Joe Duke
All Things New

All Things New

The past serves as an enduring reminder of God’s faithfulness. And God’s wonders of old are worth celebrating. But live in the past too comfortably and you’ll run the risk of missing the experience and excitement of God’s future blessings. When God’s glory is always...

Your Wonders of Old

Your Wonders of Old

Throughout the Bible, God tells people to remember. Maybe because we so easily forget. And there’s nothing better to call to mind than God’s faithfulness. His enduring faithfulness has been at work in the family of LifePoint Church for over 35 years. He has proven...

Eyes on the Prize

Eyes on the Prize

It’s not uncommon to find people who begin to pursue Christ with unbridled enthusiasm only to see them falter when life gets hard. A believer who pursues Christ must do so with a Spirit-empowered perspective. Paul had a deep desire to know Jesus more and more. And he...

Finding Your Confidence

Finding Your Confidence

So many factors conspire against our living in a way that pleases God. We not only deal with our inner struggles, but we must also face people who sound well-intentioned but oppose the ways of God. We can unwittingly embrace a conspiracy of confidence in our...

Our Work and God’s Work

Our Work and God’s Work

Christian growth is complex but simple. God does His part, we do ours. Put another way, God invites us into a cooperative work with Him. And part of that process involves how we treat each other. It really does matter. Our attitude toward each other often speaks...

The Simple Daily Things

The Simple Daily Things

Too often we look for God in the extraordinary when all the while, He makes His home in the ordinary. God is not that hard to find, especially if we’re looking for Him. Maybe we can get our lives back by inviting Jesus into our everyday routine of life. Pay close...

Get Outside

Get Outside

Here’s a disturbing reality: we spend most of our lives indoors. We were meant for more than a plastic world with artificial light and re-breathed air. God can be found anywhere. But something special happens when we encounter God outside. Nature has the power to calm...

Drinking Beauty

Drinking Beauty

God paints on a large canvas. His creativity is seen in the grandeur of the mountains, in the wildflowers on a rolling hillside, in classic masterpieces in an art gallery, or in the curious expression on the face of a child. Beauty is all around us. But seeing it...

Pausing to Detach

Pausing to Detach

So much about the pace of life conspires against us. We might even be convinced that the faster we go and the busier we become, the more we’ll get done. But what does that kind of toxicity do to our souls? Could it be that God invites us to find Him through a...

Never Stop Listening to God

Never Stop Listening to God

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...

Avoiding Willful Defiance

Avoiding Willful Defiance

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...

The Danger of Falling Away

The Danger of Falling Away

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...

Beware of Your Unbelief

Beware of Your Unbelief

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...

Pay Careful Attention

Pay Careful Attention

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...

Raised Forever

Raised Forever

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...

The Power of What You Say

The Power of What You Say

Words have power. Power to build up or power to destroy. Armed with any other weapon as strong as words, you might be required to be trained and certified. That’s not a bad idea. God’s word is filled with instructions about how to skillfully speak life into others...

God’s Secret for You

God’s Secret for You

Some of the secrets God keeps are meant to be revealed but only to His friends. And one secret, in particular, is meant for you and you alone. It’s an individual secret revealed to each overcomer—one who faithfully lives for Jesus. A secret prepared by God. A secret...

The Secret to Learning God’s Secrets

The Secret to Learning God’s Secrets

Sometimes God keeps secrets and sometimes He likes to reveal them. Regardless of the outcome, one thing is always true: God’s thoughts and ways are bigger and higher than our own. And He has a right to keep or disclose secrets as He chooses. But can we get to a place...

Keeping Secrets

Keeping Secrets

Can you keep a secret? Maybe you can or maybe not. Secrets are mysterious, hidden, and concealed sometimes for good reason. But sometimes secrets are meant to eventually be revealed. Do you think God keeps secrets? Of course, He does. Some of God’s secrets we will...

Not a Game

Not a Game

From childhood, most of us have learned to love games. The excitement, the cheering, even the competition creates a rush of adrenalin that’s hard to find anywhere else. And on the playing field of life—even life with God—we can find excitement too. But living your...

Stages of Growth

Stages of Growth

While salvation is instantaneous, spiritual maturity involves a process. It’s one filled with twists and turns and failures and successes. And each stage of our growth requires an awareness of whether we’re a spiritual baby, a young person in the faith or a mature...