Looking inward and changing is a hard teaching. The nearer that Jesus got to the cross, the fewer the people who followed Him. His disciples said: “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it..."
The Holy Spirit is a free gift given to those who obey, [Acts 5:32] but it is worth billions—it spares us from many shameful, destructive behaviors. In a word, the convicting feeling of the Holy Spirit has been our only salvation. I crave it and cannot imagine life without it...
A caterpillar essentially “dies” in its cocoon so that a butterfly can emerge. Consider the spring that follows a harsh, deadly winter. Every year we watch trees lose their leaves, appearing to die; yet they come back to life bigger and stronger than the year before. Another symbol of life from death around us is the daily example of the long, cold night and the warmth of the morning sun rising again. We have to believe that the sun will rise again. Jesus drew a great word picture for us..
We have been observing the Days of Awe since twilight, Sunday, August 16. These Days of Awe last for 40 days, and commemorate Moses re-ascending the […]
Once you choose a master as we discussed yesterday, you must then walk away from the old master, let it go, repent.
Peter said to the crowd, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
To serve the new Master, you have to leave the other one..
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." -Matthew 6:24. Nothing narrows the road more than this one choice.
It is a narrow focus, a narrow road, but Jesus walked this road and he is now sitting at the right hand of God. We have been told to walk in his steps, and this cannot be said enough, for it is essential that we think like he thinks, love like he loves…
Does overeating help our finances? No, it robs us. It is expensive to keep eating extra calories every day. Diet programs have emptied our savings accounts as well. Does it help us with our clothing? No, we tend to find less and less to wear...
I used to sit in church as a child on Sunday evenings and watch people listlessly drag themselves through the motions of their worship. These are the same people who will apply blue and white paint on their faces to root for their favorite college teams. If you have passion for God, it grows with the years...