“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42 That’s a verse we are all familiar with, and today it got me thinking that there’s a big difference between wanting something and building your life around something. Most of us want to be closer…
“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…
When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He didn’t just tell His followers to teach information—He told them to teach obedience. That’s a crucial difference. In our culture, obedience can feel restrictive, even outdated. We celebrate independence, personal truth, and doing what feels right. But in the Kingdom of God, obedience is not about control—it’s about…
“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…
In our world today, it often seems like everything has been turned upside down. The idea of truth or morality can change like the wind. Our culture has become a place where anything goes—and it usually does. We have even changed the way we speak about these changes. At first, it was tolerance, then acceptance, and…
Charles Wesley wrote a hymn in 1762 that really should motivate us today: A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify, A never-dying soul to save, And fit it for the sky. To serve the present age, My calling to fulfill: Oh, may it all my pow’rs engage To do my Master’s will!…
James tells us that, “…faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26). In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about talents given to three servants and how they used – or didn’t use, those talents. For the two servants that used their talents for work, the master responds with the words, “well done, good and…
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; Psalm 103:10-11 Confession and repentance can be humbling and painful but in order to receive God’s forgiveness, it is necessary. …
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” Ephesians 2:10 He certainly meant the works—the things we are to do, the ways we are to serve—are good things, in and of themselves. And, of course, he meant the works are good…
God wants to be first priority in our lives. He is either the Lord of All, or He is not. The best test for us is determining what we give back to God. Does He wind up with our leftovers? Is our time, energy, and resources given to other endeavors instead of to Him? In…