Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin (1 Peter 4:1, esv). When was the last time the consequences of sin, with all its guilt and shame and disappointment, were raining down on your head? When was […]
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor […]
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23, ESV). Who are you? The world would like to answer that question for you. Let’s debunk five identity lies the culture promotes and the Church too often parrots. 1. […]
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings […]
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV). Human beings, we know, are born with an innate need to be loved. In certain Newborn Intensive Care Units, for example, volunteers come at scheduled intervals to hold the tiny preemies […]
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1-3, ESV) The Bible doesn’t hesitate to urge us to thank God. If […]
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. (2 Corinthians 12:7, ESV) God allows bad things to happen to good people. He doesn’t cause them, but He doesn’t […]
And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp (Numbers 11:1, ESV). Why do we complain? We would all agree that complaining changes nothing, yet […]
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you” (John 21:17, esv). Can you feel the tension and heartache […]
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years (John 5:2–3, 5, esv). The hardest part of a trial is not always […]