“Then He said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.’” Luke 9:23 Jesus never promised that following Him would be easy. In fact, He told His disciples that true discipleship requires self-denial, daily surrender, and faithful obedience. To deny ourselves means…
“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’” — Luke 9:23 Following Jesus is the greatest invitation ever given—but it is not a casual one. Jesus never hid the cost of discipleship. He told His followers plainly that walking…
We are on a 5-week journey toward Easter and the resurrection. This week, we looked at turning toward the cross. Following the example set by Jesus, we also must intentionally look at the cross and all that it means for us as believers. Each day, we’ll look at some simple devotions that help us prepare…
We live in a hurried world. Easter can arrive before we’ve had time to truly reflect on what it means. As we move toward Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus, I want to invite you into a five-week journey called “From the Cross to the Empty Tomb.” Beginning this Monday, you’ll receive a short devotional…
“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” — John 15:8 Over the last several weeks, we’ve talked about being rooted — in Jesus, in prayer, in the Word, in community, and in obedience. But roots aren’t the goal. Fruit is. When I’m rooted in…
Jesus is not just the beginning of faith; He is the very soil that nourishes our growth as His followers. Our growth flows from abiding in Him. Where are your roots? Are you drawing life from Christ, or just going through the motions?
When I was growing up, we played a lot of sports on the playground and in the yards. Each time it began by picking teams. If you were the captain, you wanted the biggest, strongest, fastest – whatever it would take for your team to come out on top. I can remember praying silently that…
Jesus, the Son of God, left Heaven and came to earth to become one of us. He was 100% human and 100% God. He taught us how to live, what the Kingdom of God was like, performed miracles and made disciples. After His death and resurrection and before His ascension back to heaven, he gave…
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 2 Peter 1:16 Peter had absolute certainty about Jesus’ power. In 2 Peter 1:16, Peter tells us that he is not an author of fiction. He didn’t devise myths or…
In the Bible, Jesus had many disciples. There were the forty that He sent out; He had twelve that He personally called to follow Him; and then there were the three – Peter, James, and John. Real discipleship takes place in many groups but there seems to be something special when it happens in small,…