Posts with the tag “faith”

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20 Trying to look like a good Christian can be exhausting. You say the right things, show up when expected, and keep moving even when your heart feels tired. On the outside, things look fine. Insid...  Read More

“For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” – Colossians 2:9-10 Most people do not reject Jesus outright. They just quietly reduce Him. He becomes a piece of life instead of the center of it. A helper when things get hard. A spiritual option among many others. That sounds harmless, but it change...  Read More

“So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.” – Colossians 2:6–7 Many people have had an experience with Jesus without ever submitting to Him as Lord. They felt something in a moment, made a decision, or responded to a need. Over time, when pressure showed up, their faith began to wobble. Experienc...  Read More

“Being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude.” – Colossians 2:7 Storms reveal more than they create. Pressure does not invent weakness; it exposes what was already there. When life shakes, what we are rooted in is revealed quickly. Some faith looks strong in calm weather but collapses the moment hardship arrives. Other faith st...  Read More

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10 Every masterpiece begins with a vision. An artist sees beauty before anyone else can and shapes something ordinary into something extraordinary. That is what God is doing in your life. You are His workmanship, His personal creation. He did not just save you and move...  Read More

“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift.” – Ephesians 2:8 Faith is one of the most talked-about words in Christianity, yet it is often misunderstood. Many people think faith itself has the power to save us, as if believing hard enough could somehow earn God’s favor. But faith is not the hero of our salvation. Jesus is. Faith is simply our respon...  Read More

“He believed in God, who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.” – Romans 4:17 Abraham’s story is one of faith against all odds. God promised him that he would become the father of many nations, but everything about his situation said otherwise. He was old, his wife was barren, and time seemed to have passed them by. Yet Abraham believed. He trusted the God who b...  Read More

“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9 If there is one truth that separates the message of Jesus from every other belief system in the world, it is grace. Most religions teach that we must work our way toward God, earning His favor through effort and good deeds. The gospel teaches the...  Read More

“In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.” – Ephesians 1:13-14 When you place your faith in Jesus, something powerful happens that you cannot see with your eyes but can exp...  Read More

“There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.” – Romans 3:11 We like to think that we found God, but the truth is that God found us first. Long before we ever reached for Him, He was reaching for us. Scripture reminds us that none of us naturally seek after God. Left to ourselves, we drift toward our own desires and our own way. Yet even in our wandering, God pursues us with lov...  Read More

"We weren’t saved to show up, sit, or soak. We were saved to be sent." - Colossians 4:3 You were not saved to be stationary. God did not rescue you from sin just to keep you comfortable in a seat. He saved you with a purpose and planted you with a mission. The gospel was never meant to stop with you. It reached you so it could move through you.  Paul understood that clearly. That is why, in his le...  Read More

"Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator" - Colossians 3:10 God does not just call you to put off the old life. He invites you to put on something better. You are not meant to walk around spiritually exposed, trying to live new while still wearing what belonged to the old you. He tells you what to strip off, but He also hands you a brand new wardrobe...  Read More

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." – Matthew 6:1 Jesus does not just care about what you do. He cares deeply about why you do it. In His sermon, He warns us to be careful not to live out our faith for the sake of attention. The Pharisees were experts at looking holy. They pra...  Read More

“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit” – Proverbs 16:2 It is easy to make our lives look polished on the outside. We check all the right boxes. Go to church. Say the prayers. Lift our hands during worship. Serve when the need arises. Give when prompted. From the outside, it all seems right. But Jesus doesn’t just see what we do. He sees why we do it. When ...  Read More

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:48 At first glance, the verse above can feel overwhelming. Be perfect? Really? But Jesus wasn’t calling us to live flawlessly. He was calling us to grow up. The word He used, teleios, means complete, mature, fully developed. Like a diamond that’s considered perfect by a jeweler, not because it’s flawless, but because ...  Read More

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.” - Colossians 2:6-7 When something feels slow, it can be tempting to call it stuck. That is the challenge with spiritual growth. It rarely shows up in flashy ways. We want visible progress, fast outcomes, and...  Read More

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible… and in him all things hold together.” - Colossians 1:15-17 Most people read about Jesus and picture Him walking through dusty villages, healing the sick, and teaching the crowds. That’s true, but it's only part of who He is. Colossians makes it cl...  Read More

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” – Colossians 2:6-7. Have you ever watched someone’s faith completely fall apart? One day, they’re following Jesus and seem strong in their walk. Then the pressure comes. Life gets heavy. Doubts creep in. And the foundation t...  Read More

"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. Yesterday, I made a statement I want to look at further. That is, most people are more eager to be delivered than developed. We pray for rescue, for relief, for the quick way out. But God often chooses development over deliverance because He sees...  Read More

“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift.” - Ephesians 2:8 C.S. Lewis once said, “You’re not a body with a soul. You’re a soul with a body.” That flips the way most people think about life. We spend so much time worrying about the outside: our bodies, our schedules, our image. But God has a different focus. He looks deeper. He’s paying attention ...  Read More

"Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, each one was judged according to their works." – Revelation 20:13 Earlier this year, I heard a story about a fisherman’s monument in Homer, Alaska. It was a tribute to those who lost their lives at sea. On a plaque beside the statue was a line that said the sea tells a story. It tells of the lif...  Read More

"For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is God’s gift, not from works, so that no one can boast." – Ephesians 2:8-9 We live in a world that loves rewards. We chase promotions at work, trophies in sports, and recognition from people around us. But Scripture points us to rewards that are so much better than anything this world can offer. The New Testament makes...  Read More

"And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." – Hebrews 9:27 We all have moments on the calendar that we wish we could skip. Maybe it is a tough conversation you are dreading or a doctor’s appointment you would rather avoid. Maybe it is a deadline you have been procrastinating on or an exam you wish would just disappear. I once talked with a high school student ...  Read More

"Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour." – 1 Peter 5:8 There is a moment coming at the end of the millennial reign of Christ that may surprise you. Scripture says Satan will be released for a short time. After being locked away for one thousand years with no ability to influence or deceive, he will be allowed to come out and do what he ha...  Read More

"Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war." – Revelation 19:11 A few years ago, I stood on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem, realizing I was standing on the very ground where Jesus once stood with His disciples before He ascended into heaven. As I read Acts 1 and pictured the moment Jesus rose in...  Read More

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." - 1 Corinthians 13:12 Not long ago, I found myself driving early one morning through a heavy, blinding fog. I could barely see the road lines, and construction barriers loomed somewhere on both sides. I slowed to a crawl, unsure of where to go, feeling a little s...  Read More

"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." - John 16:33 If you’ve ever asked, “Why would God allow this?” You are not alone. In over two decades of ministry, I’ve sat in orphanages filled with children longing to be loved, stood by hospital beds as families prayed for miracles that didn’t come, ...  Read More

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20 When Jesus saved you, everything about your being changed. You became a new person with new life, new forgiveness, and new hope. The moment you said yes to Jesus, He stepped into y...  Read More

"And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians." - Acts 11:26 The word “Christian” gets thrown around a lot, especially here in America. To some, being a Christian is just part of their family story. They grew up going to church, raised by Christian parents, and maybe even believe they've been a Christian their entire life because that’s the environment they were raised in. But here’s ...  Read More

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9 One of the most misunderstood words in the English language is the word “Christian.” Especially in the South, we live in a culture where most people claim to be Christians. We grow up in Christian homes, come from Christian fami...  Read More

"But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." – 2 Corinthians 12:9 One of the biggest reasons people hesitate to follow God’s calling is because they feel inadequate. You might know exactly what your weaknesses are. Maybe you are not a strong...  Read More

"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." – Matthew 16:25 When God calls you to sacrifice something, it’s easy to see it as a loss. You might feel like He’s taking something from you, withholding something good, or making your life harder. But what if the very thing He’s asking you to give up is actually what’s holding you back? What if th...  Read More

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6 Growth rarely happens in comfort. Think about the moments in your life when you truly grew; whether spiritually, emotionally, or even physically. Those moments often came when you faced challenges, tried something new, or allow...  Read More

"In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one." - Ephesians 6:16 In the battle of spiritual warfare, one of the most vital weapons God has given you is the shield of faith. It’s not just a piece of armor for show, it’s a tool designed to protect you from the relentless attacks of the enemy. Satan doesn’t fight fair. He launch...  Read More

"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind." - James 1:6-8   Have you ever noticed how doubt drains joy? When doubts creep in, it feels like you’re tossed around by every uncertainty, just like James describes—a surging sea, unsteady and turbulent. When doubt takes root, it clouds our view of God’s promises, m...  Read More

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." - Ephesians 2:8   Have you ever wondered how people were saved before Jesus came to earth? It’s a fair question. We know the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, but what about those who lived before that? Here’s the truth: people have always been saved by grace thro...  Read More

“So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”- 2 Corinthians 4:18    You might be wondering how to embrace a life of courage and overcome the challenges that hold you back. The answer lies in an important choice to prioritize the eternal over the temporal.  In our fast-paced world, it’s all too easy to become consumed by ...  Read More

“When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house and prayed.” - Daniel 6:10   Living a life of faith often calls for radical obedience, and that kind of obedience can be daunting. In Daniel's story, we see this vividly illustrated during his time under King Darius. Despite serving in a new administration that could have easily led to his dismissal, Daniel remained steadfas...  Read More

“Every good and perfect gift is from above.” - James 1:17   When life seems uncertain or challenging, it’s easy to question whether things are really going as they should. You might wonder if the difficulties you’re facing are a sign that things aren’t turning out right.  Yet, James 1:17 reminds us of a profound truth: “Every good and perfect gift is from above.” This verse speaks to the heart of ...  Read More

“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” - Revelation 3:15-16   In His message to the church at Laodicea, Jesus delivers a powerful and challenging statement: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because ...  Read More