When I was a kid I developed a love of reading. I was into the Doc Savage series, sci-fi, fantasy, and then read many books by Alistair MacLean, Tolkien, and others. Of course in high school there was a lot of required readings – especially the classics, that kept my nose buried. But as I…
For the grace of God has appeared… Titus 2:11-12 For us to truly, in our hearts, want to repent of our sins, repent of our screw-ups—for us to truly want to turn our backs on our old selves, on the self-indulgent people we’ve been—we’ve got to first trust that we can change, that we can…
I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 1 Timothy 2:8 We fight a battle every day; with our flesh, the world, and with our enemy, the devil. These battles can leave us tired, bitter, angry, or just a sense of being overwhelmed. Without daily…
Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 God’s Word is more than just letters on a page – they are life. Romans 15 reminds us that whatever was written was written for our instruction and that through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.…
Faithfulness comes to us when we feel like quitting or are discouraged about something. We have a choice to make, keep pressing on or stop and throw up our hands. Like the Apostle Paul, let’s keep pressin’ on. The Lord wants us to hope and trust him through the Holy Spirit. Staying faithful will bless…
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 Have you ever been held back because of your past? I…
I believe; help my unbelief—Mark 9:24 Have you really thought about what you believe about God? Some givens (I think): We know He is Omnipotent – all powerful. He created everything (Genesis 1; Colossians 1:16). We know He is Omniscient – he sees everything and knows everything and can do anything (Isaiah 55:9; Hebrews 4:13;…
How would you complete this sentence: A person who believes everything about Jesus and follows Him will speak in a way that is _______? We are coming to the end of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. This Sunday we will look at Paul’s encouragement for them to “walk in wisdom” and to be ready to…
Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke, “In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:33. There’s nothing wrong with owning things. The problem is when things have us. As Christ-followers, we must love Jesus more than any personal possession. If…
What difference would it make if we approached our spiritual disciplines as a means of drawing closer to Jesus? I mean, if we read our bibles, pray, and attend worship occasionally just because that’s what good Christ-followers do, we seem to be missing the point of our efforts. We should be in the Bible more…