“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?...
"Then Jesus told him, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed." John 20:29 OBSERVE In this verse we see the essence of Faith explained by Jesus himself to Thomas. If we look at the definition of faith it is a...
Whenever we head into a new normal, there is usually an old normal we have to contend with first. We transition into a new normal when an old normal no longer works or the new normal is significantly better. This week, we'll discuss a new command Jesus gives his...
We have helpfrom the Holy Spirit.All the way through God’s Story, we can find believers who had great faith just like Saul, Ananias, and Barnabas did. These people chose to believe in what they couldn’t see because of what they could see. When we look at people in...
There is a powerful connection between how we think and how we live. We’re not always aware of those connections, but what we think about and how we think about it directs our actions and responses. The Bible draws a direct connection between spiritual transformation...
We all had a beginning. You entered the world in a moment of time. And just like a physical birth, so too, you need a spiritual birth. You may be a child who is only a few years old or an adult well into your later years. But you need to experience new life through a...
Ready. Set. Go!! Some of the writers of the New Testament talk a lot about running the race set before us (Hebrews 12:1) and finishing strong (2 Timothy 4:7). But in order to run, we must be ready to run. We must train and discipline our bodies to compete the...
They had faith!When we read the Bible today, we can look back and see how God’s Big Story took shape. But none of the people at the time could see with their eyes how God was going to save His people. Instead, they had to have faith that God had a bigger plan. They...
Despite the disappointments of this season, remember that God works all things together for good—both His good and our good. The promise that God works all things together for good does not mean that we will acquire all that we want or desire. But those who love God can trust His goodness, His power, and His will to work out all things for our good. We journey together with Him.
Think deeply about why you’re alive and you’ll eventually conclude that you want to make a difference—a contribution through the one life you have. That longing is called legacy. It’s the desire to influence others now so that your influence lives beyond you. What if...
He didn't stop asking.The man from Ethiopia didn’t understand what he was reading when he was riding in his chariot. But he didn’t stop reading. He didn’t stop asking questions, either. He asked Philip to help him understand. It turns out the man was reading words...