Many of the things we would define as “good” because they draw us closer to God, the world would define as “bad.” For example, difficulty and pain can have a beneficial spiritual effect on us, but most people want as little of these as possible
Our relationship with God requires tending. If we actually love God and want to go to heaven, we will always be on the lookout for changes we need to make in our attitude and conduct so that we can be more fully pleasing to the Father.
The good things we can acquire and the good activities we can engage in are nothing compared to the good things of the life to come. And if we don’t give priority to our eternal blessings, our temporal blessings will give us grief in the long run.
When Jesus died for us, He freed us from the sentence of death. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).
The Lord’s work is a collaborative work, a group effort. We are stronger, and the work prospers more greatly, when we work together, and each of us needs to see the extent to which our own part of the work is important to the overall effort.
When we have set our minds on things above, we will truly look forward to any occasion when God’s word is going to be discussed. We will have a keen interest in sermons about God when we have acquired a deep thirst for God Himself.
With commitment and hard work, there is nothing that can hinder our evangelism. Paul said, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” And Peter exhorted us to work “as by the strength that God supplies.”
It helps to remember that the whole universe was created by a God who is eternal. The comforting thing about God’s eternal nature is not merely that He exists eternally, but that His character is eternal: God is changelessly faithful to us!
A seemingly little thing like our listening habits during the worship service can be a significant indicator of what is in our hearts. If the sermon seems dry and unappealing, it may be because we have no thirst for righteousness.
There is a real danger that we will neglect the cross because it is so familiar to us. At least once a week — when we observe the Lord’s Supper — we are invited to remember that our salvation would have been impossible without Christ’s death.
If broken trust in God is the root of sin, then for the problem of sin to be fixed, trust will have to be put back in its rightful place. ...
If we turn away from the gospel because of the costliness of the love involved in discipleship, there is nothing left but lesser loves — counterfeits that offer little more ...
In a “feel-good” age, it is hard for us to see that our first response to the gospel must be grief. Yet if the gospel is about sin, we are ...
We often reject ideas as being “untrue” for no reason except that we don’t want them to be true. But the more painful a truth may be to accept (at ...
Hope is a powerful thing. And one reason the gospel of Christ is the greatest of all messages is that it offers the greatest of all hopes. Here is the ...
In the New Testament, there are two phases or stages in obeying the gospel: first, we accept God’s forgiveness on His terms, and second, we live the rest of our ...
The fact that our salvation is by grace does not mean the gospel requires no response. It is a message that must be responded to, and in the absence of ...
The gospel is the good news of God’s salvation. But never forget: the message is about Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus that God is offering salvation. In 2 Corinthians ...
It is from sin that God desires to save us. The gospel is not about the amelioration of social ills or earthly maladies. It’s about (a) the forgiveness of our ...
Adam and Eve were free, but they used their freedom to reject God rather than honor Him as their Maker. We must not underestimate the seriousness of their decision to ...
Discover a rich meditation on Genesis 1 that explores God’s perfect creation, humanity’s unique dignity as His image‑bearers, and the profound relationship of lordship and love at the heart of ...
In Acts, as soon as people saw the seriousness of their sins and the joy of forgiveness that could be theirs, they wanted to be baptized immediately, even in the ...