It’s Not What We Do But What We Say That Offends People

John 16.33 records, I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.

Be courageous. What does this mean for us as Christians? How about, be willing to identify with Jesus before men regardless of what they might do to us, but especially when they persecute us. They persecuted Jesus, Himself God, when He lived among us. Why did they persecute Him? (more…)

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Love, Not Anger, Honors God When Dealing With Evil

Exodus 32.19 observes, as he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain.

Moses had anger issues. His anger would ultimately cost him entrance into the Promised Land. Moses was a righteous man in so many ways. Like us, he was not perfect. Moses held in his hands, the words of God, inscribed by the finger of God, on the tablet God Himself had made. In his anger, Moses threw this on the ground and smashed it. (more…)

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Who We Seek to Please Determines What We Do

Galatians 1.10 asks, am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul identifies the root cause of our problem in the America Church. The culture has become increasingly distant from the person, character and work of Jesus Christ. The culture has now reached the place of hostility toward the Church. (more…)

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Is Your Strength Holding You Back?

2 Corinthians 12.9 records, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

No one wants to be weak. everyone wants to be strong. We despise weakness and we worship strength. Yet the strongest of all, the greatest display of strength ever, we doubt, we ignore and we make little effort to worship, serve or obey Him Who demonstrated this great strength. What is that greatest of all strengths displayed? (more…)

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Are You Passing the God test?

2 Corinthians 13.5 challenges, test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless you fail the test.

What does it look like to see Jesus Christ in us? The simple answer seems to be that His character and His purpose would be demonstrated by us if He truly lived within us. So what did His character and purpose look like? (more…)

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How Comfortable Are You in Your Body?

2 Corinthians 5.6 observes, we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.

Paul is speaking about our physical body though he is encouraging us about our future body. Paul reminds us that while we live on earth we are not at home with the Lord. Our true destiny, our true residence, our true happiness, is with Jesus where He is living bodily; with Him forever. (more…)

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Are You Carrying Your Cross?

Luke 14.27 observes, whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

Whenever something difficult occurs in our lives we are fond of saying that we are bearing our cross. We associate hard things with our share in the burdens the world seems to give to everyone. This is not what God meant when He commanded us to carry our cross. (more…)

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You Should Be Pursuing Wealth.

Luke 12.33 encourages, sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Most people want to be wealthy. Being wealthy means an easier life, cool stuff, beautiful places, good food, etc. Everywhere you go in the world, people want to be wealthy. (more…)

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What Are People Saying About You?

Luke 6.26 warns, woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets.

Most people would think God wants us to be the kind of people that others speak well about. Most Christians strive for this type of ‘witness.’ Indeed, no one should be able to say to those in Christ that we do things that Christ would not do. Those who claim to be Christians must live as Jesus did. (more…)

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How Does God Communicate to Us?

1 Corinthians 2.12 observes, now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.

God wants us to know Him. That makes sense if there really is a God. Why would God want us ignorant of Who He is or what He requires of us? Of course He doesn’t! It behooves us then to know God so we can know His will. God has given us the two things we need for accomplishing this objective. (more…)

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