When we fail to listen to God, it’s a hearing problem for us not a speaking problem for God. Most notably, God has spoken in His Son Jesus. In the fifth and final warning in the book of Hebrews, the author warns us that it’s a mistake to turn away from God and ignore...
Trusting God can help you get back up. For week four, we spend time in Hebrews 11. The author of Hebrews reminds us that when life gets hard, we can look to the heroes of the faith and see how they trusted God through some tough circumstances. We use Abraham, Joseph,...
Steadfast and Sanctified Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing....
Even Christians can behave badly. And the Bible acknowledges that a believer can walk away from Jesus all together. To treat God with this kind of contempt is a terrible act of defiance. In the fourth of five warnings in the book of Hebrews, the author tells us about...
You can choose joy when life gets hard. In week three, we jump over to Acts 16:16-40 and find two more early followers of Jesus: Paul and Silas. After being arrested, they could have given up their calling to share Jesus’ love with others. However, they had...
The Dangers of Spiritual Sleepwalking But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” Acts 20:10 (ESV) A ccording to Sleep Foundation, sleep-walking affects 29% of children and about 4% of adults. Tales of...
Salvation is guaranteed the moment one believes Jesus for it. But becoming a Christian never guarantees that we’ll live like one. Spiritual maturity is not automatic. It requires diligent engagement with Jesus if we hope to change and grow. In the third of five...
Keep going even when it gets tough. This week we head to Acts 3:1-4:21 with Peter and John and their unflinching moment of resilience. Peter and John were resilient even when arrested for sharing the message of Jesus. They wouldn’t let it get them down. They stood up...
God Sees A Mother Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:23-24 (ESV) O ne of my favorite days of...
Even Christians can be people of unbelief. Given tempting circumstances, we might cave under pressure and cease to follow God wholeheartedly. This certainly was the case with the children of Israel who took a major detour of unbelief while on their journey to the land...
God is always with you. We start our month in Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 1-2. Right before God takes Jesus back to heaven, Jesus gave His disciples an incredible task: tell the world about Him and share His love with others. This task wouldn’t be easy, but Jesus...
Beautiful, Hidden Ways 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 (ESV) L ate spring two years ago, I belatedly began the seasonal chore of sweeping the...
Whatever happens, remember God is bigger than your questions. We finish the month with a critical moment recorded in John 20:19-29. Although Thomas was one of Jesus’ disciples, He hadn’t yet seen Jesus face-to-face after the resurrection. When the rest of the...
Like other people, there’s a chance you have entertained thoughts about returning to an easier, more comfortable way of life—one that pushes God aside. When the pressure is on, even Christians can become disillusioned with following Jesus. The book of Hebrews is...
You Hear Me Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her Luke 10:41-42 (ESV) I had one of those scripture moments...
Whatever happens, remember Jesusis alive. We’ll look at Easter through John’s perspective in John 18:1–20:18. As the disciples experienced the events of the crucifixion, from Jesus’ arrest in the garden to His death, they must have wondered if everything they shared...
Matthew 28:1-10 (ESV) Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the...
Easter is the celebration of all celebrations! Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death and is raised to life. The resurrection of Jesus is not some legend that has been passed down through the ages meant to give us an excuse for another holiday. In Easter we see the...
Mark 15:42-47 (ESV) And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and...
Mark 15:33-35 (ESV) And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of...
John 19:23-25 (ESV) When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not...