on ourselves. Other times, God allows it to come -- not to hurt us, but to grow and strengthen us. In times of struggle it's important to lean into His goodness and trust in His love for us. He's promised to meet all of our needs, and He's faithful to keep that promise.
We're Christ's representatives on earth -- which means we're the candles that He left behind in this spiritually dark world in order to light the way to Him. Instead of hiding our light because we're ashamed or fearful of what people will think, we need to go out into the darkness and "contaminate" others (in a good way!) with the light that leads them to the Lord.
Often, we sacrifice restin favor of work.But if we come to Jesus and do things His way, it's possible to do both at the same time. When we surrender and seek Him first, He lifts from our shoulders the heavy burdens that weigh us down and exhaust us.
Sometimes fighting a battle looks like picking up a sword. But other times, it simply looks like standing up against the enemy. We face a spiritual battle each and every day, and we've got to put on our spiritual armor and take a stand. Prayer is a powerful weapon: it keeps our focus on the Lord and what He's doing in and around us, even as we're fighting on the battlefield.
Ever find yourself disagreeing with a law or a political issue? We're entitled to our opinions, but we're not entitled to use those opinions as a basis to break the law. Whether we agree with the legality of an issue or not, and whether we like who's in office or not, Scripture tells us that God placed those specific people in charge -- and we're called to submit to their authority. In the same way that we obey God when we obey the law, we disobey God when we disobey the law.
God gave us the Law through Moses to show us that we're incapable of adhering to it perfectly and completely without Him. We're not meant to simply follow a set of rules; we're meant to be in a relationship with God Himself.
We like to give our time and energy to everything and everyone except the thing and the One that matter the most: the Kingdom of God, and God Himself. Scripture tells us that we can't serve two masters, but when we serve God first, everything else falls into place. If you want to be successful, here's a "pro" tip: Seek after the Lord, and you'll find eternal success.
There's a difference between a "know-it-all" person and a "knows-it-all" God. He doesn't want us to just know facts aboutHim; He wants us to knowHim. The more time we spend with Him, the deeper our relationship grows -- and the more intimately we know Him, the more we can hear and obey His voice when He speaks.
Scripture tells us that the message of the cross is "foolishness" to many who hear it. The Gospel is a crazy story, and only the Holy Spirit can give us the power to believe it. It's not our job to convince people to believe in God or follow Jesus -- but it is our job to plant the seeds of truth in their hearts and pray that the Spirit will grow them.
Do you find yourself caught in a sin habit that you can't break on your own? Sometimes, all we need to do is ask for help-- but we're too afraid to do so. Until we go before the Lord and godly people around us with our struggles and imperfections, we'll never be able to break free.
Have you ever been defended when you were accused of wrongdoing? If so, you know the power of having someone else stand up for you. When we say "yes" to Jesus, we're pardoned for all our wrongs, because He stood up for us and sacrificed His life for ours. He was destined to be executed so that our sins could be erased and forgiven -- and because of His love, we're free to receive our "stay of execution".
God takes obedience to Him seriously -- but He also knows we can't obey Him through our own effort. None of us can be perfectly like Christ, but we can let Him work as Himself in us and through us. He alone can provide us with the power and the strength to say "yes" to what He asks.
Anyone can set a random goal -- but not everyone will set a godly goal. God places specific desires within each of our hearts that are honoring and pleasing to Him, and working towards the plans He's set for our lives helps make us ready for His calling when it becomes clear that we're being prompted to respond and obey.
Jesus tells us that He's the bread from Heaven that gives life -- and that we must fill ourselves with Him in order to receive that life. If we hunger and thirst after Him and His righteousness, He promises to satisfy us.
Name above all names. King of Kings. Lord of Lords.He's the ultimate "Jefe de Jefes" -- "boss of bosses" -- and there is great power found in His name. There are opposing forces that will try to prevent us from accessing His authority, but in faith and through prayer, each one of us can tap into the powerful world of God's mighty name.
Just like Adam and Eve hid from God in the Garden once they disobeyed His instructions, we, too, have a tendency to hide from God when we sin. But despite our fear of being found out, God already knows the things we try to hide -- and He wants to offer us hope in a future that He's lovingly planned, if only we're willing to come out of the dark.
In Christ, we have all the power and strength needed to withstand temptation -- but often, we don't even realize it. With the help of godly people to teach us about God's power within us, we can begin to win the battle over sin. All we have to do is seek the Lord's protection and He'll provide the "Son" block that we need.
Father's Day can bring up tough emotions for a lot of people. No matter what kind of earthly father you have, your Heavenly Father has promised to alwayslove you and keep you as His own. There's nothing you can do to make Him love you less -- and once you're adopted into His family, there's nothing that can undo it!
True manhood comes when God is at the center, and we find our identity in Him. Our greatest example of a man is Jesus Himself. He modeled what it means to be an obedient Son, an effective leader, and a wise teacher. He demonstrated strength, but also patience, kindness and care -- and as men, one of the best ways we can strive to emulate Christ is to mentor and be mentored by other godly men.
When you find yourself in need of comfort, where do you turn? God promises to bring us comfort when we bring our sorrows and brokenness to Him. As we worship the Lord in the midst of our trials, He's faithful to relieve our heavy burdens.
The devil is always working to lull us into a spiritual "sleep", where we become desensitized to things that shouldbother us. Instead of lazily hitting the snooze button, we need to wake up and let God work in us -- and one of the best ways we can do that is to start each day with prayer.
It's our job to share the Gospel with those we meet -- but it's the Holy Spirit's job to convict them on what they hear. No one will be convinced of the truth of the Gospel without the work of the Holy Spirit in his or her own heart and life. We've got to trust that God will work in His time according to His purpose to convict them of their need for redemption through Jesus Christ.
Have you ever stopped -- really stopped -- to marvel at the fact that God chose you?He chose you to be adopted into His family, before the world was ever created, and there's nothing you can do to change His love for you! The sacrifice He made by sending His Son to die on the cross was a bittersweet moment, because all the pain He endured was worth it to Him in order to have us as a part of His family.
Too often, we find ourselves clinging to what we have instead of letting go so that God can fill us with so much more. But when we loosen our vise grip, He is faithful to bless us -- often exceedingly more than we could ask or imagine. The greatest evidence of His blessing is the grace and mercy He's offered us through the gift of His Son.
The more we realize ourvalue in God's eyes, the more we grow in appreciation of Him. We did nothing to earn it, yet He freely gave it. He values us more than we could fathom, and the inheritance He's promised us in Heaven is greater than any reward we could imagine.
Creation reflects the grace and the glory of God.He didn't create just what was necessary; He created what was beautiful, simply for its beauty. In the same way, He takes care of us, not only in our immediate needs, but by graciously blessing us over and above what we could even ask or imagine.
God sent His Son to this world as a human being to experience being human. And that experience encompassed all of the emotions we face on a daily basis -- including loneliness. Jesus understood what it meant to be alone, yet He made us a promise that nobody else around us could ever fulfill: He promises that He will neverleave us.
There is no fear in love, but there isperfect love when we trust in God through faith. We can choose to give in to the "fear knot" that allows the voice of the enemy to override the voice of God, or we can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and in turn keep our hearts and minds in perfect peace, even in the middle of the biggest storm.
We get so easily ensnared in the sins of our past that they bar us from making the most of our present and looking hopefully ahead to our future. No matter what lies behind us -- whether it was done tous or done byus -- God can cleanse us and move us forward in incredible ways. His Word assures us that He removes sin from us as far as the east is from the west; let's live in the promise of that truth!
Do you ever feel unsatisfied? If you answered, "no", you're probably not being honest with yourself! We all, at some point, look to the things of this world to satisfy us. But only Jesus gives us water to quench the thirst of our souls, and breath to give us life forever.
What is it that Satan uses to tempt you? The devil knows each individual's greatest weaknesses, and he uses that knowledge to offer us a hell of a deal when he tempts us. But God has provided a way of escape through Christ's power in us. He gives us the strength to resist temptation, no matter what kind of deal we're offered.
Jesus left His disciples -- and all of us -- with the Great Commission to share the Gospel with the world. But the Bible also teaches us to be careful who we share it with. Not everyone is hungry for the truth we have to offer, and their intention is to tear us apart. It's important for us to look to Jesus and follow His example on when to speak and when to be silent.
From our mind to our tongue, our eyes to our stomach, our hands to our feet...sin is inherently linked to different parts of the physical body. That's why God wants us to surrender our wholeselves to Him. And when we give over the parts of us that cause us to struggle, He can heal the pain that those sins cause in our lives.
God's Word is an instruction manual on how we should live -- and it's designed to save us from countless consequences that come with disobeying His direction. He doesn't ask us to yield to Him so that He can "take away our fun"; He does it to show us what it looks like to experience the life of fullness that comes from surrendering to Him.
The world is constantly feeding us lies about how we can be in control of our lives. But the reality is this: we're not in control, and that's a really good thing.When we believe the truth that Godholds our yesterday, our today, and our tomorrow, we can surrender to Him and follow His leading without fear.
The Church is filled with messy people -- because messy people are the only kind that exist. But God designed the Body of Christ to be one family. And when that family comes together, we're able to care for one another and serve as a powerful testament to the world of what it means to follow Jesus together.
The words "were" and "are" describe two very different points in time. The former is in the past; the latter is in the present. As we follow God, we come to know that we were one thing before He redeemed us, but thanks to His transforming love, we aremade new in His grace and His mercy.
God often orchestrates the battles we face in such a way that we can't possibly win without His help. Why? Because it's in and through these battles that He gets the glory.Scripture tells us that we're to march on the gates of hell to pull people out if we need to -- but we can't do that without Him.
Darkness is the product of an absence of light -- and it's what we experience when we try to live in isolation as Christians. Two of the best questions we can ask to ensure we're walking in God's light are: 1) Have I asked Him to cleanse me of my sins? and 2) Am I in regular fellowship with other believers?
We're all in the middle of a spiritual battle. The question is: are you fighting in it, or are you a prisoner of war? It's critical for us to listen to God's commanding orders -- and one of the first directives He gives us as believers is to be baptized.
Have you ever faced rejection?If you answered "yes", you're far from alone. But here's the really, really Good News: God chose you before the foundation of the world -- and the sacrifice He made in order to have you was the death of His only Son. He loves us enough to have paid the ultimate price, but we still have to make the choice to choose Him back.
The trials we face in life not only serve as a testimony of God's faithfulness to us, if we allow them to -- they also serve as a testimony of our faith inGod Himself. The Lord uses the difficulties we face to produce a certain character in us that can only come from Him. And when other people see how He's developing and refining us through challenging situations, it glorifies and honors Him.
The Church is many things -- including the Bride of Christ. Jesus loves His Bride so much that He died for her, and the entire Bible is a letter from God in which He pours out His love for us. We have a choice: to go head-to-head with Him and fight Him for control of our lives, or let Him be the headof His Church and submit to His will for us.
Scripture tells us that God loves us because of who we are -- His children, precious in His sight -- not because of what we do. Once we can accept that He loves us unconditionally and wholeheartedly, everything changes. We stop focusing on doingin order to define our being, and suddenly, our very beingdetermines our doing.
During wartime, a battle cross often marks the place of a soldier's death. It may not mean much to strangers, but it symbolizes a great loss to those that knew the person who died. Jesus died on a cross to win a battle for us -- but it only means something if we're in relationship with Him. And until we have that relationship with the Lord, we'll never be able to experience true love and intimacy in relationships with other people.
We look in the rearview mirror when we're driving in order to see what's behind us. But when we decide to give our lives to Christ, there's no need for us to look back. Following Jesus requires us to jump all in; even if we stumble along the way, we can still keep moving forward in pursuit of His calling on our lives.
Once upon a time, there were people who would keep the plastic packaging around a piece of new furniture for as long as possible, in hopes of preserving its newness. The problem was, not only was it uncomfortable to sit on -- its intended design was being wasted. Our walk with God can often be like a new piece of furniture. He has a plan and a purpose for our lives, but we're reluctant to be used by Him. Yet unlike furniture, the more we give of ourselves to God, the more He keeps creating a sense of newness within us.
God is less concerned with whether or not He offends people than He is with whether or not we live a righteous life. That process takes discipline, and sometimes even necessitates pain to bring us back to right living. But in the end, the benefits of following Him far outweigh the difficulties that come with learning to be obedient.
God wants us to chase Him first -- above and before anyone or anything else. When we do that, our relationships, our future, and our life as a whole might not always look the way we envisioned or planned, but they have a beautiful way of working out just the way He designed.
The Bible says that we're called to be salt and light to a tasteless and dark world. But how often do we choose to blend in with the culture around us instead? It's tempting to rely on God's grace and mercy as our "get-out-of-jail-free" card so that we can flirt with temptation, but over time, we begin to hide the light He's placed in us instead of allowing it to brighten the environment around us.
God gives us plenty of warning signs on the road to disobedience. Through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and fellow believers, He urges us to heed those warnings -- not only to avoid the painful consequences of sin, but to avoid the ultimate consequence of hell itself.
Do you ever find yourself wondering how you're supposed to live your life? Scripture tells us that even though we don't know the exactday it will happen, we do know the last daysare coming. The Bible gives us instructions not only about how to be ready for those days, but about how to live all the days from now until then.
Are you tired of searching for that one thing you're sure will satisfy the longing you feel inside? This world offers nothing that can fill the void. Jesus tells us that He's the Bread of Life -- and only in Him will we find eternal satisfaction.
Sharing the Gospel isn't a "catch-and-release" sport. Our job is to commit to following Jesus wholeheartedly, and to teach others to do the same. To follow requires authenticity -- and when we follow Him, He changes everything around us, too.
The devil knows exactlywhat bait to use to lure us into sin. But within every temptation lies an escape, if only we're prepared to look for it. Only Jesus, full of grace and mercy, can show us how to flee -- as long as we run to Him.
Do you give God your first fruits, or your last leftovers? We all spend money on earthly pleasures, but when it comes to investing in eternal rewards, we have a tendency to hesitate or make excuses. God calls us to give -- and to give generously -- to His Church and to His Kingdom.
Close? Closer? Closest? How far would you say you are from God in your relationship with Him? Just like a fighter pilot has to "debrief" after each flight -- and course correct where needed -- we as Christians can also live out a life of "course corrections" by seeking God's direction, knowing He's faithful to debrief us on how to stay closest to Him.
The world advertises sex before marriage as a foregone conclusion, a natural progression of the dating process. But there are consequences to the world's way of doing things, and often, those consequences are significant. There's great reward in waiting on God to bring someone who's interested in doing things His way -- someone who's looking for supreme courting.
We can look to people who don't know Jesus and envy their seemingly careless, seemingly carefree lifestyle, while we struggle to live God's way and seem to face trial after trial. The "luxuries" of the world are enticing, but when we trust God in all things, He's faithful to answer our cries if we call to Him, and to give us strength to make it through our storm.
Maybe you grew up in a loving family, or maybe being part of one always felt like an impossible dream. Regardless of where we came from, we're offered that very opportunity through God the Father -- but it comes with responsibilities. God commands us as His children to love others as we love ourselves. As part of the family of God, we need our brothers and sisters to love us and be loved by us, too.
When you take "the high road", it's usually far less crowded. That's because it's not easy to admit fault and ask for forgiveness -- but when we offend someone else, that's exactly what we need to do. If we choose to follow Christ, God's grace abounds when we confess our sins to Him with a repentant heart. But if we continue to deliberately sin, we have to be prepared to face the lasting consequences of our choices.
God doesn't just use allof us to make a difference -- He uses eachof us to make a difference. Individually, we make up different parts of the Body of Christ, and together, we make up the whole of His Church. And He wants His Church to be united in one accord -- each part working as they were designed and called -- in order to have Kingdom impact in this world.
The promise of God's love for us is greater than any love we could find on this earth. When we chase after Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we become rightly aligned in relationship with Him. And in some cases, not only do we experience the power of His finding love -- we also find relationship with another believer when they're rightly pursuing the Lord, too.
The Bible says that we're dead to sin -- yet we don't live that way. On the contrary, there are certain sins that ensnare and entangle us in the traps of the enemy. Instead of sinning as much as we want to because we know that God will forgive us, we need to acknowledge that there are consequences to our choices -- and that our best life is lived in obedience to Him.
There's an old Bedouin story about "the sin of the desert": knowing where water is, but refusing to tell anybody where to find it. The Gospel is spiritual water in a spiritual desert. As Christians, we not only have the road map to Jesus, the Living Water -- we may very well be part of the road map God will use to lead someone else to His oasis.
When we ask God to give us wisdom or clarity, what we're often really saying is that we want Him to give us a "yes" to our request. But sometimes, the answer is "no" -- and that's a good thing. When we fail to seek His direction, or when we seek it and then do our own thing anyway, we often find ourselves facing a world of hurt and trouble that could have otherwise been avoided.
God has picked you to be His child -- a prince or a princess in His Kingdom! He equips you with what you need in order to accomplish His purpose for your life. He choseyou because He wants you -- so rest in that truth today.
There's a story in Scripture about a man who was born blind. God ultimately used his difficult circumstances to be glorified by revealing Himself through Jesus' restoration of the man's sight. God can use the struggles that you and I face for His purpose, too -- and in response, we have to be willing to take a stand and proclaim His goodness in all things.
Matthew 12:34 tells us, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks", and that's especially true when it comes to how we pray. The closer we are to someone, the more comfortable we are having honest conversations with them. The question is: how comfortable are we with God?
There's a constant war going on within each of us, with both sides vying for our attention; on one side is the Holy Spirit, and on the other side is our own flesh. The flesh goes along with any temptation that comes our way, and tries to convince us that it's something we need. The Holy Spirit, however, gives us the strength to resist temptation, and to strive for a holy life -- the only kind worth living.
The enemy uses every single opportunity this world presents to pull our attention away from God and distract us with our own selfish desires -- and sometimes, it doesn't take much for him to succeed. We have to always on guard not to let ourselves become content here at the cost of living for the Lord, and to keep our focus on heaven.
Matthew 7:14 tells us, "Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." Most people will journey through this life choosing the broad and easy path that's based on serving themselves and their desires. But only the narrow path leads to Christ and the fullness of life that He offers.
The Old Testament is filled with laws, rituals, traditions, and sacrifices that God commanded His people to obey then, but that often make little sense to us now. Yet those very commands formed the path that would ultimately lead to Jesus -- to His life, His death, and His resurrection, all so that we could be saved.
This one's for the ladies: Have you ever found yourself wishing you could find the "right" kind of man? Men are naturally attracted to physical beauty, but the right kind of man will be able to overlook sexual temptation and hold out for a beauty of far greater value that can only exist when a woman allows God to refine her on the inside. What would it look like to spend more time beautifying the heart than the body?
The story of Rahab shows us a woman who seemed like a "nobody" -- yet her faith in God (and His promise through a couple of spies) saved her and her entire family. Rahab's testimony is a reminder that God can use any one of us, regardless of our background, to reach others and extend His promise of salvation to all who are willing to believe.
We can get so wrapped up in our own struggles and successes that we overlook those who are dying spiritually all around us. But what if we prayed for eyes to see those who need to be cared for, and compassionthat moves us to do something about it?
We all have a decision to make when it comes to hearing the truth of the Gospel -- but not everyone who hears it will choose to accept it. Our responsibility as believers is to share the Good News and trust God to open eyes, minds, and hearts.
How do we treat our "friendship" with Jesus? Are we quick to abandon Him in the heat of the moment, or do we stand by Him no matter what? To love and serve God is to identify with Him -- not only in good times, when it suits us, but also in suffering, even when it might cost us everything this world has to offer.
If we ever find ourselves asking the question, "What is God's way?" we only need to look at what the enemy is telling us, because it will always be the opposite of what the Lord has designed for us. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we're in a spiritual battle every single day. We face constant attacks as Satan attempts to steal, kill, and destroy God's plan for our lives -- and the only way to fight is to arm ourselves with Scripture and prayer.
If you've ever fought God when He's pursued you or called you to Himself, then you know what it feels like to have spiritual "bloody knuckles". But through Christ, we're provided a balm of healing for our soul. He's the Savior of the world, and in Him, we find full and complete healing -- if only we're willing to accept it.
In the Old Testament, we read of how people had to sacrifice animals in order for their sins to be covered by the blood. But once Jesus came and died for all mankind, it became His blood that would cover the sins of all who accept His sacrifice. Only through Jesus Himself can we receive forgiveness and be reconciled to God.
Jesus didn't suffer a painful death by accident or chance. It was necessary for the fulfillment of prophecies that were foretold hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. He died in His earthly body so He could offer us hope for eternity -- and we, as believers, now make up the Body of Christ, left to show this world the hope we find in Him.
Have you ever considered that the original "Easter egg" wasn't hardboiled or made of chocolate, but was, in fact, Jesus Himself? Scripture tells us that Mary was a virgin who, through the Holy Spirit, conceived God Himself within her womb. That egg was born as a baby, who would grow up as a human being to take the sins of all human beings with Him to the cross. We're offered redemption, freedom, and eternal salvation if we accept it -- all thanks to a virgin womb and an empty tomb.
Some people hear the Word and get excited -- at first. Others hear the Word and are just plain distracted by the world. Still others hear the Word, but they refuse to accept it. And then there are those who hear the Word and it resonates deep within, causing them to grow and produce spiritual fruit. Ever wonder which category you fall into? All you have to do is observe your life and what it's producing in order to find out the answer.
We can only stay "baby Christians" in spiritual infancy for so long. Sooner or later, we should be growing to the place of being able to help disciple other new believers. A life spent following Jesus is a life in which He'll always be asking us to do new things for His Kingdom's work -- and we'd better be ready to step up and obey when it's our turn.
Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. So why do we still try to dethrone Him time and time again? When we allow Him to rule and reign in our lives, our circumstances might not always turn out the way we wanted, but there will be a heavenly reward awaiting us, and our purpose -- to glorify Him -- will be fulfilled.
Where our treasures are, there our hearts will be, also. The "capital C" Church isn't made up of brick and mortar; it's made up of people, and God's called us to work together to learn how to meet the needs of others. Learning to hear His voice is one key to the mission of generosity -- the other key is to say "yes" when He asks!
Genesis 2:24 instructs, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." The job of a parent is to traintheir child in the way they should go -- and then give them the freedom and the blessing to leave when that day comes. Both men and women are called to honor their parents once they're grown, but "honor" isn't always synonymous with "obedience" as adults.
Ever find yourself wrestling with God? If you want to save yourself a lot of time and energy, here's a tip: you'll never win that match-up! Too often we stand in our own way by disobeying God and what He's calling us to do, when He's waiting all along for us to surrender to His will. When we submit to His authority, He gives us His power to do things we could never accomplish on our own.
God is the ultimate Comforter. He knows our every pain and struggle. He comforts us so that we can turn around and comfort others. Instead of finding solace in earthly things, we need to seek our peace and reassurance in Him.
Jesus knew from the beginning that Judas would ultimately betray Him one day. Yet He still allowed him to get close, and served him to the very end. The devil knew he couldn't get intoJesus, so he got as close as possible -- yet even in that, Jesus gave us the ultimate example of what it means to love and serve our greatest enemies.
We live in a world that claims all truth is relative. But there's only one Truth, and His name is Jesus Christ. His Gospel is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, and it's our job to be bold and speak it lovingly to those around us.
Ever had a jug of milk that went sour because you chose to let it sit in the fridge and go bad instead of dumping it out? Often, that's what happens with our sin: it's easier for us to ignore it than to get rid of it. But God is our provider, and He'll never let us be empty. When we let go of the sinful nature we cling to, He's faithful to fill our lives with His blessings.
As newly born-again Christians, we're like infants in our faith: learning everything for the very first time. And that's okay! But sooner or later, we each need to grow up spiritually in order to be functioning, healthy members of the body of Christ. The more we grow, the more we realize that the Church isn't all about me-- it's all about we.
You've probably heard the term G.O.A.T-- Greatest Of All Time -- tossed around when it comes to describing the accomplishments of famous actors, athletes, or musicians. But the Bible clearly tells us that the actual G.O.A.T.was, in fact, a Lamb: the Lamb of God. Jesus was, is, and forever will be the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the Greatest Of All Time. The only question is: what are we going to do about it?
As followers of Christ, we're called to be witnesses and to testify about what God's done in our lives. Scripture tells us that if we're not reaching out to other people with the Gospel, we're not walking as closely with Jesus as we could be -- or should be. We need to not only be attentive, but also willing to listen for and obey the Lord's promptings.
Jesus told His disciples on more than one occasion that He would die and be raised from the dead -- yet when it ultimately happened, they were still in shock and disbelief. Two thousand years later, weknow that unless Jesus comes back before our time is up, we're all going to die one day. God calls us to repent and be saved before that day comes, and He's prepared to send us wake up calls through various trials if that's what it takes to bring us into relationship with Him.
We celebrate a holiday every year that's dedicated to the practice of giving thanks. But do we take time on a regular basis to thank -- really thank -- God for all He gives us? Everything we receive can be traced back to Him, and He's the provider of our every need.
We can tell God, "whatever", throw caution to the wind, and live a life enslaved in sin. Or, we can tell God, "whatever", surrender to Him fully, and open ourselves up to be used in whatever way He sees fit. And when we choose obedience to Him, we get a front-row seat to see Him do extraordinary things in us, through us, and around us.
Be honest -- have you ever seated God on the throne of your life, only to unseat Him when you feel like you can do a better job? Surrender is hard, and we like to think life will go more smoothly when we take over control. But in the end, we'll all submit to His Kingship in one way or another; instead of playing a game of thrones, why not yield to Him and experience life to the fullest?
Racism isn't a government problem or a culture problem -- it's a Church problem. It's our job as Christians to treat allbelievers as family; there is no distinction between brothers and sisters. No matter our differences, love triumphs over all things in the body of Christ.
Haven't we all wondered what life after death will be like? The Bible guarantees that we'll be in one of two places: for those who choose Christ, it will be heaven, and for those who deny Him, it will be hell. We can't just spend our time here being content to ride out this temporary life; we have to make a conscious choice to either own heaven as our home, or be left only ever imagining what it would be like.
Jesus died because He wantedus -- and we have to be willing to be wanted in a different way, for His sake. People hated Jesus for the truth that He spoke, and people may hate us for speaking about the difference that He's made in our lives. But Jesus didn't back down, even when it ultimately led Him to the cross, and we have to be prepared to sacrifice everything for Him.
Being "good" isn't bad -- it's just not good enough. The Bible's clear that the only way for us to be redeemed from our sin is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. We're all born into sin, and we must all be spiritually born again in order to be saved.
Through Christ and His sacrifice, we're made righteous and whole in Him, and we're given the ability to stand in the gap for someone else through prayer. We all know someone who doesn't know God and who's experiencing a world of hurt without Him. As Christians, it's our job to advocate on their behalf before the Father.
If you've ever lost power during a bad storm, you know the feeling of relief that comes when you're connected back to the grid and the lights come back on. And if you try to drive a car at night without your headlights on, or walk through a pitch-black room without a flashlight, it's not only next to impossible -- it's also incredibly dangerous. We depend on light to see where we're going, and where to take our next step. The Bible says Jesus is Light -- and in Him, there is no darkness. What's the source of light in yourlife?
When we ask God for something according to His will, He promises to answer us. But He doesn't promise to answer us in ourway or in ourtiming. Scripture tells us to be persistent in our petitions no matter how long it takes, because we're asking for what He's put on our hearts, then He'll answer in His perfect timing.
We live in a broken world, and everybody's battle scars look different. But whether they're physical, emotional, or spiritual wounds, they all have one thing in common: the need for someone with compassion to help clean them up, no matter how messy the process.
Time and time again throughout the Old Testament, we see the Israelites turn away from God to find satisfaction in other things, and time and time again, we see that it ends badly for them. That's because the only true satisfaction we'll ever find is in God alone. But the Israelites weren't the only ones to make that mistake; we do it too, building our own "cisterns" that ultimately crack and leak while God, the Fountain of Life, is waiting all along for us to come to Him.
Sometimes God purposely places us or allows us in situations where we have to make a choice: are we going to stand for Him, or are we going to back down for the world? When we choose the former, we have to be willing to ask for support from other believers and recognize the wisdom of finding strength in numbers.
Happiness lives on the face -- but joy lives in the soul. Jesus promised there would be trials in this life, and we've all experienced hard moments where all we want to do is scream. Yet the Bible tells us to change our perspective and to see our troubles as joy, because God also promises to use all things for His good, and He's faithful to keep His promise.
We read in the Old Testament about how God used the worst possible events in Joseph's life to save an entire nation. We might not all be thrown into wells, put in prison, or made governors over an entire country, but we have one very important detail in common with Joseph: no matter what evil occurs in our lives, God is alwayscapable of turning it around for His good.
The world is full of people who are addicted to something-- drugs, money, fame, sex, food, material possessions, and the list goes on. But true freedom requires more than just getting sober -- it requires getting clean. Jesus is the only One who can clean a person's life up from the inside out, and He waits patiently for us to answer the question, "Do you want to be made well?"
Have you ever felt boundby your sin and in desperate need to witness the evidence of God's work in your life? Fasting is one way of clearing the distractions from our vision so that we can more easily see what He's doing. It may not be some secret formula that gives us all the answers that we want when we want them, but as with any spiritual discipline, it ultimately draws us closer to Him through the process.
We've all heard the phrase "separation of church and state". But what about the phrase "separation of God and career"? Often, we identify ourselves by the jobs we do and the money we make. But inviting the Lord into our lives isn't limited to Sunday mornings -- it needs to happen Monday through Saturday too, including in our businesses and our workplaces.
There are moments when we find ourselves wrecked by our own choices, and there are moments when we face trials and tribulations even in the midst of absolute faithfulness and obedience. But no matter what circumstances we're in or how we got there, God can use them -- and us -- to do miraculous things. When we trust Him through the tough times instead of complaining about the situation, we demonstrate the hope we have in Jesus to an otherwise hopeless world.
When we give our lives to Christ, God declares us holy and blameless in His sight. Yet often, we'd rather go back to our old sin than live in the freedom God's granted us. He's capable of restoring us and making us spotless from our past mistakes, but we have to be willing to allow Him to change us from the inside out.
A life lived in obedience to God will always be accompanied by suffering, especially when it comes to fighting the temptations of this world. But we are not a people without hope. Scripture promises us that no matter the struggles and pain we trudge through on this side of Heaven, all will be restored and made perfect in eternity.
Getting saved doesn't equal a life free of suffering and pain. In fact, Jesus said that if we want to follow Him, we have to take up our cross daily to do so. When we choose to pursue a Christ-centered life, it's inevitable that we'll experience earthly trials -- but it's nothing compared to the abundant life that God promises us for all eternity.
At some point in each of our lives, God gives us a calling. Yet so many of us choose to ignore it. We're afraid that if we follow what He has planned for us, we'll lose our lives in the process, instead of recognizing that we've already lost them when we miss out on what He has in store. The impact one life can have on the world when yielded to God is remarkable -- all we have to do is answer the call.
Our lives are often the "Bible" that other people are reading, and what they find in its contents may be the deciding factor in whether they choose to meet Christ. That's why it's important that we allow ourselves to be authentically flawed instead of trying to pretend like we have it all together. When we're honest about the fact that we never stop growing and learning in our walk with God, they begin to see that being a follower of Jesus is about process, not perfection.
We live in the information age.We can access just about anything we want, at our fingertips and at a moment's notice. But God's timing doesn't always result in instant gratification. Sometimes, having too much information isn't in our best interest; that's why God puts us on a "need to know" basis where we can learn to trust His plan for our lives and walk by faith.
Just because we're saved as Christians, doesn't mean our lives will automatically transform overnight. We can easily remain in denial if we choose, surrounding ourselves with people who will tell us we're doing fine and don't need to make any changes when we decide to follow Jesus. But He didn't save us so that we could stay stuck in our sin; He saved us so that we could experience the joy of a constantly-growing relationship with Him.
1 John 4:19 tells us, "We love because He first loved us." The Bible tells us that nothing we do will have any value if it's not motivated by love. If we want to represent the unconditional love of Christ, we have to allow Jesus to reign in everyaspect of our lives.
Nothing in this world will fulfill us like Jesus can -- but that doesn't stop us from trying to find alternatives. Whether it's alcohol, drugs, money, sex, food, or some other crutch, we turn to all kinds of earthly temptations in hopes that it will fill the void. The only One who can satisfy the heart is the One who made it, and the love, joy and peace He brings to us is proof to everyone around us that we have something they need.
From the Garden of Eden to the Cross of Calvary, trees have played a central role in our salvation story. Only when we go to the foot of the tree where Jesus took our sin upon Himself will we find salvation in Him. The word "bole" literally means the trunk of a tree -- and the biggest "super bole" we'll ever see is the redemption that comes from the tree of life found only in Christ.
God has a purpose for our lives -- and the enemy spends every second of every day working hard to keep us from accomplishing that purpose. Like a roaring lion, he's always on the prowl. It's essential for us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus if we want to avoid falling into the devil's traps.
It's possible to have righteous anger against something without wishing harm on another person. In Scripture, we read about how Jesus stood up for His Father's house when He became angry about injustice. As Christians, we're called to stand up for what's right and what's just -- but we can do it without malicious intent towards people and can instead focus our energy on fighting for change.
You'll never be truly hands-onin the Church until you hand onwhat God's given you to others. A major component of spiritual maturity involves making disciples and passing down what we've learned to newer Christians. As we grow in our faith, we teach others to do the same, and we grow the Church in the process.
When trouble and temptation come our direction, and the only way we see out is through consequences that we know will bring us pain, God provides us with an escape route and a way back to Him. Drawing near to the Lord, surrounding ourselves with other Christians who will keep us accountable, and remembering that God's mercy is eternal are all weapons in which we can find strength for the battle against the enemy.
We're all being played -- the only thing we have to decide is whether we're being played by the devil or "played" by God. When we take the bait the enemy lays out for us, we fall into his traps and suffer the consequences. But when we yield our lives to God, He can use us to do amazing things that we could have never done on our own.
The Lord's forgiveness doesn't happen in a vacuum -- nor does it leave us the same way that we were before. Salvation changes us, cleanses us, and makes us worthy of a relationship with the living God. When we experience the depths of His mercy and grace, we can't help but tell other people that it's available for them, too.
Staying close to God and distancing ourselves from God are both choices that we make. But sometimes, the shame, guilt, and hopelessness that stem from our actions and their consequences are specifically designed by the enemy to keep us from feeling like we can draw near to God. As believers, we can call on Him, knowing He cares for us, and He'll answer in times of trouble -- and no matter how far we stray from Him, we're never too far to come back home.
Many people chase after riches on earth, but those riches last only for a moment in the grand scheme of eternity. Our focus as followers of Jesus needs to be on storing up riches in Heaven by spreading the Gospel and influencing people for Christ. When we put Him first, God promises to take care of us in all circumstances.
The Lord desires a close walk with each of us. But we need to be careful not to disregard the sanctity of our relationship with a holy God. If we don't respect Him and obey what He calls us to do, we risk our hearts becoming hardened -- and we're no good to His mission with a hard heart.
We're reminded every day when we look at God's creation of the beautiful and extravagant ways that He serves us and shows His love for us. But there's no greater example of His servant heart than the saving power of what Jesus did for us on the cross. When we've experienced the fullness of His love and His sacrifice, we'll follow Him in serving the people He places around us.
It's easy to fall into the trap of a lie that tells us God can't use our future because of our past. Yet time after time, God demonstrates through Scripture that He chooses to use people regardless of their mistakes. His grace, given to us by the power of the cross, is what equips us and enables us to accomplish His work no matter what we've done before.
The Bible tells us that when we choose to follow Jesus, that decision isn't meant to be kept private. Our first act of obedience as followers of Christ is to declare our faith through baptism, and our second step is to begin sharing the Gospel with the people around us through both our words and our actions. God's saving work in our lives isn't a secret to be withheld, but Good News to be proclaimed so other people may see and believe!
When you do something nice for another person, are you doing it to please God, or to prove something to the world? Our Father doesn't want our religious good deeds; He wants action that flows out of a heart that's in genuine relationship with Him. When we're walking in step with the Lord, it's evident in our relationships with the people He's placed around us and called us to serve.
Proverbs 27:17 tells us, "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." That kind of friendship is hard to find, but when we do, it can have a radically positive impact on every other area of our lives. And in order for us to foster that type of REALationship with another brother or sister in Christ, we first need a REALationship with God Himself.
We spend so much of this life trying to figure out who, what, and where we're supposed to be, that we often forget to rest in this important truth: God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. When we choose to follow Jesus, we're also choosing to align our will with us. How different might our lives look if we woke up every day looking for why He placed us where He did, and who He placed us there to reach with the saving truth of the Gospel?
One of the most powerful gifts Jesus gives to us as believers, along with our salvation, is the gift of the Holy Spirit. And when we step out of line and walk outside the path God has for us, He'll do whatever is needed to "prick" our hearts and get us back on track. The best support we can give to a brother or sister who's struggling in their relationship with the Lord is to encourage them to seek Him wholeheartedly.
It's easy to allow our mistakes to knock us out of the game of life. But when we bench ourselves out of discouragement or defeat, we miss out on important opportunities to serve God. Instead of beating ourselves up, we need to allow Him to set us back on our feet, walk in the freedom of His grace and forgiveness, and trust Him to give us the direction we need to succeed in what He's called us to do.
The devil's out to destroy physical life and spiritual life alike. Our job is to take a stand and fight to protect the lives that God's created. Just like a physical seed has to be planted in order for physical birth to happen, a spiritual seed has to be planted in order for us to be spiritually born again.
Gandhi once said, "I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." The problem with a lot of people who claim to follow Jesus is that they're mad ashell instead of being mad athell and the consequences of sin. Jesus calls us to speak truth in love, not truth in hate, and when He lives inside us, we begin to speak like He does and learn to call out truth in a loving way.
Would you rather run the risk of you looking foolish to other people because you obeyed what God asked you to do, or of God looking foolish to the world because you disobeyed Him when you claim to follow Him? Prayer is important, but we have to be careful not to use prayer as procrastination and to respond with obedience the first time we hear His voice.
Jesus Christ made it possible for us to find peace with God through His sacrifice on the cross -- and in doing so, to find peace within our souls. Why settle for less anxiety when we can access total peace in our relationships with the Lord, with others, and with ourselves?
We're conditioned by this world to believe that we control our own lives. We think we can run on self-confidence -- that is, until we find ourselves in a situation where we can do nothingto help our circumstances. In that moment, it becomes abundantly clear that the only way out is if God comes through on our behalf, and He does so in the richness of His mercy and grace, time and time again.
One of the most powerful ways we can demonstrate that we love God is by loving our brothers and sisters in Christ -- regardless of our differences. When we make the decision to follow Jesus, we're called to love other people in such a way that it makes the world stop and take notice. When those outside the Church look at us, may they see God working inus and throughus by the way we love one another!
When we ask God for something (and what we're asking is God-honoring), then we need to persevere and continue knocking, no matter how long it takes! He wants us to ask Him for things according to His will, and to keep asking until He answers. But when God shuts a door, He shuts it with a bang -- and the best way to hear His voice in our requests is to let Him in when He knocks at the door of our own hearts.
Have you ever been so impatient for something that you just couldn't wait? We'd rather fall into sin to satisfy our fleeting impulses than wait on God to come through for us. And even though He's gracious to forgive us and welcome us back when we repent, the consequences are often painful and could have been avoided. When we live in obedience and walk with Him, our hearts can't help but worship and dance in the joy of His presence.
We can't expect true change to happen aroundus until it first takes place withinus. While our purpose on earth is to glorify God, we'll quickly find that not even our best "religious" attempts can succeed. Following Jesus requires a genuine heart transformation -- and that leads to the world around us being transformed for His glory.
Did you know that the Bugatti Chiron has such a thing as a “speed key”? It was made to literally unlock the speed limits of the car. As Christians, God’s gifted each of us with a spiritual “speed key” that opens up a whole new level of abundance and allows us to live in the fullness that God intended. But to access that special key, we have to first be prepared to deny ourselves and surrender in obedience to Him.
As Christians, we never walk alone. But that doesn't mean we don't feel lonelysometimes. Jesus took the consequences of our sin so that we would never again need to be separated from God. Once we accept His gift, it's our responsibility to surround ourselves with other believers both to be encouraged and to be an encouragement as we navigate this life together.
Tithing isn't about giving back to God what's left over-- it's about giving back to God what's first.Tithing means taking the first of our income and offering it to the One who gave it to us to begin with. Funding His Church isn't about raising big buildings or buying material things; it's about investing in the Great Commission to spread the Gospel, while trusting Him to take care of us and meet all our needs.
Being a Christ-follower includes submitting to His calling for us to fish for others. We're His "bait" in the world, used for the purpose of attracting more people to Him, and we're the best kind of bait when our lives reflect the change that Jesus has made in us and lure those around us to His transformative love.
In every relationship, there are mountaintops and valleys. And when life gets tough, it's easy to feel like we've hit a "valley" in our relationship with God. Sooner or later, every one of us will likely come to the place where we're worn out and tired from our spiritual walk. In those seasons, it's critical to remember why we chose to be in relationship with Him in the first place, and continue walking forward with Him.
Next time you find yourself experiencing self-doubt or questioning your worth, remember this: before you were even born, God picked youto carry out His mission on earth. He's chosen each of us not only to spend eternity with Him, but to spread His Gospel to the world while we're here.
Scripture expresses the importance of gathering together as the family of God to encourage one another, help in times of trouble, and keep each other accountable. When we're not an active part of biblical community, we have a tendency to drift away from our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and with God Himself. One of the best contributions we can make to the body of believers is to simply show up.
Scripture gives us the ultimate hope, that we as believers will experience a new heaven and a new earth with the Lord one day. Anyonewho chooses to believe in Christ becomes a new creation, with the promise of a perfect eternity ahead.
It's "easy" to become a Christian and claim Christ as our Savior; the real struggle comes when we have to yield to Him as our Lord. Too often we profess that Jesus has saved us from our sins, but we refuse to relinquish control over our lives and instead we continue in bondage to our earthly desires. Only once we submit to Him will we experience the freedom that comes from surrender and that empowers us to grow more and more like Him.
The Bible tells us that when we're born again, we become a new creation; our old sin no longer has any hold on our lives. The problem? Sometimes, we miss our old sin. But when we learn to love Jesus more than we love the things of our past, He gives us the strength to walk forward in freedom and obedience to Him.
"The end" is inevitable -- both the end of our lives, and the end of this world. But we don't have to be troubled or live in fear of either. Jesus promised that He would come back one day, and we need to be prepared for His second coming. We can be ready by having a right relationship with Him, and live in hopeful expectation for the moment when we see our Savior face-to-face.
To quote C.S. Lewis, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." Sometimes we get rundown and tired, and we need to take a "time out" to rest and recharge from the work of ministry. But God never gives us permission to quit.We might need a break every now and then, but we have to stay focused on our purpose of sharing the Gospel and making an eternal impact before our time on earth is up.
It's never easy to hear someone else call us out and tell us we're out of line -- but it's an important part of our spiritual and personal growth. When a godly friend points out an area in which we need to grow, we've got to have the spiritual maturity to humbly receive their rebuke. As Christians, we should strive to surround ourselves with people who encourage us towards Christ, even when that means calling out our sin in a loving and truthful way.
As Christians, we have two options for this life: we can chase God and His calling for us, or we can chase the temporary pleasures of the world. It's so easy to get distracted from our mission here -- but at the end of the day, this is only our temporary home, and it's our responsibility to fulfill our purpose until He calls us to our true home to be with Him for eternity.
The air we breathe, the things we own, the people we know, the unique gifts and talents we possess... everything we have comes from God, and to live obediently means being willing to give it all back to Him. He wants to use us as part of His plan to reach a broken and fallen world -- but we have to first offer ourselves and all that He's given us to be part of that plan and purpose.
Before the world ever began, God knew there would need to be a plan for redemption, and He incorporated that plan into every aspect of His masterful handiwork. Because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we're offered the gift of salvation at no cost to us -- all we have to do is receive it.
The Bible describes all the requirements for the Messiah to be a perfect sacrifice, without which He could have never fulfilled the stipulations of our sin debt. He had to be born of a virgin; grow from birth in fully human form, yet without sin; and He had to die as the spotless Lamb who could take our sins to the cross and the grave.
You and I didn't get to be there when Jesus walked the earth -- but we have God's truth as evidence that He came. Even more evidence of His impact is the change that takes place within us when we choose to follow Him. When God transforms our lives, that's evidence to the world that He's real and the Gospel story is true.
God's given each and every one of us amazing gifts, talents, and abilities -- and they're best used when they glorify Him. The greatest gift that's ever been given is Jesus'sacrifice on ourbehalf. All we have to do is receive it.
If you or someone you know is struggling so much in this life that you wish you'd never been born, the best thing you can do is be born again. Through all of our struggles and suffering, the only hope we can cling to is in God Almighty. He sees the whole picture, He knows the whole story, and He has good plans for each and every person who puts their trust in Him.
Salvation goes beyond a "get-out-of-jail-free" card and a ticket to Heaven. It involves living a life of peace and joy through Jesus while still here on earth. So often we accept Christ and then continue living in our own power, trying to fix our own sin, when in reality, God empowers us through His Spirit to overcome that sin if we're just willing to submit our lives to Him.
Jesus' entire life -- from conception to the cross -- was a fulfillment of prophecies that had been spoken of the Messiah all along. At some point, we have to come to a place of choosing whether or not to believe that He is who He says He is, and who the prophecies said He would be. One day, we'll each stand before His throne and answer for the choice that we make.
Our God is so powerful that all He had to do was speak, and the entire universe was formed. At the very beginning of time, God designed Jesus' birth to be revealed in the stars when He created the heavens and the earth -- and when He sent His Son to this world, He ordained that a star would proclaim that very birth.
God offers each of us the ultimate gift, bought and paid for with the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. The best part is that it's absolutely free -- all we have to do is reach out and accept it. And once we've received such an immeasurable act of love, we can't help but respond in worship.
When it comes to picking people who will become part of His Kingdom, God doesn't choose the ones who would seem logical in the eyes of the world. The "in crowd" is simply made up of those who hear His Word and respond in obedience.
Jesus is the "X" factor in us -- He allows us to do things that just don't seem possible from the outside looking in. When we choose to believe that God can accomplish anything and everything He says He will, we get a front-row seat to watch the impossible take place.
Of all the relationships we may experience in this lifetime, the deepest love we'll ever receive is from God Himself. His love went beyond all human comprehension when He gave His own Son for us. The only way we can experience truly unconditional love is by having a personal and intimate relationship with Him.
Scripture instructs us that we're to care for the marginalized -- the widows, the orphans, the poor, the sick -- but too often, we segregate ourselves from the very people we're called to love. When we obey God and give sacrificially of ourselves to bless others, it's as if we're giving to Jesus Himself.
Many people walk through life fearing all the "what ifs" that could happen. But when we put our faith in God, we trade our "what ifs" for "what is" -- and what is certain is that God promises to take care of us, provide for all our needs, and work all things for our good, no matter what negative situations come our way.
Have you ever smelled soil when it's been freshly fertilized? It smells awful -- but it's also crucial to the soil producing a good harvest. Sometimes our lives start to "smell", and it's because God may be fertilizing the soil around us so that we can begin to produce spiritually. Jesus was passionate about us, even to the point of death, and in order for us to bear fruit, it's critical that we be passionate about spreading the Gospel.
When a fire goes out, the ashes can be stoked, and the flame can be relit from the embers. In the same way, our excitement about our salvation might fade over time, but that spark can be renewed if we stoke the embers of gratitude. When we remember God's blessings in our lives, big or small, it re-ignites a spirit of thankfulness for all that He's given us.
God doesn't simply dwell in a place; God dwells in people.When we become Christians, God's Spirit resides in us, and we bring Him with us everywhere we go. When we congregate in a church setting, we're coming together as the Body of Christ -- and since our bodies make up God's temple, it's important that we treat them accordingly.
No matter how much value we place on earthly treasures, we can't take any of them into eternity. But when we instead focus on storing up crowns in Heaven, we can "ship ahead" the spiritual treasures that come from living in obedience to God and sharing the Good News of the Gospel with the people around us.
Sometimes God calls us to step out in faith, not just for our own sake, but so that others can see evidence of the miraculous work He does when we're willing to trust Him. Our faithfulness to surrender points directly back to His faithfulness to provide for us.
Sometimes God calls us to step out in faith, not just for our own sake, but so that others can see evidence of the miraculous work He does when we're willing to trust Him. Our faithfulness to surrender points directly back to His faithfulness to provide for us.
Scripture tells us that Jesus came to seek and save the lost -- and God's placed us on this earth so that we can be part of that mission. In order to be true witnesses for the Gospel, we need to have an ongoing and actively growing relationship with Jesus. The more closely we follow Him, the more He can make a different in and through us to get people hooked on the abundant life He offers.
God knows each one of us by heart -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. He knows all of our sin, and all the times we've chosen other things above Him. Yet still He chose to send His Son to die for us. When we begin to more fully comprehend the depths of His love for us, we can start to love Him and other people in a new and selfless way.
The devil knows your name, but he calls you by your sin. God knows your sin, but He calls you by your name. As believers, we need to learn what it means to rest in the covering of Christ, knowing we've been redeemed by His sacrifice. We don't have to live in shame any longer, because God's grace and mercy have covered all our sins.
Whether we realize it or not, our lives are the only Bible some people may ever read. As Christians, we represent God to the world, and we should live in such a way that we represent Him well. When He's in the driver's seat of our daily thoughts and actions, not only do we display His love more clearly to those around us -- we also experience the benefits that come with living the way He intended for us to live.
Would you rather get directions beforeyou become disoriented, or after you're already lost from going off-track? Jesus said that the road to destruction is wide and many will follow it, but few find the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life. The only way to reach that path is by following God's direction in our lives -- and the first place we should be turning to find that is the Bible.
When we choose to follow Jesus, His power resides in us, and that means He has remote control of our lives even without being physically present. He taught us to ask our Heavenly Father for whatever's in our heart, no matter how big or small, and to believe in faith that if it's according to His will, He'll be faithful to give it to us.
Everything we have has been given to us by God -- which means it was never really ours, anyway. Before we buy anything, we should be praying and asking Him if it's a wise purchase. Over time, as we start to view "our" money as God's money, we begin to think twice about how we spend it.
What do you do when you ask for something, and the answer is "no"? The Bible encourages us not only to askGod for things, but to be persistent in our asking. But once He's answered our prayer, we need to accept His final word on the subject -- even if we don't necessarily like His answer. God always has a purpose and a plan beyond what we can see, and sometimes, learning to trust Him is a better gift than whatever we were asking for to begin with!
Thankfulness begets thankfulness. The more we thank God for what He's given us, the more gratitude we feel towards Him. And the more gratitude we feel towards Him, the more motivated we are to listen to His voice and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit when He calls us to love, help, and serve others.
God designed His Church to be a family-- a body of people who love, mentor, support, and freely give to one another. We're called to be others-focused, not self-focused. All that we have is ultimately God's, and how we give back to Him is reflected in how we show His love toward other people.
We can't always control our circumstances, but we can always control how we respond to them. When we trust that God is sovereign above all things, we're better able to trust that His plans are greater than ours and that He's ultimately in charge, no matter the situation we find ourselves in.
The hungry. The thirsty. The stranger. The naked. The sick. The imprisoned. These are all people who Jesus commands us to treat as though they were Jesus Himself. But we often miss out on opportunities to be His hands and feet because we overlook the people society would call "the least of these". When we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, He opens our eyes in new ways to see those who were formerly invisible to us -- and He prompts us to act as the Body of Christ, moving and serving just as He did on earth.
Jesus left His disciples with the Great Commission -- the directive to go and spread the Gospel throughout the whole world. But do you know what's even more amazing? The same power that was in those disciples, who took the Gospel to the ends of the earth, is also in us when we choose to follow Jesus. We're not meant to keep what He's done for us hidden; we're meant to share the Good News, and share it far and wide!
God has a perfect plan for my life, your life, and the life of each baby who has yet to be born. Many of us long to become parents -- and that's okay! But if we're not careful, we can be quick to jump ahead of God's timing in giving us children. When we're tempted to focus on making our will happen, we need to slow down, take a step back, and trust that God's will is perfect.
It's common for people -- men, especially -- to go through a "midlife crisis" where we get bored with what we have, and set our eyes on what we don't have in hopes that it will bring us pleasure. But sin has consequences, no matter our age, and the way to resist being distracted by the things of this world is to fix our eyes on Jesus knowing He's the only One who can provide true satisfaction.
Every woman knows that menopauseis inevitable -- but it's also a result of Eve's sin in Eden. And when women go through the physical changes that come with age, it's difficult not only for them, but also for their husbands. Men may not be able to identify fully with the struggle that comes from this season of life, but they still have a role to play: trusting God, having patience, and loving their wives through it.
We can go our whole lives having Jesus all aroundus, but never truly having Him inus. The Bible tells us that if we love Him, we'll obey His commands. When He moves into our hearts, He changes us from the inside out and gives us the will to obey -- but we still have to make the choiceto sacrifice the pleasures of this world for His sake.
Matthew 12:34 tells us that out of the heart, the mouth speaks. The words that come out of our mouth reveal what's inside of us -- and as Christians, what's inside of us should reflect Christ. If we have poor self-control over the words we speak, it's likely we have poor self-control over our actions, too. As representatives of God to the world around us, it's our responsibility to tame our tongue and speak truth in love.
People have a tendency to ask God why He doesn't do something about the injustice we see in this world. And just as often, God's answer can be found when we lo0k in the mirror -- because His answer is us. He wants to use us as His hands and feet, to make a difference in this world, to do good in His name and for His glory.
God doesn't use people who are perfect (there's no such thing!) -- He uses people who are willing.Once we accept His forgiveness in our lives, we can offer ourselves to Him in every way, to be used as He pleases. And when we live in that mindset of sacrificial obedience to Him, He uses us to change the world.
God promises to forget our sin when we confess it to Him and receive the forgiveness offered through Christ's death and resurrection. So if He's faithful to not hold it against us...why do we always seem to hold it against ourselves? We're not meant to wear the guilt of our past once He's set us free. Instead, we're called to shed it, move forward, and not allow it to define us anymore.
In the Christian life, we tend to look for "mountaintop" experiences during Sunday morning worship or in other church settings. But in reality, we've all had a "mountaintop" experience if we've met Jesus on the cross. When we get high the world's way, we'll always come down, but with Jesus, we can ride that spiritual high indefinitely as long as we stay connected to Him.
When we're standing in front of a mountain of a challenge, it's hard to see anything but the uphill climb. But when we take a step back and look at our problems in relation to the Creator of the universe, it gives us perspective and reminds us that God is powerful over any and all of our circumstances -- and that our lives are about so much more than just the here and now.
Ask yourself this: Are you willing to lay everythingdown at the feet of Jesus? God's got a purpose for our lives, and it ultimately leads to the greatest treasure imaginable, that was made possible for us by the gift of salvation through Christ. But to find that treasure, we have to be ready and willing to seek Him first -- to surrender our will to His and step out in obedience.
It's easier to be served than it is to serve. But God's called us all to be servants, not only to Him, but to each other. Having faith in Jesus should lead to an attitude of obedience and a heart of service. We were put here not only to be His hands and His feet, but to be His eyes and His ears -- to see people for who they really are, and to listen to their stories.
Have you ever found yourself saying that something will happen "when pigs fly"? The thing about God is this: if He says He's going to do something, He's faithful to follow through. And if God promises to equip us with all that we need, we can trust Him to supply whatever provisions it takes -- even if that means making pigs fly!
The Bible tells us we're all "losers" -- yet God loves us so much that He pursues us and offers us the gift of eternal life. When we live in response to His love, not looking out for ourselves or building up our own pride, the world will see us as "losers" in a different way as we glorify Him in all that we do.
God's poured out His blessings on us -- His children. But He's also given us the incredible opportunity to bless the people He's placed all around us! In our families, our churches, our work and our communities, we should be freely giving what He first gave to us instead of withholding blessing from others.
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they introduced evil into the makeup of all mankind. God desires for us to live in the way He intended, but we can only do that by repenting of our own sinfulness and living in obedience to Him. The only good that can be found in us is through Jesus Christ.
The devil's attempts to scare us are a 24/7 job -- because he knows that when we live in bondage to fear, we can do nothing of use for God. But when the Spirit of God lives inside us, we have nothing to fear. When we truly believe that the Lord is greater than anything that can come at us, we realize that nothing compares to His mighty power!
We're all like sheep -- in need of a Shepherd to lead us and to care for us. And just like sheep, the more closely we walk with the Shepherd, the more clearly we hear His voice. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and even those who live in rebellion away from God still have every opportunity to repent, turn from their wandering, and come to Him.
If you ever start to feel like you've been separated from God's love, ask yourself the question: "Am I living in His Spirit, or am I living out of my own flesh?" When we think God is distant, it's likely because we've strayed away -- but the Bible promises that nothing we do could ever make Him stop loving us.
God doesn't equip each of us with individual gifts so that we can keep them to ourselves. He expects us to use those gifts to impact people who may not otherwise be reached. The way you or I are uniquely wired might allow us to touch a specific person's life in a specific way that finally resonates with them for the sake of the Gospel -- and we have to be ready and willing to respond in obedience when the Lord prompts us to reach out.
We all love to celebrate when we see someone choose to follow Jesus for the very first time. But how often do we commit to walking them down the path of discipleship that comes next? Part of our responsibility as believers is teaching new baby Christians how to stand and take their next steps towards a relationship with God.
Obedience to God often involves giving up what we want in the moment, and trusting that what He has for us instead is worth our fleeting discomfort. Scripture promises that even though we're called to live against the grain of this world, our sacrifice and commitment will be made worth it in Heaven one day.
It's easy to honor a father and mother who act...well...honorably. It's an entirely different story when they've acted in ways that have caused us pain or wreaked havoc on our lives. Parents make mistakes, and often grievous ones, yet the Bible's command in this regard was never tentative or conditional. We're simply called to honor them -- if only for the fact that they gave us life.
It's hard to believe that the devil and Jesus could ever be described similarly, but that's exactly what the Bible does when it refers to both of them as "lion". The devil is always on the prowl, seeking to entice us into sin. But Jesus is the all-powerful King and Lion of Judah, who promises to return for us one day and reign over all. Our job in the midst of temptation and distraction is to keep our eyes fixed on Him, knowing that in the end, He holds the victory.
Sin is seasonal: its pleasure only lasts for a finite amount of time until consequence and suffering kick in. We can choose to party it up in sin and not think about what happens when the clock strikes midnight. Or, we can choose to live in step with the Prince of Peace, who promises to satisfy us completely and give us abundant life in Him.
Sometimes it feels like our sin is too great for God to fully forgive -- but Jesus' blood is powerful enough to make us new. He cleanses us fully and completely from our past, present, and future transgressions. Instead of living as though we can't be made clean, or living in sin and taking advantage of God's grace, let's humbly confess and then allow Him to wash us with His forgiveness.
If you don't believe the world today is ruled by division, just try asking a group of your friends whether pineapple belongs on pizza! Instead of taking the time to hear the other side of an argument, we as a culture jump straight to dismissing someone else's opinion when it differs from ours, rather than inviting a conversation led by grace. We're called to speak truth inlove,to be inthe world but not ofthe world, and to model Christ's love in a way that will draw people closer to Him.
No matter how closely we walk with the Lord, there will undoubtedly be situations in this life where we find ourselves stumped by difficult circumstances. In those moments, we can choose to run from God in the midst of our suffering, or we can seek Him, knowing He can handle our doubt. We may not get the answers we're looking for on this side of Heaven, but when we enter eternity with Christ, He'll make all things known to us.
Many of us strive to look good on the outside -- and there's nothing wrong with taking good care of the body God gave us! If we're not careful, though, we can spend so much time focusing on our outward appearance that we wind up completely empty on the inside without Christ. God made us in Hisown image, and far more important than our attractiveness is His work, both in us and through us.
There's a big difference between living a morallife and living a godly life. Choosing to not give into sin because of moral pride will only set us up for failure, because we can never resist temptation completely on our own. But recognizing the obedient lifestyle God's designed for us -- and intentionally walking in that lifestyle -- allows us to face temptation from the solid ground of a foundation built on Scripture.
Psalm 27:1 reads, "The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid?" The only reason we should fear anything is if we don't have God living inus and fighting forus. But when we have the Lord on our side, He's stronger than anything the devil can throw at us!
Prayer isn't only meant for "use in case of emergency" situations -- but too often, we wait until we find ourselves in a spot of trouble and having already tried to fix the situation through our own means before we ask God for help. He's given us the Holy Spirit to get us "out of the woods", and He wants us to help other people find their way out, too.
There's a very real spiritual world that exists beyond the world we can see, and its forces are continually at war even as you and I go about our day-to-day lives. The only way we can overcome the devil and his attacks is by the power of God. He's given us His Spirit and His Word to equip us for battle; it's our job to put on His armor for protection and use His weapons to fight back.
Christian or non-Christian, we're all given just one life on this earth, but what we do with that life makes all the difference. While we're here, God gives us two jobs to do. The first is to respond to His generous gift of forgiveness, to repent and choose to follow Him; the second is the reach the rest of the world with the Good News so that they can do the same.
Man has created many gods, but the only true God is the One who created us. And if we utilized the faith He's given us to its fullest extent, our lives would look very different. When we see God for who He truly is, we worry less about our circumstances because we know He's in control of them.
If you died tomorrow, would you be missed? Death is inevitable for each of us until Jesus returns -- and we only get one shot to live this life in a way that pleases God. When we keep in step with the Spirit, our lives will bear the fruitof the Spirit, and that fruit is what makes us the kind of people who will be missed once we're gone.
Just because a flame goes out doesn't mean the fire is done; a pile of ashes can be stoked, and embers can be relit. In the same way, even if our passion for our relationship with God has burned out, the excitement can be renewed. When we remember God's blessings toward us, big or small, it stokes the fire in our hearts to give Him thanks and praise for all that He's given us.
Brokenness, pain, and sin...men and women whose lives were in shambles...the Bible is filled with people's messy stories, but it's also filled with God's redemption. He's in the business of restoration, and He can take any mess and turn it around to be used for something better than we can even imagine. Not a single one of us is too far gone for God's grace and transformation!
Every action we take comes with a subsequent reaction; just read Samson's story in Scripture. The Bible warns us to flee from temptation, but, like Samson, we're susceptible to giving in. Even in those moments of consequence when we sin, God gives us strength if only we ask, so that we can pick ourselves up, move forward, and continue in His work.
When we choose to follow Jesus, we're also choosing to say, "I'm yours, God; use me." And it's not only the big decisions, but also the small, day-to-day choices that have an enormous impact on God inviting us to be part of His plans. The way that He orchestrated the coming together of Ruth and Boaz illustrates His sovereignty over all situations -- but it was because of their obedience to Him that they ultimately became part of the fulfillment of prophecy down the line.
The late theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, "Christianity without discipleship is Christianity without Christ." As followers of Jesus, it's critical that we learn two things: first, what it means to be discipled, and second, what it means to disciple another person. The greatest "legacy" we can leave on this earth is the gift of leading someone else as they grow in their relationship with Jesus, in such a way that it equips them to lead others, in turn.
When we hear the term "The Olive Garden", the Garden of the Gethsemane probably isn't the first place that comes to mind. Yet there's perhaps no account in the Bible that more clearly reveals the humanity of Jesus. He prayed for His Father to let the cup pass from Him so that He would not have to die -- but He also prayed that His Father's will be done. Jesus' struggle in the garden is an example to us of what it means to surrender to the Lord: we have to be ready to give up our own lives, take up our own cross, and follow Him.
God might not always speak in words, but He always speaks.As Christians, the best way for us to hear His voice is to start every day by asking Him what He wants to say to us -- and then listen for His response. The more closely we walk with Him, the more attuned we'll become to His voice as we strive to walk in obedience.
The Bible's filled with examples of people who have made mistakes, big and small -- but those mistakes aren't what ultimately defined them. God loves using imperfect people perfectly, so He can restore them, transform their lives, and use them to change the world. When we choose to follow Jesus, we also need to choose to leave our past behind us and fight forward towards spiritual victory.
No matter how great our life is here on earth, it can never come close to how good eternity will be with Jesus. It's more than we can possibly fathom or imagine -- which is why we waste so much time chasing after all the things we think will bring us happiness in this temporary world. When we chase after God instead of earthly pleasures, we stop looking around at the things we think will satisfy us, and we start looking forwardto forever with our Lord.
The evil we read about in the Bible is still around today. The danger is, our culture tries to normalize it, or to pass it off as something other than what it is. It's our job to call out evil as evil and to recognize that we're in a constant spiritual battle -- and then do our best to lead the people around us to the only One who can defeat the enemy.
You don't shower or do laundry once and call it good for the rest of your life (ahhh, but wouldn't that be nice?!). In the same way that it's necessary to wash our bodies and our clothes on a regular basis in order to make them clean, it's critical for us to wash ourselves spiritually by spending time in God's Word. Through Christ's blood, we can be washed white as snow, but it's up to us to keep up on our daily "hygiene".
The Bible tells us that God's specifically placed those in authority in their positions according to His purpose. It's not our job to question His plans -- but it is our job to trust that He's ultimately in control, and to follow His lead on when and where we need to take a stand for Him.
God's perfect standard requires that a sacrifice be made to atone for our sin. Where that sacrifice was once a literal lamb, Jesus came to serve as the proverbial Lamb who paid the price for the sin of the entire world. We can choose to continue carrying our own guilt and shame, knowing we can never repay the debt that we owe, or we can accept the gift of freedom that Jesus offered us when He took our sin to the cross.
It's not wrong to feel angry over injustice -- but we often make the mistake of spreading that anger around us instead of looking in the mirror and asking how we ourselves can contribute to meaningful change. If we really believe that Jesus sets us free, then we should be free to love, to forgive, and to live as family with one another, regardless of our differences.
Scripture is clear: God's love for us in absolute, unwavering, and eternal. So why are we not easily convinced? When we start believing what the Bible tells us about His love, and stop second-guessing the gift that He's given us in His Son, our whole lives change and we experience the joy that comes from living free from sin and condemnation.
This life is fleeting, and we only live it once. That's why it's so important for us to take our one shot seriously, instead of getting caught up in the distractions of a temporary world. When we yield to God's purpose and plan, He can use us to grow His Kingdom.
The posture of our heart is revealed when we approach God with either clenched fists or empty hands. When we choose to follow Jesus, we admit that we have nothing to give, and we ask Him to fill us with His Spirit. From that day forward, it's our choice: we can either hold everything He gives us tightly in our grasp, or we can release it back to Him and watch as He opens the floodgates of blessing in our lives.
We all know someone who has the "gift" of speaking without a filter (hint: if you don't know that person, check the mirror -- it might be you!). The words that come out of our mouths are a direct reflection of what's in our hearts. That's why the Bible warns us time and again to be careful what we say, and how we say it. If the words we speak aren't God-pleasing and Jesus-loving, it's time for us to step back, do a heart check, and get right with the Lord.
You won't find a single verse in the Bible that encourages us to segregate ourselves within God's family. But you will find an abundance of Scripture that instructs us to love each other fully, regardless of our differences, because whatunites us is Whowe belong to. We're all children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ, and how we model our relationships within the Church will reflect to the outside world what it means to love and follow Jesus.
Did you know that your greatest weapon against hardship and trial is...worship? Most often, the difficult circumstances that we thinkare our enemy are really just masking a spiritual enemy. The devil seeks to steal, kill, and destroy -- but when we worship God, He fights on our behalf, and we don't have to fight those battles alone.
Our society continues to face challenges surrounding racial issues. But that opens the door for us as believers to bridge gaps and put into action the love that Christ has called us to demonstrate to allpeople -- without exclusion. It's one thing to know what the Bible says about loving our neighbors; it's another to dowhat it says. Only when that command is put into action by you and me on a daily, personal level can true change begin to take place in the world around us.
In our culture, people are quick to judge others, provoke argument, and "cancel" people from their lives if they don't see eye-to-eye. We forget that without Jesus, none of us have a hope of upholding God's standard of perfection. He demonstrates for us what it means to show mercy to ourselves and other people when they -- or we -- miss the mark.
Many people love to give -- but if you asked them to do it without any expectation of credit or recognition, they might think twice. God calls us to be cheerfulgivers, and that means our only motive should be bringing God glory, not ourselves. Generosity reflects more about the condition of our hearts than it does about the recipient's needs, because when we give to others what God first gave us, we demonstrate our trust in Him to provide.
Maybe you've heard the saying, "Let your yes be yes and your no be no." But did you know that truth comes directly out of Scripture? God knows the world is filled with indecisive people, and our lives are often a mess because of it. That's why He wants us to surrender our doubts and fears, trust in His promises, and follow Him whole-heartedly-- because He promises to take care of our every need when we commit ourselves to Him.
Jesus turned the world upside down because He was willing to give His own life for us, that we might be saved from an eternity separated from God. And when we accept Him as the Lord and Savior of our life, we should be willing to give, do, and sacrifice anything that He says. The only way God can use us to turn the world upside down is if we give our everything to Him, and hold nothing back.
When we can't see the poor and the needy all around us, chances are, it's not because they're not there -- it's because we're too distracted to even notice. Our busy schedules, pursuit of earthly success, and love for material possessions can all hinder us from seeing those who God's called us to help, or wanting to share the abundance He's given us. But Scripture teaches us that the Lord will always provide for our every need, and when we give to the poor, it's as if we're giving to God Himself.
1 John 4:12 tells us, "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." We live in a world that's been broken by sin, and the only way to repair it is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When He lives inus, His love for others flows through us, and we're used by Him to change the world aroundus.
Jesus stepped in to advocate for us before the Father. He took our sin upon Himself, and He continues to intercede on our behalf. In the same way that Jesus modeled this act of love for us, we're to do the same for other people who need someone to stand up and speak for them in the midst of their struggles.
When you're part of a family, you hold two key things; the first is a role, and the second is responsibility. One of our responsibilities as members of God's family is to help each other remain spiritually right with the Lord. When we see a brother or sister struggling, we're not only to call them out on it -- we're to help them through it.
God called us out of the darkness when He redeemed us from our sin. Now He calls usto call out others so that they, too, might be saved. Our job is to be a light in the world and expose sin -- but we can never forget how important it is to speak truth not only in boldness, but also in love.
Thanks to Christ's death on the cross, we're spoiled rotten in the sense that we no longer have to make a sacrifice to atone for our sin. But often, we take that gift for granted, instead of recognizing the need for us to repent. When we do so genuinely and wholeheartedly, God is gracious to make us clean. There will still be consequences for our disobedience, but they're given not out of punishment, but out of His love for us.
There's a saying that goes, "God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called." And it really is true! Time after time throughout Scripture, we see God take ordinary people and use them to accomplish extraordinary things. We don't have to be capable -- we just have to be available to Him.
Our culture not only normalizes sin -- it celebrates sin. But truth is truth, whether culture agrees with it or not, and we can always trust that truth will be found in Scripture. When we follow Christ, His heart for the lost should become our heart, too. May we be compelled to tell them the truth -- not because we hate them for their sin, but because we love them enough to share God's hope, grace, and mercy.
Our time here will end in one of two ways: either Jesus will return, or we will die. That's why it's critical for us to make the choice today to give our lives to Him, and to do what we can to make sure those around us have the same opportunity to spend eternity in Heaven. When the people we love die before us, if they've put their hope and trust in Jesus, we can grieve with hope knowing we'll see them again.
Without God, we're just dead souls in living bodies. But when we receive the gift of salvation that Jesus so freely offers us out of His goodness and His grace, we're brought to life and become living souls in living bodies! And while we can't do anything to earn it, we can do everything in our power to share the good news of the Gospel with the lost and hurting world around us.
If we've been trying to live our own way and do our own thing, it's time to give Jesus a second look and consider what He offers us. When we take a step back and evaluate our choices, we're able to see more clearly that life doesn't turn out as well when we take charge as it does when we surrender to God. The story of the prodigal son reminds us that the Father is always inviting us to return to Him -- and when we do, He's waiting to welcome us with open arms.
Do you know why God didn't put eyes in the backof our heads? Because that's not the direction He wants us to go! After we've gone through the stages of regret, reset,and restore,it's time for us to resumethe work that God's called us to do. No matter what we've done or what's happened to us in the past, we can't allow it to hold us back from moving forward in the purpose God's called us to and the work He's left us on this earth to complete.
Feeling remorse over our sin is important -- but it's still only a first step. When our regretleads us to repentance, God is able to reset our lives and begin the process of restoringus. He forgives us, wipes our slate clean, and then uses our story to bring others hope for the same outcome in their own lives.
As the old saying goes, "a complaining tongue reveals an ungrateful heart." We can bemoan the fact that life isn't always fair -- and sometimes, it's just plain unjust -- and allow our circumstances to get the best of us. Or, we can choose to believe that our Heavenly Father loves to bless us as His children, and trust that He has a plan and a purpose to use our situation for His glory and His good.
Scripture is filled with real stories of real people, just like you and me -- and many of those stories illustrate the high cost of disobeying the Lord. While we're all susceptible to making mistakes, we can avoid many of the pitfalls we read about in the Bible when we're grounded in relationship with God and with His Word.
Scripture tells us that God made us on purpose, by design, just the way we are. From the moment we became life in the womb, He had plans for us, and He's faithful to fulfill those plans no matter what detours we take along the way. He knows us completely and loves us more than anyone else could -- and when He calls us to protect others, it's our job to submit ourselves in obedience and stand up for the value of human life.
God is calling you and me to make a difference -- not an excuse! We've been put in place to carry out His work for His glory, knowing it has eternal impact on the lives of those around us. Instead of looking for reasons why He can't or shouldn't use us, we should be seeking out the purpose He wants to see fulfilled in us and through us.
The more sand that's fallen from the hourglass of our life, the more clearly we can see through it. That's why it's better for us to decide early on that we're going to let our time be used by God, rather than wait until our time is up and our life expires. The Lord alone has already determined the length of our days; it's our job to submit to His will and let Himuse that time in whatever way He sees fit.
One of the most important steps we have to take once we choose to follow Jesus is tune our ears to listen for His voice. As we go through each day, He'll lead us to specific action, and our job is to hear and respond, no matter how crazy a prompt it might seem. The more time we spend in relationship with Him, the more we'll find ourselves moving in instinctive obedience to the things He calls us to do.
God loves us so much that He literally gave up His own Son to get us into His family. And as members of His family, the people He cares about should become the people we care about, too. When He lives inside us, He changes our hearts to care for the poor, the widows, the orphaned, the imprisoned, and every other person who He calls His beloved child.
To prostrate ourselves before the Lord is to humble ourselves and submit to His will above our own. Jesus warned us that we must deny ourselves and take up our crosses if we want to follow Him. In order to obey that command, we have to be willing to commit to going where He leads us -- no matter what suffering it may involve.
There's a saying that goes, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." And while that might sound like a bit of a cliché, there's truth in those words! We serve a God who came down in person to live and love among us here on earth before He ultimately died for our sins. In the same way, people feel valued when we show up in their lives, in person, to journey with them through life's ups and downs -- and when we do that, it opens the door for us to share God's love with them.
God had a purpose for the lives of Jacob and Esau, and even when they got in the way of themselves, nothing they did could ultimately change His plan. Our number one goal should be to live in such a way that it pleases God, but for those times when we inevitably screw up, there's good news: He can take any mess in our lives and use it for His glory.
Did you know that as followers of Christ, we're not "only" human? We have the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit inside us! And that means even though we're prone to being tempted, God's given us all the tools we need to resist temptation and overcome sin so we can live a godly life.
There's a reason that Scripture focuses so much on the nameof Jesus. It's because there is no other name that carries power and authority on earth and in heaven -- and when we use Hispower in Hisname, we bring Him glory and honor.
You don't have to be a "Type A" personality to make plans; even the most flexible and spontaneous among us still try to direct the outcomes of our lives! But sometimes, the way God gets us to where He wants us to go is the way we never would have chosen for ourselves. In the moments, we have a choice to make: will we worship God despite our circumstances, or shake our fists at Him when things don't go the way we planned?
Have you ever considered just how remarkable God made Jesus' time on earth? From the virgin birth to the miracle of His resurrection, throughout His life and His death in between, none of it was ordinary -- but the Father's plan was perfectly fulfilled through His Son. Jesus promises to return for us one day, and it's up to us to be ready and waiting when He makes His entrance into the world once more.
Those rumble strips in the road that help us stay alert and stay in our lane are called "sleeper lines". But did you know that God gives us sleeper lines in our spiritual lives, too? He never allows us to drift off-course without sending us warning signals. Sometimes those signals come from Scripture, and other times they come from wise people, but it's up to us whether to heed the warnings we're given or drive our lives into the ditch.
Wishy-washy people aren't just unreliable -- they're untrustworthy, because you can never count on them to follow through. And when we as Christians are unreliable in our words and our actions, it reflects on the God we serve. The Lord wants us to be reliable to Him and to other people because we are the conduits He's chosen to carry out His work. When we face obstacles in doing the job He's called us to do, we've got to commit to fighting through it, no matter how hard it gets.
Jesus' death paid the debt for our sin once and for all!There is no expiry date, fine print, or loophole on the sacrifice He made on our behalf -- we just have to choose to accept His gift. When we look to Him for our salvation He's faithful to save us, not only from our past, but from a present and a future spent without Him.
"I did it my way" might have been a great line for Frank Sinatra, but it's not a good approach for you and me if we're striving to follow Jesus! When we apply God's Word to our lives consistently and faithfully, we begin to see our lives transformed in a powerful -- and eternal -- way.
Yes, we have to work to live -- but if that's all we fill our time with, we're wasting the time God gave us here. No matter our profession, God calls us to represent Him in every facet of life and to everyone we meet. Let's spend the days of our lives in obedience to Him, living each one as though it was our last!
Unless Jesus comes back or we die young, most of us will have the privilege of growing old -- but that doesn't mean we should just sit idly by and wait for death to come! We should be spending our time preparing to go home to Heaven by soaking up God's Word, remaining teachable to the lessons He wants us to learn, and pouring into the people around us with every opportunity He gives us.
We tend to treat this life more like an amusement park than a battlefield. But we're in the midst of a spiritual battle, and the enemy wants to do everything he can to make us lose. We can choose to let hell overtake us and beat us down, or we can pick up our weapons, like prayer and worship, and fight to the very end.
We've all been there: even if we're not "the jealous type", each of us has, at some point in time, looked at somebody else and thought, "they seem to have it all." But no matter how good a person's life appears on the outside, without Christ on the inside, they're spiritually empty. No amount of money, cars, houses, good jobs, or even good morals can replace this truth: only Jesus can give us a life of true joy and fulfillment.
In a world full of messaging that "I'mnumber one" and "it's all about me", we have to listen through the noise to hear God saying the opposite. He's chosen us and called us according to Hispurpose, not because of anything we've done, but because He's gracious and merciful. Our job is to live out of humility, not ego, sharing the unconditional love that He first showed to us with everyone around us.
One of the first things investigators do when an aircraft crashes is search for the "black box", because it records and reveals every piece of data that might explain why the plane went down. We all sin, and sometimes we try to cover it up, but there's a "black box" in our lives recording everything we do, and eventually it will be made known. God calls us not to hide from Him, but to come clean before Him in repentance and allow Him to change us from the inside out.
In God's family, there are no strangers. There are no rejects. There are no outcasts. There are only beloved children of God. When we stand up and proclaim His name, we might be rejected by the world, but we can take confidence in knowing that we're not only acceptedby the Lord of the universe -- we're chosenby Him, too.
One of the most dangerous things any Christian can do is isolate themselves from other believers. The Bible describes us as sheep and the Lord as our Shepherd, who cares for us and provides for all of our needs. But just like in a real flock, there are always wolves on the prowl, seeking to come into the fold with the intent to steal, kill, and destroy. That's why we've got to be ever watchful and remain on guard against the enemy's attacks.
We like to kid ourselves with the idea that we're somehow in control -- of ourselves, of our decisions, and even of the world in which we live. The bad news: we're not in control. The good news: God is!We serve a living God who's always in charge. He hears us, He sees us, and His plan will prevail, no matter the circumstances we face.
You know you've started taking something for granted when you stop being thankful for it. God's blessed us abundantly with more things than we can count, including our salvation and the gift of eternal life. The best way to avoid losing our appreciation for what He's given us is to continually respond to Him with gratitude and in thanksgiving for all that He's done.
It's hard to imagine, especially here in the United States in the 21st century, but you and I and every other person were born as slaves -- slaves to sin. The good news is this: we've been offered freedom from our bondage thanks to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. When we accept the forgiveness He offers us, we submit ourselves to His care and become His slave instead, knowing He'll provide for our every need.
"When I grow up"..."I'm almost an adult"..."You can't make me"...do any of these phrases sound like something you or your kids might have said growing up?! In the same way, we often act like rebellious teenagers and lack spiritual maturity in our relationship with God. But we can't live the Christian life alone. That's why God designed His Church -- to be a community of believers that will help each other grow and mature.
There's a saying that, "We are made for God, and nothing less will ever satisfy us." We all have a longing deep within our souls, and we try to fill that void with anything and everything this world has to offer. But we'll never be truly satisfied except through Jesus -- and when we drink from Him, He promises that we'll never thirst again.
Shame is just one of the many consequences of sin, but often it serves as the catalyst for us to repent from our wrongdoing. The one thing we should never be ashamed of is the goodness of God. May we have the courage to proclaim His love and mercy to a hurting world, and to speak of His forgiveness to all who we meet!
God never said we had to go bowling/skiing/on vacation/insert-your-choice-of-activity-here with people we don't like. But He didcommand us to love each other, and to do our part to live in peace with one another! It's impossible for us to do that without letting Him first live and work in our own lives. The sooner we let go of the idea that "it's all about me", the sooner we allow God to love other people through us.
When you think of God, you probably don't think of Him getting "in the ring" with His people! But Jacob's story in Scripture shows us that sometimes, we need to wrestle with the Lord about certain things -- and hold on for the count until He gives us His blessing to move forward.
If our 24-hour day is a pie, and each activity we spend time on is a slice, then why does God often seem to get one of the smallest pieces? We're easily tempted to spend too much time working to indulge a lifestyle that we never really needed in the first place. Money in and of itself isn't a bad thing, but if we chase it rather than investing in our relationships with God and other people, then we're wasting the life God gave us.
Have you ever heard the phrase, "can't see the forest for the trees"? Another way of putting it could be, "Can't see the flowers for the weeds"! All too often, we let our everyday worries and stress (the "weeds") distract us from the abundant life God desires for us (the "flowers"). But when we put our attention back on Him and His love for us, He holds us in His perfect peace, and we can live with the assurance that He will meet our every need.
Of all the places in the world, there's no better place to be than exactly where God has called us to go.When Jesus said to go and make disciples of all nations, it was a command, not a suggestion. Our entire purpose for being is to follow Him and to bring glory to His name.
We can have the clearest picture of what God intends for us to do -- the what, when, why, where, and how -- but at the end of the day, sometimes, we still just wind up getting stuck.There will always be obstacles that threaten to hold us back from accomplishing God's will. When we find ourselves spinning our wheels, we can waste time and effort trying to figure out a solution by ourselves, or we can ask God to make a way and to help us move forward.
We all start out in the "shallow end" of spiritual maturity when we first accept Christ as the Lord of our lives. But eventually we have to swim out into the deeper waters of discipleship as we read His Word, seek His will, apply His truth, and grow deeper in our relationship with Him.
When we first make the decision to follow Jesus, God puts His Spirit in us to help guide us in living passionately for Him. But if we ignore the Holy Spirit, we become desensitized to His leading over time, and eventually we find ourselves in the mess of our own sin. The good news is this: God can always reignite a fire within us -- we only have to ask Him.
Jesus tells us that in order to follow Him, we have to deny ourselves. But more often, we wind up denying Godand choosing our own will over His. Unless we submit to His leading in our lives, He can never fully live in us and through us. We have to let go of our selfish ways, die to our desires, and take on His life instead of our own.
We only have a short amount of time on this ball called Earth -- and we need to make the most of it. The question we each should ask ourselves is, "Am I living my life with God-honoring purpose, or am I wasting my time with sin?" When we strive to do the former by seeking God through Scripture and through prayer, He's gracious to give us His wisdom in response.
The Bible has a lot to say about humility -- because God knows our instinct is to be anything but! If we hold the attitude that we know everything and have nothing to learn from our brothers and sisters in Christ, it will only stunt our spiritual growth. But when we remain teachable and allow for other godly men and women to pour into our lives, we not only grow as individuals, but we equip ourselves to give back to the body of Christ by teaching others, in turn.
As Americans, we're well-acquainted with the idea that human beings have the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Yet chasing after those things from a worldly standpoint inevitably leads to death, despair, and slavery to our sin. Only in Jesus will we find abundant life, true freedom, and indescribable joy.
Life as a follower of Jesus is about more than just existing from now until God calls us home to Heaven -- it's about actively leaning into His power to carry out our purpose in the "in-between". And if the light hasn't yet turned on for us to be able to see that power that He offers us, all we have to do is ask!
The devil can read.He's seen what the Bible says about how Jesus will win the final battle, and he knows he's done for. That's why he's been on a mission since the fall of creation to take as many people as he can down with him. God wants us to join Him in His mission to share the saving power of the Gospel with the world -- and to spare as many people as possible from an eternity of hell.
Have you ever noticed that Psalm 23 doesn't say "He makes me lie down in brown pastures"? The greenpastures we read about in Scripture represent abundant life. When we choose to live on the side of "lush" that comes from seeking worldly things, it only brings about temptation and destruction -- but when we choose the life that God offers us, we experience the lushness of His blessings.
Someone once said, "The fact that there's a 'highway to Hell' and a 'stairway to Heaven' says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers." Unless we make a conscious decision to chooseJesus and to chooseHeaven, the alternative is that we chooseHell. God's given each one of us the option to spend eternity with Him -- but it's up to us to decide whether we're going to accept His offer.
God has no limits to what He can do! And yet He chooses, in His infinite glory and grace, to love us just as we are. When we make the choice to follow Jesus, He takes us beyond our own human limits to serve and love others -- even those the world might deem undeserving, unworthy, or unlovable.
There are some people walking around in the world who are only here today because someone else prayed for God to be merciful and spare their lives. When we follow the Holy Spirit's leading, we're given the opportunity to intercede on behalf of others, even when they didn't ask for our help. God desires for all to turn to Him and it's our responsibility to speak truth into their lives and point them to Jesus.
God tests our obedience -- and He does it often! Sometimes it's in big ways, but other times, it's through small, everyday "pop quizzes". If we aren't walking in the Spirit, we'll fail to hear His promptings and do what He says. And when it comes to being obedient about sharing the hope of the Gospel, our only two options are pass or fail.
Do you know what it's called when you throw seeds out on the ground in order to plant crops? Broadcasting!So it's only fitting that as Christians, we're called to broadcast the Gospel to everyone we meet. It's our job to sow seeds of truth for others, not just for ourselves -- and when we hit fertile soil, we get the privilege of being part of the transformative work that God does in their lives and hearts.
If you're a parent, you know how good it feels to hear your child show appreciation for something you've done for them. Have you ever considered that it's the same for God? It's a no-brainer for us to go to Him when we're in trouble or in need, but how often do we go back and thank Him for coming through for us? The greatest show of gratitude we could demonstrate is to come before Him in praise and worship for all He's done for us.
How we act is what we become. When we walk around acting like we're losers to sin, we put ourselves in a position to keep on losing. But when we live knowing Jesus has already won the battle over sin on our behalf, we can walk with heads held high and the boldness of those whose victory has been secured.
We're all born sinners who are working for hell, and our paycheck is eternal death. But the good news is this: God offers us the opportunity to quit our jobs and work for Him instead. All we have to do to change "employers" is accept the free gift of salvation Jesus secured for us through His death and resurrection -- and when we do so, we receive His payment of eternal life.
Sin doesn't occur in a vacuum -- and neither does pain. Sometimes we experience pain through no fault of our own, and other times we inflict it on ourselves through our sin. But during our greatest trials, God offers us the "spiritual anesthesia" of grace, and invites us to find relief and comfort through His peace.
Being a "do dad" means you don't just say great things -- you follow through and dogreat things, too! The best kind of dad is one that sets a good example for his children by modeling his actions after his Heavenly Father. When we continually point our kids to the Lord through our behavior, we demonstrate for them what it means to be consistent in word and deed.
Some of us had dads who seemed like superheroes in our eyes. Some of us never even had a father figure to call our own. But the good news is this: when it comes to God's love for us, we're all on level ground once we've been born again. We all have a spiritual Father who cares for us, leads us, and provides for our every need. God is a Father to the fatherless -- and as Christians, our job is to model and extend His fatherly love toward others.
The world claims to offers us a lot of different kinds of love, but only through being born again can we experience the divine, unconditional love that God has in store for us. And when we've received that gift from our Father, we're able to give it back to Him as well as share it with those around us.
Grace isn't fair -- and that's a good thing.If grace was given based on whether or not we deserved it, none of us would receive it! The very gift that we see as "unfair", God offers in love, giving all the opportunity to come to Him even at the very last moment.
Jesus is clear that we can only serve one master. When we let go of our compulsion to serve other masters like money and material wealth, we learn the secret to genuine contentment. By choosing to trust the Master who will meet our every need, we experience the freedom that comes from faith in a loving Father who cares for us in ways big and small!
The devil never has downtime.He doesn't take breaks or have an off-season; he's constantly attacking us with the intention of devouring us. We're in a 24/7 spiritual battle, and we have to put on the full armor of God for protection so we can fight and win.
When we have nothing but God, we discover that God is all we need. But when we have an abundance of material wealth and financial means, it's easy to feel like we need God less and less because we can take care of ourselves. By giving sacrificially, we literally put our money where our mouth is and trust Him to provide for us in every way.
Following God isn't supposed to burn us out -- so why do we often insist on working ourselves into the ground trying to prove our worth through our works? One of the best ways for us to find the complete spiritual rest that He offers us is through worship. And when we step back and allow Him to trade our weariness for His rest, we're better able to see Him work in our lives and through our lives for His glory.
One of the best pieces of advice you'll hear given to newlyweds is that they need to continue pursuing one another long after the honeymoon is over and the excitement has started to fade. In the same way, our relationship with God might not always feel "new" or "thrilling", but when we continue to pursue Him like He's pursued us, He's faithful to demonstrate His work in our lives time and time again.
What if I told you that our job as Christians isn't to keep outof harm's way -- it's to follow the Spirit intoharm's way? Jesus went into harm's way to save us from certain death, and now it's up to us to lead people out of the enemy's traps of destruction. When we stay in step with the Holy Spirit, He'll take us into places of darkness and danger, but He'll cover us with His protection as we do His work to fight for others.
Can you remember the fire that burned in your heart the day you became a Christian? The enthusiasm and commitment we felt towards Jesus when we first started walking in relationship with Him can fade and fizzle as time passes. Trials distract us, and temptation to return to our old sins can cause that fire to burn out. But the good news is this: no matter how long it's been since we last felt that passion, we can always return to it again by talking with Him, praising Him, reading His Word, and expressing our gratitude for all that He's done for us.
You might not want to hear this, but the fact is: you and I were born losers. We all entered this world as lost people with no way to God. Only through Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins can we be turned from losers into victors -- and He offers us that transformation freely, if we're just willing to believe and accept it.
When we choose to dishonor God, we can't expect Him to honor us in return. And sometimes, dishonoring Him doesn't even mean we did something malicious or intentional -- more often, it could simply mean that we haven't made a deliberate choice to honor Him with our lives, our money, and our stuff. The more deeply we're involved in a relationship with the Lord, the more deeply we should desire to honor Him in allthings and allways.
Do you know the biggest reason people don't attend church? It's not because they don't believe in Jesus -- it's because they don't feel welcome! They're more likely to believe they're crashing some exclusive party than to believe the doors are open to anybody and everybody. But God's invited us all to be part of His family, and once we join His family, it's critical that we extend that invitation to others.
Suffering can take us down one of two roads as followers of Jesus: it can build our character, or it can drive us back to our old ways of sinning. 1 Peter 4:1 says, "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin." When we fix our eyes on Him and base our hope in His promises, God gifts us the strength to persevere through our pain and endure our struggles.
The Bible promises us that one day, Jesus will return for His people -- and on that day, we'd better be prepared. In the same way that we wake up every morning and get ready for the day physically, we should wake up every morning and get ready for the day spiritually, too. And part of being spiritually prepared is being ready, willing and able to share the Gospel with those God puts in our path along the way.
Sitting in stress is kind of like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do -- but it never goes anywhere! Our lives are sometimes so stress-filled that it's impossible to see beyond our circumstances, and it robs us of the joy the Lord offers us. God promises that with His power we can bear all things, but we have to be willing to surrender control and trade our worry for His peace.
"Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created." That's a quote you might have seen on stickers, coffee mugs, or home decor -- but did you know that it comes from the book of Esther in the Bible? Her story illustrates for us what it means to use the opportunities God gives us to obey Him. Our purpose isn't to seek out our own happiness -- our purpose is to seek out the people God's placed in our lives and seize the chances He gives us to share His message of hope and salvation with them.
Insider trading might be illegal on the stock market, but it's the best type of "spiritual trading" we can ever do! When we trade our lives in to God and ask Him to fill us with His life instead, He gives us His Spirit to lead us each and every day. And when we let His light shine through us, it attracts other people to the saving power of the Gospel, too.
No matter what struggles and trials we face during our life on earth, we can take hope in knowing that we have a Savior who's gone before us to prepare our eternal home. But until He calls us to join Him there, He's told us how we're to spend our days in the meantime: spreading the Gospel, and discipling other believers to go and do the same.
We can't live the Christian life without Christ. That's because the bar that’s been set for us by God – to live up to His perfect and holy standard – is literally unattainable. We don't have to go far in Scripture to realize that the only way for the "impossible" commands in Scripture to become possible is through Jesus Christ living in us.
Sin has a way of making us withdraw from those we need the most -- including God and other believers. It's important that we not only confess our sin to God, but also to a brother or sister in Christ who will hold us accountable. When we do that, we'll experience the true freedom and healing that God offers us through His forgiveness and mercy.
Scripture tells us that God's angels at work all around us -- even when we can't see them. The Lord has more power for us, in us, and through us than any kind of demonic force that could ever come against us. And it's that same power that, if we allow it to, will help us share the Good News of the Gospel with others so that we may see them in Heaven one day.
If you have beef with God, you're probably following the devil. If you have beef with the devil, the devil's probably following you! The enemy makes plenty of promises for quick satisfaction, but the sin that's involved isn't worth the consequences we suffer when we choose to follow him. Jesus, on the other hand, promises we'll have suffering if we follow Him, but the eternal rewards we accumulate along the journey are more than worth the cost.
Raise your hand if you've ever convinced yourself that God didn't hear your prayer! We tend to assume that if we don't get an obvious answer, God must not be listening to us. In reality, our sin often interferes with our reception and causes a "dropped call" that keeps us from hearing from God. When we come before the Lord in prayer, we need to first make sure we've repented of our sins so that we have an open line of communication.
Of all the blessings God's given us, one of the greatest is the chance to repent. We'll be forever bound to our sin until God breaks us of it -- but we have to allow ourselves to be broken. When we accept His forgiveness and His gift of salvation, He can transform our lives and replace the ugliness of our sin with the beauty of His grace.
Before time began, God's plan was for Jesus to leave His heavenly throne and come to earth to serve the lowest of low people, and to give His life for all. Jesus left His own glory behind to take on a life and death of servanthood -- and God calls us to live in the same way. When we walk out our identity as servants of the Most High God, we impact the world with His Gospel, and the result is Kingdom impact.
You can tell the weight of the load you're carrying based on whether you feel rested or exhausted when you're carrying it. Sometimes, we say yes to things that aren't necessarily "bad", but they aren't what God's calling us to say yes to, either. And when we say yes to too many good things that aren't God things, we find ourselves burned out. We'll know we're following His direction when we feel rested instead of weary because He'll give us all the endurance we need to accomplish His work.
We can never hear this message too many times: you and I can't fix broken people!But we can lead them to the only One who can. The devil's whole purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. It's our job as Christians to look out for "wreckers" who are vulnerable to his attacks and in need of healing from their brokenness, and bring them to the feet of the Father so He can do the fixing.
You check your car's oil by pulling out the dipstick. In the same way, God measures the health of the Church and of individual Christians by pulling out our spiritual "dipstick" whenever and in whatever way He chooses. One of the ways He does that is by checking our relationships -- and the only way for us to be in relationship with other people, including non-believers, is to reach out, listen, and be genuinely involved in their lives.
Nobody ever got fit just by showing up at the gym and never walking through the doors! In the same way, we don't get spiritually fit just by showing up at church but never plugging in or getting involved. When we engage in community with other believers who are bold enough to ask us hard questions, and gracious enough to help us work through our struggles, then real, long-lasting change happens.
The Christian life is meant to be raw. Often, we want to hide behind our sin while we do all the right things on the surface, but heart change doesn't come from living that way. Jesus hung exposed on the cross so that we could live freely under the cover of Hisrighteousness -- and as His followers, we're called to live exposed with transparency and authenticity.
The only way for you and me to be prepared for our departure from this earth is to do a "cross" check of our relationship with God. Have you accepted that Jesus died on the cross for you, or in your mind, did He die for someone else? We've all got to live ready for the Lord to take us home at any moment -- and to do the work of spreading the Gospel to other people in the meantime.
"Stare decisis" is the doctrine that says courts will adhere to precedents already set when making their decisions. That principle is what safeguards the rule of law and preserves wisdom in the court. In the same way, the wisest thing we as Christians can do is stand with what was decided as truth before Creation even began. When we look around us, everything points as evidence to the living God -- and when we align our lives with that truth, we're choosing to walk in the wisdom of the Lord.
You are going to die a physical death one day -- but that doesn't mean you have to die a spiritual death, too. We're all born into sin, but everyone who accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior during their time on earth is promised eternal life with Him. We've got to start taking the reality of salvation seriously and take every opportunity to spread the Gospel with others before it's too late.
When a flock of birds is tightly knit, you know when one member is out of alignment! As Christians, it's our responsibility to look out for one another and to help those who are hurting. A body of believers that's filled with healthy people is an unstoppable force for change in a world that desperately needs Jesus!
The Bible is filled with stories of mothers who struggled through tough times, who made mistakes, and who faltered in their faith. Yet God used them as a part of His greater story to bring about incredible things! When we choose to surrender our lives -- our past, our present, and our future -- to the Lord, He can turn seemingly impossible situations around for His glory and our good.
Do you want your legacy to start and end with you, or do you want it to echo for generations to come? Throughout history, God has used ordinary men and women like you and me to carry out His plans and to impact not only the generation of today, but the generations of tomorrow, too. It's not enough for us to simply pray for our children -- we've got to model for them what it means to submit fully to the Lord, and teach them how to love and follow Him.
Rahab is a model of an incredible woman who left her sin behind and chose to obey God instead -- and in doing so, she became part of the very genealogy of Jesus Himself. When we follow Rahab's example and make a conscious decision not to let our sin define us any longer, we're able to live intothe calling God has for our lives, and live outour obedience to Him.
There's nothing wrong with studying the Bible and wanting to learn, and it's true that God can use other people to help us grow in our knowledge of His Word. But it's even more important that we learn how to feed ourselvesthe spiritual food that can only be found in meditating directly on Scripture. When we fail to do so, we risk starving the Holy Spirit that lives within us.
Billy Graham's wife, Ruth, once said, "A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers." Nobody ever claimed marriage is simple, or easy! It's hard work, and we don't always feel like sticking around through the tough times. But instead of pointing fingers at the other person and casting blame when things aren't going smoothly or an area of our marriage is lacking, we can focus on obeying our own role as husband or wife, praying for our spouse, and letting God do His work on their heart -- and ours.
Have you ever heard the saying, "Let go of the past before you become part of it"? We've all had defining moments in life that shape us, change us, and all too often, wound us. It's easy to carry the weight of that hurt with us into the rest of our lives -- but God delights in taking those painful experiences and turning them into beautiful tools to be used for His glory, if only we allow Him to help us heal and move forward in freedom.
Our God is a God of cause and effect: when we live in obedience to Him, we experience His peace in return. Sometimes we get stuck living in our sin and we procrastinate about confessing our wrongdoing to Him. In the end, putting it off only leads to more sin -- but when we obey Him immediately, He's gracious in allowing us to turn back to Him and move forward in righteousness.
Sometimes, people treat the church more like a gym than the house of the Lord. They sign up for a membership, and they might even go on occasion, but they fail to commit at the level that's needed in order for real life change to happen. It's not enough for us to attend church as bystanders. We have to be active members and "work out" spiritually with the goal that one day, we can become trainers and help other people get spiritually fit, too.
When we find ourselves longing more for this life than for the next, it's a sure sign that we're too attached to the things of this world. Scripture promises us that all who call Jesus their Lord and Savior can look forward to an eternity spent with Him. In the meantime, we're still on this earth because God has a job for us to do -- to glorify Him before the whole world, until He calls us home.
It sounds surprising to skeptics and non-believers, but Christianity isn't based on feeling -- it's based on fact. The fact is, God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us, and nothing we do can change the fact that He chooses to love us. In the same way, we can't allow our faith to waver with our feelings, but instead, we can chooseto believe the truth of His love as our basis for our devotion to Him.
In order for God to trust us in a place ofauthority, we first have to demonstrate that we're trustworthy under authority. Regardless of our position, we ultimately all answer to the Lord for our actions and our character. And when we find ourselves under the authority of someone we don't necessarily like or agree with, it's more important than ever that we remember who our ultimate Supervisor is -- and do all that we do for His glory alone.
God's plan for His people has been in place since before time began, and He wants to use US to accomplish it! Living by faith means trusting that God will work through us to bring His plan to completion. It's up to us to finish the work He began in us -- and even if we quit in the past, we always have an opportunity to pick up, start over, and finish strong.
Have you ever carried a burden so heavy as a Christian that it made you long for your old life before you knew Christ? Sometimes we find ourselves yearning for our past because it seemed easier than navigating the trials we face now. But Jesus promises to give us rest -- to take that burden from our shoulders and carry it on His own. When we walk with Christ, we never walk alone.
Jesus is God's Son -- but Jesus is also equal with the Father, part of the Trinity, the Godhead, three-in-one! It's impossible to invoke any greater name than the name of Jesus. He left Heaven and came to earth to live a sinless life, die on a cross, and be raised to life, all to provide us with the ultimate gift of salvation for eternity.
Have you ever picked up a can of soda and tasted it, only to discover it was...flat? Our spirituality becomes like that drink when we lack the kind of genuine faith in the Gospel that characterizes every part of our lives. The "fizz" in our spiritual lives comes from having trust in God and joy in His presence regardless of our circumstances. And when people who don't know God see that fizz bubbling over into everything that we do, they find themselves attracted to the same kind of contagious faith that we have.
Romans 6 answers the question, "Shall we go on sinning because we've been saved by grace?" with a resounding "NO!" On the contrary, Scripture tells us that we've been freedfrom our sin and have become slaves to righteousness instead. Our Father disciplines our sin because He loves us -- and the only way to avoid the temptation that leads to sin is to surround ourselves with the Holy Spirit and God's Word.
God has promised to provide for all of our needs -- and He's a Father who is faithful to His promises! When we take what He's given us and use it to bless others as He leads us, our obedience demonstrates our trust in Him. And when we obey God, we will receive in return far more than we could ever give away.
When we're young, this life seems like it'll stretch on forever. But in the grand scheme of eternity, our time on earth is just a vapor in the wind. We have a choice in how we use that precious little time: we can follow the ways of the world, or we can follow God's call on our lives to honor and serve Him in everything that we do and with everything that we have.
We don't celebrate Easter because of Jesus's death -- we celebrate Easter because Jesus rose from death! Because of His victory over death, we can walk in the new life He offers us. Now it's our turn to riseto the occasion and carry out the Great Commission: to make disciples throughout the world.
Jesus not only hung on thecross -- He died between two crosses. On one side hung the man who rejected Him, and on the other, the man who received forgiveness for his sins. Like the two sinners, we also have a choice: we can reject the salvation Jesus died to give us, or we can take up our own cross and follow Him into the life of forgiveness He offers us.
In Genesis, an animal would be slain in order to "clothe" the sins of the people with its blood. On Good Friday,the Lamb was slain so that we could be dressed in His righteousness alone, and so be able to stand before the Father without sin and without shame.
It sounds contradictory to say that the only way to be made clean is to be made dirty, doesn't it? Yet that's exactly what Scripture tells us! The whole reason Jesus came to earth in a physical body was to fulfill the requirement that a blood sacrifice had to be made to wash away the sins of the world. And no matter how much we try to clean ourselves up, we're filthy with sin unless we've been washed by the blood of Christ.
Jesus was forsaken by His Father on the cross, all so that those who choose to follow Him would never be forsaken themselves. We still experience struggles and suffering in this life, but Christ's sacrifice put us into right relationship with our Father Who will never abandon us and Who will walk with us through every trial we face.
Jesus struck up conversation with the woman at the well, despite knowing the "junk" of her life, and that exchange ultimately led her to recognizing Him as the Messiah. In the same way, we need to be looking for opportunities to have conversations with others that could ultimately lead them to knowing Christ. God already knows the "junk" of each of our lives that we, too, try to keep hidden, but He loves each one of us anyway and desires for us to take His love and His gift of salvation to the rest of the world.
We have two choices:live for ourselves and die to God, or die to ourselves and live for God. Jesus warned that to follow Him means having to take up our cross and die to ourselves. One day we'll all die an earthly death, but on that day we'll stand before God. When we do, we'll either have to say, "I did it my way" or we'll hear Him say, "Well done" for doing it His way.
It's tempting to get caught up in the affirmation and praise we receive from other people. It feels good to get proverbial trophies for our earthly accomplishments. Those rewards aren't necessarily bad, but when they come at the expense of us bringing glory to God, we neglect our purpose in this life. We're called to be a reflection of Jesus to the world -- and the crown He'll one day place on our head in Heaven is worth far more than anything we could obtain on earth!
2 Corinthians 3 tells us that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!But on the flip side, when we choose to walk without the Spirit, there are consequences, and sometimes those consequences are eternal. God's given us His Spirit to guide our decision-making -- and when we walk with Him continuously, we become attuned to hearing His direction and following His lead.
God didn't save us so that we could sit around acting like this life is just a waiting room for Heaven. He left us here to fulfill His purpose to seek and save the lost. What if, instead of being tempted to follow our own plan and seek earthly riches, we followed God's plan and sought heavenly rewards?
One of the very first statements God made in all of human history can be found in Genesis 2:18, when He declared, "It is not good for man to be alone." He created us for community -- with Himself and with each other. When we do life together with a body of believers, we're able to become accountable to one another and to grow spiritually as God develops us into the people He designed us to be.
The words we speak about others reveal the state of our own heart. Words can build people up, but they can also tear people down. When we talk poorly about someone else, all we're doing is revealing our own insecurities. Instead of using our words to destroy, we should be using them to communicate the power of the Gospel and the impact of Christ's love.
To do an "about face" is to turn around and go in the opposite direction. When Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the grave, He made it possible for us to do an about face from our sin and follow Him instead. And one day, we'll be face-to-face with Him in Heaven, and we'll live with Him for all eternity!
When God designed His plan to bring glory to Himself, He factored us into that plan. We're here to fulfill the unique purpose God has for each one of us. We may not know all the details, but we can learn our purpose by learning to follow Christ and in doing so, find meaning for our lives on Earth before we spend eternity with Him in Heaven.
The Church isn't supposed to be a museum for the saints to be revered -- it's supposed to be a hospital for the broken to find healing. Everybody needs a place to belong, and everybody needs to see that they belong in God's family. When we invest in and love other people, we're modeling to the world what "church" is supposed to look like.
Too often we wait for other people in the Church to stand up, step out, and reach the lost. But we're allpart of the Church and we allneed to use the specific skills God's given us to minister to others instead of assuming it's someone else's job!
God isn't looking for us to come up with fancy phrases or extravagant sayings when we speak to Him -- He just wants us to speak to Him, period! He longs for us to come to Him as His children, with simple, genuine prayers from the heart. And when we talk aboutHim to other people, we should do it in a way that's easy for them to understand, too.
If you think you're not hot-headed, just try sitting in rush hour traffic on a Friday afternoon! Anger is something we all struggle with -- probably more than we'd like to admit. For some of us, that anger governs everything we do, and we can spend our entire lives walking around just looking for things to get mad about. But when we allow the Holy Spirit to take over our lives, He replaces our own angry impulses with fruits like love, joy, and peace that can only come from yielding our lives to Jesus.
Jesus left His disciples with the Great Commission -- the instruction to spread the Gospel and make disciples of all nations. But that command didn't stop there! It was passed to every generation of believers to come, including each of us alive today. Sometimes it can seem impossible, but with God, all things are possible...if only we're obedient to His call.
We often look at other people's success and have one of two reactions: either we get jealous, or we come up with reasons why God won't do the same for us. Sometimes He holds back on financial blessing because He knows we wouldn't be able to handle it. Other times, He might be waiting to pour it out, but we're not willing to receive it. Whatever the circumstance, it's important for us to learn to be content and give Him glory in all that we give and in all that's given to us.
Whether we grew up in the healthiest household or the most broken home, we've all experienced some level of family dysfunction along the way. But when we become Christians, we enter into God'sfamily -- and with that comes the commandment to love one another, no ifs, ands, or buts about it! When we're relationally aligned "vertically" with God, the love that comes from that relationship spills out "horizontally" onto our relationships with other people.
Neglectand regret go hand in hand -- when we neglect to do something we know we should do, we often regret the consequences of our decision. And the worst thing we could ever neglect is God's invitation for salvation, because that choice comes with an eternal regret. When God stirs our hearts to do something, obedience is the only answer that will allow us to live without regret as a result.
We can define friendship as a lot of different things, but Scripture instructs us this way: "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15). When non-believers look at the friendships among believers, this is what they ought to see! As Christians, all of our relationships need to be grounded in the kind of love that invites others in -- the kind of love that Jesus first showed us.
Nobody knows when Jesus is coming back. But we know that He iscoming back one day, and our job is to spread the Gospel as far and wide as we can in the meantime. God will equip us with what we need to fulfill that purpose -- we just have to be obedient while we await Christ's return.
Sin exposes our nakedness. That's why Jesus took on our sinful nature with His sacrifice -- He put on mankind, lived among us, and hung exposed on the cross, all so He could act as a covering for us and we could be forgiven for our sins. When we clothe ourselves in Christ instead of seeking out the temporary pleasures of this world that only cover us for a fleeting moment, we find the peace our souls long for.
God wants our lives to bear spiritual fruit -- but that process isn't always easy, nor is it painless. There's a purpose for the fruit that grows on trees and there's a purpose for the fruit of the Spirit that grows in us, but in order for Him to fulfill that purpose in us, we have to remain connected to Him in every aspect of life, even when it's painful.
The purpose of pruning is to remove unhealthy branches and foster healthy new growth in their place. In the same way, God prunes the unhealthy "branches" of our lives so that we can produce healthy fruit for His Kingdom. Scripture tells us that when we remain connected to God, we'll bear much of that kind of fruit, and when others see it, they can't help but see His glory, too.
The armies of the Old Testament waited for God's leading before they went into battle.So why do we often seem to think we can go into the fight without Him? When we wait on God, He fights our battles for us and we become conquerors in Him. When we follow His lead, there's nothing we can't overcome!
When we become Christians, God's Spirit takes up residence inside us, and we're empowered to share the Good News with those around us. The Holy Spirit prompts us to reach out to others and spread the Gospel to the world, but in order to do that, we first need to have His power turned on in our lives.
Adam was the first man to come into the world, and he screwed everything up when he introduced sin into humanity. That's why Jesus came and paid the price to offer us a secondbirth -- a chance to be born again so that when we die physically, we don't have to die spiritually too.
Have you ever thought of life as being like TiVo? God knows all that's ever happened and all that's still to come. He's outside of time, and He's already seen ahead to the final ending in the story. The Bible warns us about the end times and it's our duty to share those warnings with others, but it also assures us that we don't need to live in fear when we put our trust in Jesus.
We struggle time and again with the desires of our flesh -- but that's why Jesus took on flesh Himself. He came to this world in a real body to experience real human struggles so that He could die a realdeath for our sins and have a realresurrection from the grave. Because of His victory, we no longer have to be slaves to our own bodies, because He offers us a new life in Him.
Maybe you've heard the phrase "born for such a time as this" used to describe Esther. God perfectly orchestrated the details of her life in order to position her to save her people. But what we often don't realize is that God does the same thing with us as He did with Esther -- He works to put us exactly where we are for His plan and His purpose. Our job is to step out in obedience to fulfill His calling, and in doing so, grow His Kingdom for His glory.
We can't genuinely follow Jesus and have the Holy Spirit living in us and not produce spiritual fruit in response -- but if we claim to, God may choose to use certain tough situations to "fertilize" us so that we can bear fruit for His glory. But as bad as not producing spiritual fruit is, being a spiritual vegetable and doing nothing for the Lord is just as bad. When we abide in Him, we continually mature in our relationship with Him and our lives bear crops that others can see.
The story of Gideon shows us a picture of God's power as time and again He stripped away anything that could be attributed to man, all to make it clear that it was God'spower that led Gideon to victory. The God of the Bible is the same God of today, and we have the same power of God living inside of us as Gideon had. As Christians, we don't need to be afraid of the battles we may face, because a power greater than us resides in us through the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes, talking about the hurt and suffering we've been through feels like opening up a can of worms. But even though we might rather keep those experiences hidden away, Jesus wants to use those "worms" to go "fishing" for other hurting people. And when we allow God to use our pain to reach others, His purpose is fulfilled in our lives.
We primarily build our relationship with Jesus not by doing works, but by spending time at His feet. It's not wrong to want to do good things in His name, but none of it takes precedence over the importance of being still and sitting with Him. Our relationship with the Lord deepens and grows when we spend time with Him -- and it's out of that relationship that we're compelled by the Holy Spirit to serve.
If we're not continually seeking God's truth in Scripture, we wind up experiencing a spiritual deficit that makes us vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. But when we find ourselves "in the red" spiritually, the solution is in what is read in the red letters of God's Word.
Did you know the Bible teaches us to greet one another with a "holy kiss"?! In today's culture that sounds not only a little weird, but also a lotintimidating. Yet God challenges us to let go of the walls we've hidden behind in order to experience holy intimacy with one another -- and the beautiful thing about holy intimacy is that it has no place for hatred or animosity towards others.
It can feel like our lives are filled with so much suffering that we don't think we can bear any more. Yet the Lord is gracious to cover us in His love and sustain us for another day. When God provides for us, He doesn't fill our cups half-empty, or even to the brim. Instead, He overflows them with His goodness and mercy -- and we're able to take what spills out of the overflow and pour it out on others.
God doesn't have a voicemail.That's because He always answers us when we cry out to Him -- we don't have to leave a message and hope that He'll get back to us eventually. Sometimes, it feels like He isn't responding because His answer doesn't look the way we'd like. But when we're in constant communication with Him, we begin to pray according to His will instead of according to our own desires, and our prayers begin to align with His plans for our lives.
Even those closest to Jesus had doubts about their faith sometimes -- just look at Thomas! It's not wrong to question and experience doubt, but it's important that we're diligent in working past it. Ultimately, faith is not an act based in logic, but a decision based in surrender -- and God's calling us to go "all in" and trust Him completely.
Most of us operate according to a "live & learn" mentality. What would happen if we flipped those two principles to "learn & live"? The Bible teaches us that when we obtain godly wisdom, it can help us avoid having to learn from our mistakes the hard way. But the only way it will make a difference in our lives is if we take the wisdom God gives us and apply it to our choices on a daily basis.
Aren't you glad we worship and serve a mighty God who doesn't "clock out" at the end of the day?! There's nevera time when the Lord isn't caring for us and protecting us from attacks we may never have even known were coming our way. The same God who designed the entire universe with intricacies beyond human comprehension looks after each one of us individually, too.
Scripture talks a whole lot about..."nothing"! We're told that we're "nothing" without Jesus, and we're warned that we can take "nothing" with us when we leave this world, but we're also promised that we can trade our "nothing" in and receive the gift of eternal life in exchange. And when we accept Christ's offer of salvation, we should be anxious about nothing, but give thanks in everything, knowing God promises to take care of us and provide for our every need.
When we're in the early days of spiritual "infancy", it's understandable that we're still going to struggle with certain sins that make a mess of our lives. But spiritual maturity involves growing in our relationship with God so that over time, the mess created by sin becomes less and less. When we plug in to the local church and become part of a church family, we get the help of others to scoop up our messes -- and eventually we become "scoopers" for other people's sin struggles, too.
Every single person in this world is in a spiritual battle, even if they don't know it. But here's the critical distinction: we're not all on the same side. Those who love God obey His commands and in return He's faithful to take care of us. He'll provide us with all the weapons and armor we need to make us victorious over sin and over the enemy -- we just have to trust His plans.
To quote the late Billy Graham, "It's the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge, and my job to love." When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us and our lives begin to show the evidence of God working in us and through us. When we share the Gospel with other people, we have to trust that God's working in them even when we can't see it and allow the Holy Spirit to convict them and bring them to salvation.
Being a follower of Jesus isn’t a 9-5 that ends when you clock out at the end of the day! We love to compartmentalize our routines and activities, but discipleship is meant to be practiced across all facets of life. From home, to work, to school, to church, we’re called to conduct ourselves in a way that honors and glorifies God – because our lives may be the only Bible some people ever read.
How often do you allow yourself to “bow” before God in worship and “wow” at the amazing impact of His love on your life? To love the Lord, we first have to know Him and appreciate all that He’s done for us. And like any relationship, as we spend more time getting to know Him, we draw closer to Him in the process.
Jesus taught His disciples that to follow Him is to become fishers of men. And the same holds true for us today! It's easy to forget that God's given us the privilege of sharing the good news of His salvation with others, but if we're truly following Jesus, we'll continually be "catching fish" as we go.
Most of us know what it feels like to run from God at one point or another. We live according to our own rules (or lack of them) and want to do things our own way. No matter how long we've been gone, our Father is always waiting for our hearts to come back to Him. And one of the ways we can keep from straying off the path He's set for us is to find a church that provides us with accountability, a spiritual family, and a place to call "home".
Have you ever stopped to consider that God has NEVER created a person who He didn't love? Too often we get tunnel vision and focus only on what makes us different. When we love one another and celebrate the fact that He made each of us uniquely instead of finding reasons to hate those who don't look or act or think like us, we demonstrate to a divided world that our love comes from God and that He has the power to bring unity to His family through His Church.
Long before we started trading paper valentines, God gave us the ultimate Valentine in His love letter to us: the Bible. He loves us so much that He sacrificed His own Son on our behalf and chose us to be His beloved -- now and forever. The question is: have we chosen Him in return?
God's love doesn't come with clauses in the fine print! It's unchanging and unconditional, no matter how many mistakes we make. And when we allow ourselves to be overcome by the depth and the breadth of His love for us, it overflows and pours out through our love for others.
Jesus declared in Scripture that He came to be the Light of the World (John 8:12). But He also declared that because we're His followers, WE'RE the light of the world, too (Matthew 5:14)! When we surrender ourselves to the Lord, He shines a light within us that radiates outward -- and people who live in darkness will be drawn to that light that's inside us because of Jesus.
Have you ever listened to a sermon where the message was watered down to make you feel better about your actions? Spiritual maturity means being willing to seek out real biblical teaching -- even if it makes us uncomfortable and causes us conviction about our own sin. When the Word of God is preached, the power of God comes with it and brings real, transformative life change.
God reveals more than just a promise of Heaven to us through His Word. His very character and limitless power are demonstrated in the living words of Scripture and illuminated by the Holy Spirit. And it's through that same Spirit that we're able to fully see and understand the extent of His love for us.
As the late A.W. Tozer put it, "We cannot pray in love and live in hate and still think we are worshipping God." Our obedience to the Lord comes out of our love for Him, and one of His commands is that we love each other the way He first loved us. When we do this, we not only model what it means to obey God -- we model what it means to belong to Him.
Scripture tells us that God hates evil, and He promises to hold vengeance in His hands. But at the same time, He uses some of our darkest and most difficult moments to turn us back to Him. One day, our time in this world will come to an end; the question we have to face is, where will we be after this life? We have the assurance of the hope offered through Christ, but in order to receive it we have to repent and surrender to Him.
Salvation is more than just a get-out-of-jail-free card. Instead of simply setting our sights dead ahead on Heaven, we need to look around and see who we're going to take with us. When we're taught how to be fishers of men, we're not only able to go and do it -- we're able to teach others to do the same. And like a school of fish swimming in perfect unison, when we work together as the Church to accomplish that goal, our unity will make others take notice and attract them to join in.
We live in a culture where it's considered acceptable and even popular to make fun of people and of their beliefs. But as Christians, we know all too well how it feels to have others look at us like we're crazy when we share the message of the cross with them! Instead of mocking the views of those around us, we need to be open to hearing what they have to say -- because one day, we'll be presented with an opportunity to present the Gospel and we'll want them to be open to hearing what we have to say, too.
Scripture instructs us to flee from certain temptations. But it also commands us to stand firm in the battle against others. Sometimes when the devil wages war against us and our families, we're called not to run, but to put on the armor of God and take a stand against the enemy's schemes.
The world is filled with "what ifs", and if we're not careful, we can spend our whole lives fearing every possible outcome to every possible scenario. But when we give our lives to God, He gives us His peace in return. We can rest in the knowledge that HE holds our lives in His hands -- and that He's already provided for us and seen us through everything we'll experience in this life.
Scripture tells us that God designed us to work diligently. But He also designed us to need rest! Since the beginning of Creation, God has modeled a time of "Sabbath" every seven days. Instead of allowing ourselves to get caught up in the busyness of life and sacrifice this period of restoration, let's obey Jesus's instructions to us to come to Him and let Him replace our weariness with His rest.
A puzzle may be a challenge -- but it's not a dead end. In the same way that Abraham trusted God with one step at a time, even when he couldn't see God's end result for his life, we need to trust that God has a purpose for us beyond what we can see. With each step of obedience that we take, more pieces of life's puzzle fits together -- and one day, we'll be able to see the big picture He had planned for us all along.
Would you expect to have a close relationship with someone who you never talk to or spend time with? For most of us, the answer is "no" -- so why do we expect any different for our relationship with God? The truth and hope we so desperately crave can be found in God's ultimate "text message" to us, and the more we devote ourselves to daily time with the Lord in Scripture, the closer we draw to Him.
Each and every one of us can think of a "giant" in our lives: something big, strong, and seemingly impossible for us to defeat. But the God Who provides for all of His creation is bigger than ANY obstacle we face! Just as He fought for His people throughout Scripture, He fights for us today -- and because He promises to take care of our every need, we have nothing to fear in this world.
Sin is a slippery slope. The devil entices us in ways that he knows will get our attention and leave us constantly craving more. The good news is this: when we ask God for help, He's quick to give us discernment to handle the enemy's schemes, and wisdom to seek the freedom that comes from following His righteous path.
Christianity is filled with people who proclaim Jesus with their mouths and deny Him with their actions. We're living, breathing representations of Christ to a world in need of a Savior. If we don't back up the things we say with the things we do, then our faith is dead and makes no difference in our lives -- or the lives of others.
Have you heard the acronym "B.I.B.L.E.": Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth? Scripture is exactly that -- an instruction manual in how we should live. But just like an instruction manual is no good to us if we only readit and don't dowhat it says, the Bible is meant for us not only to read, but also to obey.
From the moment we take our first breaths until the moment we take our last, we're engaged in a spiritual battle for our souls. Scripture tells us that God will give us all the strength we need to take a stand against the enemy, but we have to be willing to do just that -- standup and fight. And one of the best ways we can ready ourselves to take a stand in the big things is to take a stand in seemingly small things along the way.
First question: How many decisions do you make in a day, big or small? Second question: How many of those decisions do you make without ever consulting God about them? Too often we ask Him to bless our choices after we've already made them, instead of seeking His wisdom first and letting Him spare us from the unnecessary consequences of our own immaturity.
God hears us when we cry and He promises to answer. But sometimes, His answer lies in other people! That's why He designed the Church: to be a family, a community, and a place for us to seek help and to offer help in return.
Our purpose in this world is about so much more than just receiving salvation and a ticket to heaven like it's a "get out of jail free" card. Jesus left us here so we could pass on the baton of the Gospel to others. When we disciple people in their relationship with the Lord, we equip them to go on and do the same work of expanding His Kingdom.
Jesus committed Himself to us when He went so far as to die on the cross for our sins. Now it's our turn to follow Him with the same kind of whole-hearted devotion. When we're wholly committed to Jesus, our wholelives become a living testament to His love and His glory.
We'll face tough times in this life that shock us because we never saw them coming. But when we allow God to use us in those moments and trust Him in the trial, He awes us with His response. And sometimes, our own struggles can even serve as a bridge to reach others and expand His Kingdom.
When God opens doors for us, He doesn't play guessing games about whether or not we should enter! He opens them because He knows that when we go through, what lies on the other side is an opportunity to bring Him glory. The closer we are in relationship with Him, the more we can trust His direction and the better we're able to see those doors when He leads us to them and through them.
Scripture reminds us that God made us just the way we are, with all of our unique intricacies. He knows us completely and loves us more than anybody else could. From the moment we became life in the womb, He had plans for each one of us, and He's able to fulfill those plans no matter the mistakes we make along the way if only we're willing to submit ourselves in obedience to Him.
History is filled with examples of people being deceived into believing that something being legal was the same as it being right. But it's never okay to turn a blind eye to wrongdoing, and we have to be willing to take a stand and call sin out for what it is. Legal or not, abortion is a tragic epidemic in our society, and as Christians, we have a responsibility to advocate for the lives of the unborn.
We're going to be on fire one way or another -- not only in this life, but for all eternity. We can get caught up chasing our sin and being burned by its consequences. Or, God can light a fire in us through His Holy Spirit that can burn away our sinful desires and stoke an all-consuming passion in our hearts to chase after Him, instead.
Wisdom is more than just knowing the truth -- it requires applyingthat truth in a way that brings life transformation. Having knowledge about the truth of Scripture doesn't mean anything unless we're also applying it to our lives. When God makes Himself known to us through His Word and we choose to act on what He says, a discernible transformation occurs that's visible to others and that reveals His glory to them.
In the beginning, God invited Adam and Eve to take and eat all the fruit they could ever want from every tree in the Garden -- all except for one. When they made the choice to disobey God, sin entered our world, and with it, the consequence of spiritual death. Because of Jesus' sacrifice, God now invites us to take and eat from the Tree of Life -- but we have to receive and accept His offer in order to experience the fullness of eternal life with Him.
For each and every one of us, life as a follower of Jesus is always a work in progress. The struggle against sin and temptation isn't a single event, but a constant journey. We'll never "complete" it or arrive at our destination until the day we see Jesus, but until then we can continue growing and maturing in our pursuit of Him.
Jesus warns us in Matthew 16:25, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." When we give God our whole lives and not just one part, He plants us like a seed in the ground, and the end product is a new creation that grows and multiplies His Kingdom for His glory.
Scripture tells us -- in no uncertain terms -- that when we've been wronged, our response should be to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, turn the other cheek, and the list goes on! Who is that person in your life that you consider an "enemy", who God is calling you to respond to in kindness? As Christians, it's our job to see others the way God sees them, and to love them in such a way that they can't help but wonder why!
Jesus had so many followers during His time on earth that He would have put Instagram to shame! But just like with social media, most of those "followers" ditched Him when the journey got less comfortable and more difficult. We like to think we're better committed to our faith than the people back then, but really chasing after Jesus requires an all-in commitment. Are we willing to give up our own lives to pick up and follow Him?
God designed His Church to have shepherds lead the flock and protect them from the "wolves" of the world whose only intention is to devour the sheep. Plugging into a local church also means submitting to its godly authority and trusting that its leadership will protect us through the spiritual battles we face.
If we're not prepared to fight the smaller battles of life, how will we be prepared for the bigger ones that come our way? We only have to look to the example of David in Scripture as someone who faithfully served God throughout his life, perfecting his skills and protecting his sheep from bears and lions and other outside threats. When it came time to face Goliath, David was prepared to slay the giant, because God had equipped him all along with the tools he needed to win the battle.
It's impossible to sin in a vacuum -- our actions, good or bad, always have a ripple effect on those around us. God offers us second chances (and third, and fourth, and on and on!) to turn from our sin and make right choices. When we choose to obey Him instead of rebelling against what He asks us to do, it can have eternal impact not only on our lives, but on the lives of other people, too.
Jesus invites us to ask for ANYTHING -- but that doesn't always mean the answer to our prayers will be what we'd like to hear. Instead of asking for our own selfish desires, what if we asked God for whatever it is that HE wants to give us? When we yield to His answers and offer our lives completely to Him, He uses us in ways we never could have expected.
When Jesus rose from the dead and later ascended back to Heaven, it wasn't the final goodbye! He's coming back one day, and whether we go to join Him in eternity before that day comes or we're still here when this world comes to an end, we don't have to live in fear. We can be ready to come face-to-face with the King of Kings simply by having a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ and a heart that waits with anticipation for the day when we'll go to live with Him forever.
Hebrews 13 reminds us, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." Too often we forget that the act of giving to and loving on the poor and needy is an act of holy worship. We're too distracted by our own possessions and selfish desires to notice the opportunities that God gives us to meet the needs of those less fortunate around us, but when we live open-handedly and give generously to others, it's as though we're giving to the Lord Himself.
If you've ever questioned whether your life on this earth has any meaning, you are not alone! One of the devil's best tactics of attack is to make us feel like our lives aren't worth living -- even to the point of contemplating suicide. Yet when we die to ourselves spiritually and choose to be born again in Christ, we find a purpose and meaning far greater than our own through His perfect plan for us.
Scripture all but assures us that we'll face constant spiritual warfare in this life. But God's provision for our every need includes accompanying us into battle and giving us the tools we need to triumph! Not only does He fight for us, He uses us to fight for others, too.
In situations of judgment, sometimes our worst critics are...well...ourselves. We can get trapped in a cycle of guilt over sins for which Jesus has already paid, but His death and resurrection made a way for us to live in freedom from our past. Instead of looking down with shame, let's look up with hope and gratitude toward the Savior Who has set us free!
When it comes to getting a second chance, God has the most generous return policy in all of human history. He offers us the opportunity to return to Him no matter how far we wander. Not only that, but He's promised that Jesus will return for us one day, and whether we leave this earth before that day comes or we're here to see it happen, we can hold onto the hope of an eternity spent with Him in Heaven.
In John 14, Jesus tells us that He is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life, and that there is no other way to the Father except through Him. Our job as Christians is to spread that Gospel message. In a world where "truth" seems more subjective every day, are we ready to share the one and only Truth with others when the opportunity presents itself?
When it comes to questioning the Bible, the Christmas story is one of the most popular examples for why it "can't" be legitimate. Skeptics who challenge Scripture are nothing new, but when we have our doubts, it's important for us to research and study God's Word ourselves instead of throwing out the whole Bible just because we don't understand every single thing it says. At some point, we have to come to a place of CHOOSING to believe not only what Scripture tells us about Jesus, but what it tells us about the salvation He offers us.
The God who's given us the very breath we breathe in this physical life is also the God who's given us the opportunity to have eternal life with Him. But His offer of redemption isn't meant for us to keep to ourselves -- it's meant for us to turn around and give away to others. Are we going to be selfish with our salvation, or are we going to "regift" it and pass it on?
The difference between Jesus and any earthly king is that Jesus never grew up to become a king -- He was born the King of Kings! We can't accept the gift of salvation that He gave His life to pay for without submitting ourselves in reverence to Him. When we choose to make Him the King of our lives, we're also choosing to let Him rule our every decision, every day until the day He calls us home to Him.
Of all the gifts we receive at Christmas, the greatest is the gift of Jesus Christ. Through Him, God has offered us salvation from our sin. And if we accept His offer, we not only receive the present of His Son -- we receive the gift of being in His presence forever.
If being a Christian were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you? When we surrender our lives to Christ, we're born again with the Holy Spirit inside us -- and that's a heart transformation that everyone around us should be able to see!
It's no accident that the King of the universe came to earth in the most humble way possible: born in a barn, surrounded by animals, with His first visitors being simple shepherds of the fields. The very nature of His birth teaches us that whether you're born in a barn or live among nobles, Jesus came for all people -- and we're all equal in our need for His redeeming love.
The story of the birth of Jesus is filled not only with THE wise men of the nativity story, but with other wise people who submitted to God's call on their lives. True wisdom comes when a person responds to God's leading with obedience. Only by following Him do we become "wise guys" in the best sense of the word!
How many times have you heard (or said), "Jesus is the reason for the season"? The sentiment is good, but the reality is that WE are the reason for the season -- because WE are the reason He came to the world. He was born for us, He lived for us, He died for us, and He rose again for us -- all so that He could offer us a free gift of eternal life that we never earned or deserved. There is no greater Christmas gift, and all we have to do is accept it!
Did you know that the Pharisees of Jesus' day could have figured out who He was, simply by asking where He was born? But they didn't take the time to ask important questions, and often, neither do we. It's tempting to ignore parts of the Bible that we don't understand, but if we seek God whole-heartedly, He promises to reveal Himself to us through His Word.
The first miracle of Jesus' life was the fact that He lived at all! He did the seemingly impossible when He was born of a virgin, and He continues to do the seemingly impossible in and through our lives today. It's easy to focus only on what's humanly possible, but when God is involved, we can trust that He'll work outside earthly limitations to do things that will bring glory to His name!
Jesus Himself tells us in Scripture that He is the only Way to God the Father. Yet we have a tendency to get in the way of His work in our lives and others' lives, too. When we stop making excuses about why God can't use us and allow Him to work through us instead, we're able to live in the Way that is Jesus and lead other people to Him as well.
You wouldn't feed solid foods to a newborn who can only drink milk. So why do we assume that newborn Christians can digest "spiritual solids" right away? We tend to set high expectations for new believers as soon as they meet Christ, but they need the guidance of mature Christians to feed them spiritual "milk" and help them grow in their relationship with God.
It's one thing to say that we trust God to take care of us. It's another to actually live like we believe it! But we can look back and see evidence that He's provided for our every need time after time, and we can trust that He'll catch us every time we take a leap of faith.
Have you ever considered that the devil's first interaction with human beings involved planting seeds of doubt about their trust in God? The same tactics the enemy used then are what he uses today. Doubt is a normal human emotion, and it's not a bad thing to question what we believe. But at some point, faith requires us to bring our questions to God and then choose whether to keep doubting or to put our trust in Him.
Racism, sexism, and all manner of prejudice are more alive than ever in the world today. But God calls us to take OFF the lens of the world and to put ON the lens of a Christ-follower instead. We're equal in His eyes, created in His image, and filled with a heavenly value that's been given to us by Him.
The Christian life is so much more than a one-time act of salvation! Sanctification is a lifelong process -- and it can also be one of life's greatest challenges. But when we allow God to tear out all the unnecessary parts of our old lives, He's able to rebuild us in a way that is pleasing and honoring to Him.
Scripture assures us that God wants to give us abundant life and a future filled with hope, regardless of the story of our past. It doesn't matter where we've come from, or what mistakes we've made. He'll write a new script for our future if we just surrender our lives to Him.
God gave Joseph a dream -- but he would experience years of hardship before it was fulfilled. Yet God used all kinds of people to give Joseph a leg up along the way in order to get him to where God needed him to be. If Joseph could trust God to bring his dream to fruition, what do we need to trust God for in our own lives, no matter how messy the situation may seem?
There are a lot of reasons that fish jump out of their tanks, but all ultimately boil down to this: they think it's better on the other side. We can be a lot like those fish when we yearn for what we don't have instead of being fully present where God's placed us. Instead of looking back at the things from which God has redeemed and rescued us, let's learn to be content where He's put us today -- because it's there that He provides everything we need!
As followers of Christ, we're living advertisements of the change that God can make in someone's heart and life. There are opportunities all around us to spread the hope of the Gospel, but we have to watch for them and be ready to respond. When we share the Good News, we're making war on hell and we'll face opposition from the enemy, but if God's called us to it, He'll see us through it.
Scripture's filled with stories of men who stood strong in their faith and allowed God to transform them into world-changers. But did you know God wants to do the same with you? He calls us to be warriors of the faith -- and all we have to do is submit our lives to Him, then watch as He uses us to set the world on fire for His glory.
Giants come in all forms -- but the one thing they have in common is that when we face them, they can seem impossible to defeat. God wants to bring us to a place where we step out in faith and trust that He'll intervene on our behalf. When we allow Him to work through us to do above and beyond what we can do by ourselves, He's glorified in the outcome and His power can topple the giants in front of us.
We can buy the bull that the world is selling, or we can build our lives on the truth of the Bible. The devil will always offer us deals that seem good in the moment, but they come with heavy consequences. When we surround ourselves with the wisdom and promises of God's Word, we're better able to avoid the enemy's traps and live according to the Lord's instruction.
Our purpose in life is to give God our best and do anything for ourselves after -- but too often we get that backwards and do everything for ourselves first while giving God what's left over. Career, money, fame or material possessions will never bring us true joy, but when we're obedient to God and put His call on our lives first, He utilizes us for His work and blesses us in the process.
We have a tendency to point fingers at certain sins more than others, like when people have sex outside of marriage or abuse drugs and alcohol. But what about gluttony? Scripture is clear that the struggle with food is as much a sin as any other -- and like any sinful behavior, it requires repentance to God and accountability to others to keep from falling back into our old patterns.
If you've ever prayed, "God, I thank You that at least I'm not like insert someone else's name here", then here's the good news: you're not alone! We have a tendency to compare our actions with other people's in order to look better or less sinful than we really are. The truth is this: we ALL fall short of God's standard. Instead of trying to minimize our own sin, we need to accept that we're sinners, too, and repent so He can work in and through us.
The next time you think God can't use you because of your past mistakes, just open the Bible! Scripture is filled with examples of people who messed up time and again. But God still had a plan and purpose for their lives, and He has one for us too, if only we're willing to listen.
What does it look like to pray with persistence? Scripture tells the story of a widow who continued to ask an unsympathetic judge for retribution on someone who wronged her. Eventually, the judge gave in -- all because the widow refused to stop asking! God wants us to come to Him with this same level of unwavering resolve. When we ask for something, let's believe in faith that He will provide and refuse to relent until He answers.
Did you know that our lives are always producing fruit? But the type of fruit we produce depends on how deeply rooted we are in Christ. When we're connected to Him, we produce the good fruits like love, joy, and peace -- and when others see what we have, they want the same life transformation we've experienced.
Scripture assures us that no amount of effort on our part can cause God to love us any more or any less. He offers us complete remission from the debt our sin has caused, free of charge. But in order for His gift of forgiveness to be of any use to us, we first have to accept it -- and when we do, we find ourselves better able to forgive others, in turn.
When it comes to doing the right thing, we have to first be WILLING to do the right thing. We're incapable in and of ourselves of always choosing to do what's right. But God walks with us through the process of making us willing, and as He works in us, He follows through with the doing.
God wants to speak TO us, but He also wants to speak THROUGH us! And if God prompts us to speak, then He'll give us the words to say. We're called to reach others by sharing the power of the Gospel and its impact in our lives, but in order to do so, we have to let Him use us the way He sees fit.
It's one thing to pray for someone to come to a place of repentance towards God and to turn their life around. It's another thing to pray as if we're expecting to actually happen. Let's believe for heart transformation and be like the father of the prodigal son, ready to party as we welcome them home!
It takes courage to persevere in the midst of tough times. But when we recognize that nothing and nobody is stronger than the God who lives within us, we find the fortitude to face whatever battles come our way. As we do so, we can serve as an encouragement to others who might be facing similar struggles and show them the hope they need to keep going.
Jesus sacrificed more than just His blood when He was nailed to the cross on our behalf; He sacrificed Himself. Because of the price He paid, we've been offered the gift of forgiveness from our sin. His blood washes us clean so we can live in right relationship with God -- and guilt and shame no longer have a hold on us.
God's promised in His Word to give us a future and a hope. But until we let go of the sin that marks our past, we'll never be able to grab hold of what He offers for our future. When we allow His power to overcome our sin, we ensure that the future won't be a repeat of the past, but a new life of freedom in Him!
It can seem like this life will stretch on forever. But in reality, our time on earth is a blink in the scope of eternity. Scripture teaches us that our lives are like a vapor, here one moment and gone the next, so we've got to use what limited time we have to do honor the Lord and do His will.
WE may have the right to do something without it being sinful for us -- but if our actions cause somebody else to stumble, then it's not the right thing to do. We can make choices that might not be "wrong", but that doesn't always mean they're wise. As believers, let's be aware of other people's struggles and make sacrifices where needed to help them walk in the right direction instead of being a stumbling block for their sin.
Scripture tells us that as believers, we walk by faith and not by sight. The Bible itself is filled with stories that seem crazy to many, but those who believe are given the privilege of seeing and experiencing the power of God. And the best part is this: the miracles that Jesus performed when He walked on earth are the same miracles that continue to happen today through us, the Body of Christ!
One of the biggest gifts wrapped up in God's design for His Church is the blessing of being part of a community. God never intended for us to suffer or celebrate alone and in isolation. We're all part of the Body of Christ -- and when one part hurts or rejoices, the whole Body needs to hurt or rejoice alongside that part.
The taming of the tongue comes directly from the Holy Spirit. Without it, we lack a filter not only for our mouths, but for our hearts and our minds. But just as animals can be tamed to obey commands, God can tame us so that we can obey Him. Instead of trying to filter our thoughts and words through our own doing, we should focus on growing our relationship with the Lord so that HE can do that work in us.
Pride is one of the biggest barriers that prevents us from turning to God. The Bible promises that one day, every knee will bow before Him, but we can't wait until eternity to do so. When we submit ourselves to Him here on earth, He's able to carry out His plan and His purpose for us -- and no matter how far gone we think we may be, there's hope for anyone who's prepared to yield their will to His.
No matter what comes AT us, if Jesus is IN us then nothing will never be able to destroy us. Sometimes God uses our suffering for His glory. He can magnify all circumstances, including our struggles, to reach people we may have never come across otherwise -- and if we allow Him to work through us, He'll sustain us in the process.
Scripture makes it clear that God values commitment from His children. That's why obedience to Him isn't a "one-and-done" act, it's a daily pursuit! The same goes for our prayers; He invites us to ask Him for anything according to His will and to continue to ask until He answers our request.
We've all been guilty at some point of pretending to be someone we're not. We often put on a facade for the rest of the world to see, but when we let Christ manifest Himself through us, we don't have to pretend to be anyone, because we allow ourselves to become His image-bearers. In every situation, Jesus was led by the Spirit, and we too also have to be Spirit-led so that in every step we take, we're portraying the image of Christ to others.
Have you ever considered that when someone else prays for God to send them help, His answer to that prayer might be...you? He wants to use us to reach other people with the Gospel and the love of Christ, but we have to listen for His voice and obey when He calls. Following Jesus means being willing to do whatever it takes to help others -- before it's too late.
The Bible is clear that we're slaves no matter what -- but it's up to us who the Master will be. We can choose to be slaves to sin and allow the devil to run our lives, or we can be slaves to God and to righteousness. And even when we disobey Him, He still extends His grace to us.
There are people in this world who have no idea that there's a spiritual battle going on for their soul. But the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and when people live wickedly, the enemy wins. It's our job as Christians to put on the armor of God and fight for them by sharing Christ's love and His offer of salvation.
There's a difference between being a committed follower of Christ and being a ticketholder of salvation! God offers the latter to all who believe in Him and accept His free gift of eternal life with Him. But beyond that, Jesus offers us the chance to take up our own cross and follow Him -- and while that road is far less traveled, it's also far more rewarding.
Ask yourself two questions: What type of person are you when life gets difficult, and who do you run to in those tough times? We each face difficulties in life, and we each have a choice on how we're going to handle those challenges. Even during the storms, we can trust God in the meantime and allow ourselves to be filled with His peace and joy to sustain us.
Just like Jesus picked His disciples to walk with Him during His earthly ministry, Scripture tells us that God has chosen us for the privilege of being in relationship with Him. We can choose to stay rooted in our past and find reasons why He shouldn't pick us. Or, we can accept His love for us and choose to move forward in a life of obedience to Him!
Whatever we fill ourselves with is what will be poured out of us to the world in turn. When we fill our hearts with the truth of God's Scripture, He presents us with opportunities to speak to others about Him. Our words make a difference when they have His power behind them -- and that difference has the ability to make an eternal impact on someone else's life.
Our lives are meant to magnify God through the hope, peace, and joy that He offers us -- regardless of the circumstances around us. Whatever He chooses for us, it's up to us to remember that our lives are meant to magnify Him in all situations. And when other people look at our lives, may they see His greatness through the hope we find in Him!
Would you describe yourself as the type of person to minimize drama, or the kind who loves to stir up strife? The Bible's filled with verses that instruct us to use wisdom when it comes to choosing every word that comes out of our mouths. The only One who can train our tongue and control our words is Jesus, and through Him we're empowered to speak in love and build one another up instead of tearing each other down.
The Christian life is about constant pursuit of God through Scripture and gathering together as believers. Instead of letting the change He’s made in our lives fade out and get to a point of rejecting Him, let's be intentional in pressing on to learn about Him more and allow Him to continue molding and shaping us.
Is there anything in your life that you'd die for? And is following Christ at any cost one of those things? A relationship with Jesus requires a commitment that we give our whole life to Him -- even if it means we have to lose it for His sake.
What God offers us is so much more than a ticket to Heaven. When we seek Him, He gives us more and more of Himself. As we allow Him to deepen our wisdom and understanding of His character, He fuels us with an ever-greater passion and purpose in living for Him.
When we're faced with sudden crisis, we have two choices: respond in despair, or respond in worship. Trials will come and go throughout our life on earth, but it's in those circumstances that our trust in God is built. And in the midst of it all, we've got to keep our eyes looking up, because Jesus promised He'd return out of the blue to bring us home with Him.
When we decide to follow Jesus, it's not a decision for that moment or that day -- it's a decision for life, even when circumstances are tough. It's tempting to want to go back to when life seemed "easier" whenever we encounter trials, but God wants to use those difficult situations to grow our faith in Him so we can receive the blessings He has for us that we'd have never experienced without Him.
Jesus challenges us to live in a way that seems backwards to the rest of the world. While culture tells us to hate our enemies, hold grudges, and sin as long as it makes us feel good, Jesus commands us to go against the grain and do the opposite. And when we live how He intended, we realize that His way was never "living backwards", but "living forwards" all along!