“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” Proverbs 4:23 Notice, the Bible doesn’t say to follow your heart but to watch over it. That’s because the heart is critical to everything we do. It contains our emotions, affections, motives, and attitudes.[...]
“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you” Matthew 5:29 How do you deal with sinful habits? You’ve probably never gone so far as to remove the offending body part! We struggle with this passage because we don’t fully comprehend the seriousness[...]
“work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you” Philippians 2:12-13 This passage is often misunderstood to mean we must work for our salvation. It’s also misused to make people afraid they can lose their salvation. If neither of these[...]
“true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” John 4:23 What does God want? It’s a timeless question. Jesus told the woman at the well that the Father seeks a specific type of person…a true worshipper. We[...]
“Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” Colossians 4:6 There ought to be something different about the way Christians talk. And that doesn’t just mean not using foul language or telling crude[...]
Since the pandemic there’s been renewed interest in the end times events. Consequently, many are on the lookout for the next great prophetic event. There’s much speculation about things like the identity of the antichrist or whether the tribulation has already begun. However, I believe that the next great[...]
Preaching through the Sermon on the Mount has profoundly affected my thinking about ministry. During this series—The Jesus Agenda—God started working in me with the question, “How do we measure healthy ministry?” In other words, how can you tell a healthy church from an unhealthy one? Even though Jesus doesn’t[...]
“for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.” Ephesians 5:8 As a follower of Jesus, your life ought to have a before and after. The way you thought and acted before salvation is not the way you think and[...]
“but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.” 1 Peter 4:16 God doesn’t always reveal why He’s allowed a painful situation to enter our lives. But today’s passage helps us consider two possible reasons for suffering.[...]