But this wouldn’t be like any other dynasty the world had ever known.And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. (2 Sam. 7:16)If we were identifying on a timeline of history the handful of high points, we would put our pencil point on creation and then go to the promise God made, a

1. Anger is not caused by other people or our circumstances. It comes out of our own hearts.For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. MT 15:19No one else can make you angry. Circumstances don’t cause your anger. Anger is your own sin. David Powlison says our hearts are like sponges.

Scripture speaks countless times about the holiness of God. Some examples include Peter telling Christians to imitate the holiness of God (1 Peter 1:15). Another instance is when God refers to His people as holy people (Ephesians 5:3). We’re also called to use our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1).All in all, ever

Before you start, build the foundation.We begin with the gospel to build a firm foundation for all our events, gatherings, Bible studies, and small groups:Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. . . .

7. Naomi: The Mother-in-Law Who Shared Her FaithNaomi and her family fled to the country of Moab because of a famine in their land. Her husband died, and her two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. After 10 years both of Naomi’s sons passed away, and Naomi heard that the LORD had blessed the land of her people with food again. She told her

As John A. Broadus preached over a century ago: "It was the signed manual of the Deity, it was the seal of the Sovereign of the Universe affixed to His claim, it declared Him to be all that He had ever professed to be, and so it establishes the truth of all His teachings and the truth of the whole Christian society. The great fact that Jesus Christ

Or to use different biblical terms: the new covenant, purchased for us by the blood of Christ (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25), must be fulfilled in our lives, if our emotions are going to conform to God’s view of good and evil. Ezekiel 36:26, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” God must give us a new heart i

And cheating is actually a form of stealing. When we cheat, we steal something from someone else. We take something that isn't rightfully ours. And when we get away with it, it is much easier to do it again. Then we have to continue to lie in order to hide what we have done. The stakes get higher, the risks increase and the viscous cycle escalates.

There is nothing wrong with those mountaintop experiences but the problem lies when those experiences become the definition of passion and the only type of passion we seek after. When we don’t feel the excitement or the “passion,” we then question whether those around us love God. We wonder whether God loves us when we get depressed or feel life is

What is Ministry? To minister to someone is simply to attend to their needs. There is no ministry without love, which is setting another above yourself as described in Philippians 2:3. Here, Paul charges the Philippians “...in humility, value others above yourselves.”Any act of love where we put others before ourselves is not an easy task. It requi

A Psalm for the fearful heart “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” Psalm 27:1,14Fear is gripping. It’s the feeling that starts small but grows and seems to take us down faster tha

There's Something about Living Closer to the Earth When we first moved to the country, I knew I wanted him to grow up enjoying the cycles of seasons and cultivating a gratitude for life. Our little country home has grown into a hobby homestead with fruit trees, chickens, a garden, and dairy goats. Quite the learning curve for city-grown parents, bu

Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet are standing firm, and carry them over

Powers and authorities will try to keep us from spreading the Gospel and from disrupting the status quo via any means possible.Christians around us will cave (and already have) to societal pressuresI think we often forget one part of the story in Daniel 3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel’s friends) stoodalone when faced with the test to bow

First, see that the normal Christian life re-enacts Jesus’s descent of love. I call this downward path that Paul traces in Philippians 2:5-7, the J-Curve. Like the letter “J”, Jesus’s life goes down into death and then up into resurrection and exaltation. As we saw, the “trigger” for this movement downward in love is Jesus’s surrender of his will,

Topography/Geography John exhibits impressive knowledge of the places where the events of Jesus’ life took place. John’s numerous geographical references have been tested and found to be very accurate. But even more than this, John is often much more specific than the Synoptics. He adds a layer of detail and precision that does not occur as often i

What Does the Empty Tomb Mean?John 20:9 says:…for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.They knew Jesus was not there but they didn’t really understand what his resurrection meant.We can be just like the disciples. We know that Jesus rose from the dead but we don’t know what it means for us. The resurrection

That's the true meaning of "Go where you are sent." You go even though it probably wasn't in your plan, and you go singing and praying and testifying to the goodness of the Lord.II. Stay Where You're Put.That just means that you go and serve the Lord wherever you happen to be, even though it may not have been your first choice. That's why Paul and

Proverbs 18:22 - He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.1 Corinthians 13:4-7 - Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things,

A Thought to KeepChrist is our king calling us to a better world. Do we follow the King's directives while still in this one?