“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1:35 (ESV) How’s your prayer life? Are you spending unhurried time alone with God? Your ministry effectiveness will never rise above the level of your daily intimacy with God. […]
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.“ 2 Tim 3:16-17 (ESV) How do you become all that God has created you to become? What habits are essential to reaching your […]
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” 1 Corinthians 3:6 (ESV) Where there is health there is growth. A healthy body will grow. A healthy believer will grow spiritually. A healthy church will grow both numerically and spiritually. You determine the level of participation in the process of maturation. God honors your devotion […]
“So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” Ephesians 4:14 (ESV) Spiritual maturity will ensure stability. God blesses the pursuit of spiritual maturity. His strength and stability become evident in the devoted life […]
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” […]
“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Ephesians 4:15 (ESV) You become what you focus on. Diffused light is weak. Focused light can cut steel. God blesses a life that is focused on His mission. His mission involves knowing, growing, and […]
“‘Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.’” John 4:34 (ESV) Jesus focused His life on God’s agenda. He didn’t allow anyone or anything to distract Him from living a life pleasing to God and a life faithful to God’s work. We should […]
“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” 1 Cor. 11:1 (ESV) Your home should be a place to run to, not run from. God wants your home to be an oasis. Your home should be the safest place on earth to be yourself. Trust is essential. In fact, without trust there is no […]
“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” Romans 15:7 (ESV) What kind of home environment did you grow up in? Was your home a safe place where love was extended unconditionally and where acceptance was granted freely? Do you recall if your home was filled with an atmosphere […]
“Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” Proverbs 23:22 (ESV) A few years back while driving through heavy traffic, I heard this powerful question on the Christian radio station I was listening to, “What did your dad do right?” That question captured my heart […]
“My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” Isaiah 32:18 (ESV) We exist as a family to love each other unconditionally in an atmosphere of acceptance and trust. Now that statement is loaded with meaning and with life giving principles. Is your family characterized by love? Does your family […]
“So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.” 2 Corinthians 5:9 (ESV) Have you ever wondered what the purpose of your family is? Have you discovered why you exist? God wants your family to maintain a vertical orientation. You exist to please God. In his letter to the […]
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV) What motivates you to live the Christian life? Do you live the Christian life to get others to think highly of you or to generate words of affirmation? No, you live the Christian life to […]
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 (ESV) God designed the family and God defines the family. The family business is God’s business. God created Adam and Eve in His image. God created them for His pleasure. He blessed them and […]
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.“ Ephesians 3:14-15 (ESV) Family is God’s idea. God is pro-family. Regardless of your upbringing, whether you grew up in a stable Christian environment or a broken home, you can be adopted into God’s spiritual family. […]
What makes you come alive? What are you giving your one and only life to? Clarify the vision so you can cultivate the passion. When the vision is unclear, there is a proclivity for passion to be diluted. Think about seasons in your journey when ambiguity seemed to saturate your view of the future. As […]
“And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:4 (ESV) Spiritual maturity may involve adversity. The child of God is not exempt from adversity. Often, God will allow adversity to enter our journey in order to move us toward spiritual maturity. God expects us to grow […]
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!’” Luke 15:17 (ESV) Do you have someone in your life who is currently suffering the consequences of their poor choices? Everything within you wants to shift into rescue mode. You […]
“And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.” Matthew 8:24 (ESV) Trials have a tendency to sneak up on us like weeds in a flowerbed. We can be living in the land of the familiar and enjoying our daily routine […]
“As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, ‘How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.’” 1 Sam 1:12-14 […]
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5 (ESV) View your trials from God’s perspective. Knowledge is needed to take things apart. Wisdom is needed to put things back together. When your life is coming apart, you need God’s […]
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3 (ESV) Without a test, there is no testimony. God allows trials to come into our lives in order to prove the authenticity of our faith. We are like a tube of […]
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3 (ESV) Living in a fallen world comes at a price. The consequences of sin have rippled throughout our family tree all the way back to Adam and Eve. When sin […]
“Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” Mark 1:16-18 (ESV) If you’re not fishing, […]
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I […]
“And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’” Acts 1:10-11 (ESV) […]
“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” Matt 17:1-2 (ESV) If only life was a perpetual mountaintop experience! Wouldn’t it […]
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.” Isaiah 6:1 (ESV) Authentic worship leads to sensitivity to God’s activity. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, he encountered the holiness of God. As […]
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your […]
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Col 3:17 (ESV) You have the power to conceal or reveal God’s glory. God reveals His glory to you as you worship Him privately and corporately. Whether you encounter God […]