power

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

Evil Has No Power

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:21 As Christians, we are constantly in a battle with the enemy! It’s critical to recognize that we have an opponent who is out to steal, murder, and destroy. Despite how counterintuitive it may sound, I don’t want you to be terrified of him because he’s already been defeated. Don’t ignore your adversary’s teachings, but don’t become discouraged, oppressed, or anxious about his influence in your life. You have authority and power against the forces of darkness as a believer in Jesus Christ, baptized into His Kingdom and covered by His blood. This is because you share your identity with your Savior; you are seated with Him in the heavenly realms and join in the work He finished on the cross. Even if the devil tempts and tests you, he does not have the final say! Friends,

November 12, 2021 1 Comment

Divine Irony

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.” – Psalm 45:6 Yesterday, we talked about Henry VIII and how his life, as selfish and crazy as it was, gave birth to a church that has shared Jesus with millions. And today, if you’ll permit me, I’d like to continue using a lesson from history to demonstrate how sovereignly God works. Once King Henry VIII died, his only surviving son ascended the throne at just nine years of age, but he passed away six years later. Upon his death, his sister, Queen Mary (a.k.a. Bloody Mary) — who was the only surviving child of the king and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon — took the throne in 1553. Since the new queen was very much Catholic, she hated her Protestant father with a passion. She was determined

October 14, 2021 No Comments

God’s Covenant Bearer

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” – Genesis 12:2-4 4,000 years ago in the Ancient East, the world was a dangerous place, full of sickness, plague, famine, and drought. Struggling humanity survived through the enactment of covenants, or permanent promises made between two tribes that combined their strengths, assets, and property. The idea was that when both groups came together, they were stronger, wealthier, and wiser than they were on their own. Such agreements were typically made during a ceremony wherein two tribes faced each other, sang songs, and performed sacrificial rites. The tribal chiefs would exchange coats as a sign of honor and then they would

July 28, 2021 No Comments

Dry Bones Come Back to Life

“Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!” This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” – Ezekiel 37:4-6 If you know anything about me, you know that I “geek out” over history. Thus, a while back, I listened to a guy named Donovan Webster on a podcast he hosts called “Hardcore History.” In this particular episode, he talked about taking a bunch of trains and buses to get to a remote farmer’s field in the southern part of Russia. It just so happens that

July 21, 2021 No Comments

Saved From the Serpent

“They spoke against God and against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!’ Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people.” – Numbers 21:5-7 I’m always fascinated when I read the account of the Israelites and their journey to the Promised Land, because no matter how many times God showed them His glory, they seemed to forget and go back to complaining. Even though they were in the middle of one of the greatest epochs of all time historically speaking, they refused to

July 11, 2021 No Comments

Bringing Down Giants

“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.’” – 1 Samuel 17:45,46 The story of David and Goliath is a famous tale about a brawny, well-trained, and intimidating Philistine warrior who was defeated by a young Jewish shepherd named David. What many people don’t realize, however, is that Goliath is actually an archetype for the devil. Beyond being just a fighter, he was crazy and mean, and he went out each morning to hurl insults at the Israelite soldiers. He seemed to have strength beyond the natural, and he stood at six cubits tall, was equipped with six pieces of

July 9, 2021 No Comments

It’s Your Party

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.” – Matthew 18:12,13 Have you ever had a party thrown in your honor? Though some of us don’t like to be the center of attention, I’m certain that nearly all of us feel a deep sense of joy and gratitude when the people we love gather to celebrate us. Whether it’s a graduation, a birthday party, or a wedding, being blessed by our friends and family is a highlight of life. And while experiencing this joy on earth is a great gift, it can’t compare to the kind of

July 1, 2021 1 Comment

A Visionless Church

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” – Colossians 2:8 Yesterday, I told you about my uber-religious elementary school teacher who instilled major fear in me and my fellow classmates. By reinforcing the idea that we should live with constant anxiety about going to hell so that we continually confess our sins, she introduced a toxic theology that was focused exclusively on what you can’t do. Unfortunately, she was not alone in her dogmatic and fear-based beliefs — such thinking has pervaded many sectors of the church for generations. The major problem with this kind of dogma is that it stifles our souls. When we’re constantly fixated on giving things up without having a greater reason, we become joyless and lackluster. If we need proof of

June 10, 2021 No Comments

The Words of Jesus

“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” – Matthew 4:4 Yesterday, we talked about solitude, the first of three habits we observe as we study the life of Jesus. Today, I want to introduce the second discipline we see our Savior exercising consistently, and that is Scripture memorization. Committing the Word of God to heart was a practice that was deeply embedded in Hebrew culture, and for good reason. Unlike today, when nearly everyone has a Bible in their possession, the scrolls were kept at the synagogue, so memorizing them was the primary way to carry them into daily life. Perhaps this is why every Jewish child was required to commit to their minds the Torah — or the first five books of the Old Testament — while they were still young. If they

June 5, 2021 2 Comments

Willpower Has No Effect on Worry

Evil Has No Power

Divine Irony

God’s Covenant Bearer

Dry Bones Come Back to Life

Saved From the Serpent

Bringing Down Giants

It’s Your Party

A Visionless Church

The Words of Jesus

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