A marker of spiritual maturity is the willingness to sacrifice personal comfort in order to strengthen other followers of the Way. Paul urges Christians to pursue only activities that promote peace and actions that builds up others. This is the kingdom of God coming to earth. To pursue...
Our God is concerned with bringing people from death to life, helping people enter His “resurrection country.” His heart rejoices over each person who returns to Him from rebellion. If your heart is like God’s, you, too, will rejoice when a child of God returns to the...
The life of Jesus provides the prototype for our prayer lives. God is seeking to mold us into the image of His Son (Col. 1:27-28). If we are to act like Christ, our prayer lives must be conformed to His. Our compassion must be conformed to His through prayer, our burdens must be conformed to...
Our response & posture to God greatly determines His pronounced presence in our lives. The primary identity of Jesus in the New Testament is Jesus the King. Without our allegiance to this identity, all other of His identities are lacking (Jesus our Savior, Jesus the Priest, Jesus the...
Some Christians are satisfied with only a “surface relationship” with Christ. Others attempt to pull Christ to their side, preference, opinion and assumptions and use His power for their purposes. Others desire to continue to seek Him further throughout life’s...
Exchange is at the heart of God’s nature. Martin Luther referred to the gospel as “The Great Exchange.” God takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. God absorbs our rebellion and exchanges it with His love. We can go further with this idea. ...
In times like the Holy Week where we are imagining every step of Jesus, it is tempting to conclude: “If only I could have walked with Jesus, as the twelve disciples did!” Remember that what is important is not what we know about Jesus, but that we know Him in each moment and each...
In our vast world it’s easy to feel that we are nothing more than an insignificant speck in the midst of a multitude. Our world tends to depersonalize us, seeking to make us like everyone else, but God loves us in specific ways that are particular to us. To our world, we are a...
There is a subtle temptation we all face that encourages Christians to be “practical” and to “get results,” believing “the end justifies the means.” Scripture reveals that the means are sometimes even more important than the results. Our culture tries to...
A foolish person makes unwise choices then spins the past to their liking. With every new opportunity that comes along, they chases off in a different direction, not questioning whether that is the best choice. The loudest voice gains their attention. It may be the quiet voice that they...