sacrifice

Make a Decision Right Where You Are

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ ” – John 8:12 As Christians, we believe God sent Christ into the world to die on the cross and be raised from the dead so we could be at peace with God. There is something baked into the crust of life that reminds us that no matter what we do, something just doesn’t seem right if we are not at peace with God. Through Christ’s sacrifice, we are forgiven of our sins. We can come boldly before God’s throne of grace and be filled with His spirit. There are many times in life when we feel far from God, but don’t choose Him. Today, I want to allow you the opportunity to decide to follow Christ. There are

February 23, 2023 1 Comment

Do Things That Require Courage

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7 I remember as a teenager the necessity to walk in courage and boldness. I also recall how hard it was when I started attending a new high school because it felt like everyone already established their friend groups. To top it off, going up to someone and saying, “Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” doesn’t make you very popular. Regardless, I still practiced telling my peers about Jesus many times, even though socially it made me nervous. I recall not knowing anybody, yet being so excited to be invited to a party. However, this was one of those parties that included drugs, drinking, and people sleeping in rooms together, so I was super uncomfortable. As a Christian, I felt I had to pray

June 4, 2022 2 Comments

The Suffering Savior

“Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ And they slapped him in the face.” – John 19:1-3 Having just celebrated Easter, the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus is fresh on our minds. There’s no better time to remember the long and painful road our Savior endured to get to the cross. After three years of difficult public ministry that were no doubt physically, emotionally and spiritually draining, He was betrayed by one of His own disciples. He was turned over to Roman authorities, who, after pressure from the zealots among His people, agreed to have Him killed. As if the sentence of death by crucifixion wasn’t horrendous enough, He was beaten to

April 19, 2022 No Comments

Excuses Don’t Cultivate Excellence

“Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.’ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let’s go out to the field.’ While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.” – Genesis 4:6-8 Yesterday we looked at the story of Cain and Abel and how we can learn what it means to give God our best and not our leftovers. Today, I want to talk about one more thing from their story that can help us to excel in our work — don’t make excuses. Interestingly, after God rejected Cain’s sacrifice, he gave him a chance to do better — to

March 31, 2022 No Comments

Death to Self

“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?’” – Luke 9:23-25 Over the past few days, we’ve learned a lot about agape love, so today, I want to talk more about the flip side of that wonderful gift, which is death to self. No good thing in this life comes without sacrifice, and the most divine and precious gifts of God can only be experienced as we make a choice to deny ourselves. In fact, this theme is echoed over and over again in the New Testament, both in the teachings of Jesus and in

March 15, 2022 2 Comments

Heavenly House Cleaning

“When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling.” – Luke 19:45 We’ve been learning a lot about Jesus being our home and our soul being His home. Thus, knowing that we are the Holy Spirit’s house, we shouldn’t be surprised if and when He does some spring cleaning. Interestingly, the story of Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple is also the story of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. While the crowds had just finished hailing Him Hosanna and affirming that He was their King, He rode immediately to the temple — or the Jewish people’s house — and started turning over tables. Though we don’t know what the throngs thought of this commotion, His actions demonstrate the truth that we can’t call Christ our Lord (or boss) if we don’t acknowledge His right to reorganize some things in our lives.

September 6, 2021 No Comments

A Tribute to God

“In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering — fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.” – Genesis 4:3-5 Many of us are familiar with the story of Cain and Abel, but even so, it can be a bit confusing. After all, if Cain was a farmer and brought fruit and crops to the Lord as an offering, why was his gift rejected? To shed light on this happening, I think it’s important to understand that the term translated offering here could more accurately be translated tribute. The Hebrew word is minchah, and it denotes a present

August 16, 2021 1 Comment

Grace is Greater Than Guilt

“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 1:14 Something I’ve learned as I’ve counseled people through the years is that shame always leads to sin and grace always leads to goodness. Nothing helpful comes from self-condemnation and guilt; rather, righteousness and holiness come from a base of grace, or an understanding that acceptance is not dependent upon behavior. The truth is that being emotionally healthy, grounded, and secure is only possible when we understand that in Christ, we are loved just as we are. God knew we were helpless to help ourselves, so He stooped down to us when we were still sinners and made us righteous by the blood of Jesus. This means that if we’ve said “yes” to our Savior’s redemption, we’ve already attained perfection in His eyes. And while

August 5, 2021 No Comments

A Visit From God

“The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.” – Genesis 18:1,2 Yesterday, we discussed creating a hospitable place for Jesus in our hearts and lives. Interestingly, in Genesis 18, there’s an account of Abraham doing this very thing, only he had the honor of welcoming the Lord in the flesh. Taking the form of three men, most likely God and two angels, they appeared to him outside his tent in the heat of the day. Once he realized who they were, he ran to them quickly and bowed down low. Although ancient Middle Eastern culture was known to be hospitable, his

June 22, 2021 No Comments

Love Goes and Love Gives

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” – 1 John 4:7-9 Today is Valentine’s Day, and though it’s become synonymous with roses, hearts, and candy, the true purpose of this holiday is to honor love. Of course, popular culture has given us thousands of songs and images to convey its own version of this mysterious virtue, but the fact remains that there is only one way to define love, and that’s God. The Bible says that God is love, and if we invert that phrase, we learn that love is also God. Since the Lord is the

February 14, 2021 No Comments

Make a Decision Right Where You Are

Do Things That Require Courage

The Suffering Savior

Excuses Don’t Cultivate Excellence

Death to Self

Heavenly House Cleaning

A Tribute to God

Grace is Greater Than Guilt

A Visit From God

Love Goes and Love Gives

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