As creatures living in a world broken by sin, we have never experienced what it is to be a human being — not fully and perfectly. But God does not plan to leave His masterpiece broken. In Christ, He proposes to bring us all the way back to life.
It is only in Christ that we can be refreshing in the ways that people most seriously need refreshment. We should see being a Christian not only in terms of what we can get (being refreshed) but also in terms of what we can give (refreshing others).
It’s a huge step in our return to God when we acknowledge that our sins against Him have been deliberate. If all we can say is, “What I did was inadvisable, but I couldn’t have done otherwise,” we’re a long way from seeing our need for forgiveness.
Christ’s kingdom can’t be measured by any of the criteria the world uses to judge how powerful something is. And because it is spiritual, Christ’s kingdom is not vulnerable to any of the threats that earthly kingdoms have to worry about.
If we have not accepted the lordship of Christ before the day of judgment, it will be too late for an acknowledgement at that time to save us. In reality, Christ IS the Lord. But will we ACCEPT His lordship? That is what the gospel asks us to decide.
It was not merely by being humble that Jesus procured our salvation — it was “by becoming obedient” (Philippians 2:8). We have learned nothing of Jesus Christ and His gospel if we have not learned the necessity of obedience (Hebrews 5:8,9).
Out of all we have learned from the Scriptures, only a fraction of that has truly been “received.” Today, let’s determine that we will not let pride keep God’s word from pricking our conscience and moving us to greater obedience (James 1:21).
There is nothing about any of us that is not known to God (Hebrews 4:12,13). What if God made known to the public everything He knows about us, even the “thoughts and intentions” of our hearts? Who among us would not be chastened and humbled?
Rebellion may be a temptation sometimes, but it’s not the only way we may depart from Christ. In a dangerous world, our confidence needs to be balanced with carefulness — so don’t let the devil tell you that “drift” won’t ever be a problem for you.
The idea that God has the right to govern everything about us is hard for us to swallow. But if God is indeed our Creator, we are not free to sit in judgment on His laws. The truth must be embraced and acted upon. Not just some of it, but all of it.
We tend to see people only through the lens of their past. And unfortunately, if a person’s past is so sinful that we deem them unfit candidates for God’s grace, ...
Human beings have always faced an ultimate choice. Do we lay aside our self-sufficiency and trust in our Creator, or do we double down on our self-sufficiency and trust in ...
Rather than dismissing the distinction between godliness and ungodliness by saying, “Only God knows who His people are,” we need to be growing in our ability to make this distinction ...
Let’s avoid thinking that “eternal life” is different only in that it lasts longer than our earthly life. It is indeed “eternal” because it is unending, but more than that, ...
The fact that, as Joseph knew, sin is always against God should weigh more heavily in our thinking than any social consideration. Social consequences are serious, no doubt, but separation ...
We can stay where we are, which is easier, at least in the short run, or we can let the Great Deliverer begin to break our chains. Between now and ...
As with Israel’s deliverance (Exodus 12), our salvation from sin depends on doing certain things God requires before He delivers us (Acts 2:37,38). The gospel must be obeyed to be ...
When we ourselves are among the unfaithful, what is our response? Hearing the message that we are under the penalty of death for our sins, are we tenderhearted enough to ...
There is no damage to our souls that Christ cannot repair. But He will not be manipulated by fake repentance on our part. If we expect His forgiveness and help, ...
In Christ, we may come confidently before God’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), but we had better not come with anything less than a no-strings-attached commitment to change our ways. ...
God should be more than a “maybe.” Our hearts must be inclined to Him. We must fix their minds on Him. We must — and here is the main idea– ...
The man in Psalm 10 is doing what Satan wants us all to do: manage our own lives. And that pride is what led us onto the downward slope of ...