God’s strength

Suffering is a Force for Change

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” – 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 The Apostle Paul was writing to the church when he wrote the passages above. Do you know what he’s talking about when he says “all-surpassing power”? In the first century church, they were healing the

December 3, 2021 No Comments

Willpower Has No Effect on Worry

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:33,34 Lately, we’ve been talking a lot about anxiety and how we may seek to reduce its impact on our lives. Today, I want to encourage you that winning the anxiety war is a natural outgrowth of pursuing God’s Kingdom above all else, not by your strength and determination. You will have a more serene existence if you prioritize Him in your life. When it comes to trying not to worry, willpower doesn’t work, and here is where many Christians become discouraged. Even if I tell you not to think of a purple elephant dressed in a tutu and wearing a sombrero, I guarantee you will. Why? Because even

December 1, 2021 No Comments

Setting Goals

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” – Proverbs 16:3 I told you yesterday about how reading the Bible, along with prayer and meditation on a Bible passage, is a part of my morning routine. Today, I’m going to tell you about how I spend the first few minutes of every morning: writing down my goals. This practice, though not generally considered part of a devotional time, may be the most significant stage in the process, believe it or not. What I’ve discovered is that writing down your goals allows you to perceive Jesus as a helper rather than as someone who is uninterested in bringing you where you want to go. When you realize that God loves you and wants to help you live a successful and full life, writing down your goals becomes a spiritual activity that grows out of prayer and Bible

November 20, 2021 No Comments

How Will You Handle the Fire?

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?” – Luke 14:28 I love that Jesus encourages us to consider possible outcomes before we make decisions. He told His disciples to count the cost prior to following Him, and I think it’s safe to say that He wants us to be people who are proactive in dealing with the problems and complexities of life. Along these lines, I heard an anecdotal story once that said if there’s a fire burning in a building and there are ten people in it, one person will flee, one will stay calm and take action, and the other eight will freeze. Unfortunately, I think the latter is what many of us do when we’re assailed by unanticipated challenges. We seldom feel equipped for what comes

October 1, 2021 No Comments

Don’t Let Fear Stop You

“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’” – Genesis 15:1 Faith is not the absence of fear, it’s moving forward in spite of fear. The Lord never promises to take away our feelings of fright, but He assures us that He’ll be with us in the midst of them. When He tells us not to be afraid, He’s not asking us to pretend to be stronger than we are, He’s simply inviting us to trust His power as we move ahead. For instance, some of you reading this might have a fear of flying. No matter how many people tell you that it’s safe, you still get jittery when you fasten your seatbelt and hear the engines roaring. Although your chances of being in a plane crash are one out of

August 8, 2021 2 Comments

Perfection Not Required

“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” – Mark 2:17 It’s probably unorthodox for a pastor to say this, but I want to have a church filled with sinners. There are plenty of congregations filled with saints and people pretending to be perfect, but I don’t believe that’s what the Body of Christ is supposed to look like. The church is not meant to be a country club of righteous friends who meet to pat each other on the back, but rather a gathering of thirsty, weary souls yearning for His Living Water. As disciples of Jesus, we’re broken people who want to be better, and we strive toward sanctification, righteousness, and Godliness. But most importantly, we receive the Lord’s love so we can love each other, especially

August 4, 2021 No Comments

The Abundance of God

“You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.” – Psalm 65:11 Very often, we think about the gift we receive in salvation being strictly in the context of Heaven, and that is important. However, it’s also important to remember that in Jewish culture, being blessed meant more than inheriting eternal life at death. Deuteronomy 28:5 says, “Your kneading baskets will be filled, and your crops will grow.” And Psalm 27:13 declares that we “…will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Clearly then, God’s heart toward people has always been one of abundance. He delights in giving good gifts to His children in the here and now, and He is honored when we expect Him to deliver on His promises. He is not a “survival mode” kind of Savior — He’s the overflowing, never-ending, all-sufficient King of the Universe, and

July 27, 2021 No Comments

Perfection Is Not Required

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” – 2 Corinthians 4:7 One of the most liberating truths I ever learned is that you don’t have to be perfect for God to use you. As Christians, I think many of us have the mindset that in order to do big things in the Kingdom of God, we must have it all together and have worked through all of our issues. However, this mentality is damaging and untrue, and it serves only to keep us stuck! If everyone waited until they were healed to step out in faith, nothing would ever happen (and the devil would love it). In fact, the most wondrous thing about living life in Jesus is that when we surrender, He does the moving. As we make ourselves available to be, as Henri

July 14, 2021 No Comments

Step Into Spiritual Authority

“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” – Luke 10:19 Did you know that Satan hates you because of how much God loves you? Since the Lord has destined him for destruction, he lives every day knowing his fate, and there is nothing he can do to change it. He can, however, try to hurt his Maker by harming His beloved children. Since our hearts are inherently sinful, the devil works overtime to gain a foothold in our lives, and he takes advantage of the weakness of our flesh. If he can get us to forfeit the divinely-imparted peace that comes from knowing how perfectly we’re loved, he can increase his influence by invading our thoughts. He understands where we’re weak, and he preys on the areas in which his bite will have

July 12, 2021 No Comments

A Vision-Driven Church

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24,25 Yesterday, we talked about how stifling it is to meet the demands of a religion that requires us to give something up without understanding why. This is the reason it’s so important to let Jesus be our vision. If I’m a runner, there are certain foods I’m not going to eat since I want to move faster. My motivation for speed gives me the will to abstain, because winning the race is more important than satisfying my appetite. The same is true spiritually. I love

June 11, 2021 No Comments

Suffering is a Force for Change

Willpower Has No Effect on Worry

Setting Goals

How Will You Handle the Fire?

Don’t Let Fear Stop You

Perfection Not Required

The Abundance of God

Perfection Is Not Required

Step Into Spiritual Authority

A Vision-Driven Church

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