Fear can creep into our lives at any time, especially when our happiness, comfort, or success is threatened. As we’ll see from Peter’s example, following Jesus doesn’t automatically eliminate our fears. However, we can also see how our fears fade into the background...
What does faithfulness look like in the face of our temptations and weakness? Along with Jesus’ disciples, we can learn and grow in faithfulness as we follow Jesus to the last supper and into prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Read Mark 14:32-42, and if you can make...
Jesus approaches Jerusalem with a loud celebration, but when he enters the Temple courts no one seems to notice. His strong actions both privately and publicly demand attention and response. Jesus’ triumphal parade into Jerusalem, a withered fig tree, and Jesus’...
The wise men followed the light of a star toward Jesus. Have you ever wondered how they decided to make that long journey following light from a star and who these wise men were? Maybe you have more in common with them than you realize. How could responding to God’s...
God’s people, the nation of Israel, waited hopefully over centuries for God to send their promised Messiah. Finally, a young woman named Mary, responded with faith to an angel’s surprising announcement that God was fulfilling his promise through her. Hope is a...
Welcome to our Circle of Influence article series! As we recognize LifePoint's 35th anniversary, we are celebrating the ripple effect of more than three decades of influence in and through the people of LifePoint. We've chosen several unique stories to share. ...
Faith is far more than a feeling. Just because we don’t feel the presence of God doesn’t mean He isn’t there. We are often misled by our emotions, feelings, and circumstances. But choosing to believe in the power and presence of God is a choice. We must make that...
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...
Dana Timothy Peterson, PsyD Dr. Dana Peterson is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. A former active-duty Navy Clinical Psychologist, he is currently the Chief of a Well-Being Services organization for the Department of Defense, overseeing all mental health treatment,...
Money can activate either greed or generosity within us. When God urges us to share our financial resources for the good of others, He doesn’t do so by appealing to guilt or obligation. God tells us that we can invest in things that really matter by sharing the money...
Everywhere we look, we are confronted with messages telling us about the things we need to be happy and whole. If only we can get, the better phone, go on the better vacation, drive the better car, get into the better college, then we will be content. We will be...
It seems clear that Jesus wants to shape culture. To ultimately transform the conscience and morality of a people. His disciples anticipated that Jesus was about to establish a political machine capable of toppling the Roman Empire. But that’s not what Jesus did. The...
Becoming a Christian and living as one are two different things. God refers to one as justification and the other as sanctification. We might also understand these two distinctions as finding Jesus and following Jesus. Blur this distinction between salvation and...
You’re born into God’s family the moment you place your faith in Jesus for eternal life. You start as a spiritual baby. But it’s never God’s intention for you to remain a baby. You are to grow and thrive as a maturing believer in Jesus. But you never grow passively....
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your should and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31 OBSERVATION God instructs his people...
Have you ever felt unprepared? You’ve probably had a time in your life when you were not prepared at all for what was about to happen. As our flesh constantly fights to lead us further away from God, it’s easy for us to feel unprepared for life. But God prepares us by...
In the Bible, we read Jesus promising to send the Holy Spirit to his disciples after He is gone. As believers in Jesus, the Holy Spirit is also with us, living inside of us, just as Jesus promised. The question is, why did Jesus send the Holy Spirit to be with us?...
Is it possible to know you have a new life through Christ and are headed for heaven? If so, how? God never intends for the assurance of your salvation to be a perpetual guessing game. You can know you’re saved. Unfortunately, you can lose your grip on the assurance of...
Nothing challenges our view of God like challenges. Maybe, lately, you feel like you’ve had your share of obstacles and hardships. When we’re pressured with difficulties, our idea of a good God can end up on the chopping block. How can God be good when evil exists and...
God reminds us in the Bible that He gave an Old Covenant and a New Covenant. Confuse the two and you’re in for a confusing and inconsistent attempt at living for Jesus. It’s not an exaggeration to suggest that the church across the world is mired in legalistic...
We can have FAITH.Heaven was revealed to John, but John didn’t know exactly when the things God showed him would happen. And neither do we. The truth is, there’s a lot we DON’T know. We can read John’s words, and we can do our best to imagine what heaven will be like...