Holiness And Worship
Jesus was crucified outside of the city as a sign of the world’s rejection of Him. We go out to Him, not just to bear His rejection, but in order to be sacrificed there with Him. He suffered there to make us holy. Receiving that sacrifice by the sacrifice of ourselves brings us to
Reverence For God
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” Ps 111:10 (ESV). “The fear of the Lord” is best understood as reverence and awe. The idea is that we hold the Lord in a unique place of honor. This is
Ministry Opportunities
Lord, give us eyes to see needs that glances never capture. Give us ears to hear cries of distress that occur in ordinary conversations. Give us a vision that sees possibilities in impossible situations. We want to know how to live in faithfulness. May we know how to use our hands in tenderness to
Joy And Glory
Does your joy have glory in it? Is there something in it beyond your immediate happiness? Is this joy with you in spite of your circumstances? Does your joy have in it an element of unexplainable mystery and inexpressible words? Peter spoke of joy with glory in it. Glory, the manifest presence of God,
One In Our Sorrows
When Jesus became incarnate with us, He experienced the full human condition. He came into our loneliness; no one tarried to pray with Him. He felt our abandonment and cried, “My God, why have You forsaken me?” He embraced our pain when He embraced the cross. He knew rejection. “He came to His own
Highways To Zion
Without an internal compass, we can get off the road. Without knowing the right road when we see it, we are clueless. There is to be a way in our heart that longs for the Lord’s way. Having traveled this road, we desire it. As we grow, its map is imprinted on us. As
In The Other’s Place
Jesus gave us the Golden Rule. “As you would that others do unto you, do also to them.” It is only possible to do this when we thoughtfully pause and put ourselves in the other person’s place. It is not enough to say, “Well, I know what I would want done!” Sensitivity is required.
Joy In The Hidden Life
The life “hidden with Christ in God” cannot be about me. It cannot call attention to itself. It cannot exalt itself on a throne, because only One is worthy of the throne. It cannot be about accolades and honors. It can only be about humility, reverence and gratitude that I am one with Him.
Virtual Reality
Life has been moving toward virtual reality ever since the invention of motion pictures. Handheld devices have allowed us to escape further into an unreal world. Now new devices are moving us to a dangerous new level of virtual reality. The further we get from face to face relationships, and the further we get
The Rest of Faith
God provided a rest for His people after the Exodus; His goal was to get them there. They came right up to it and did not believe victory was possible; they failed to enter because of unbelief. There is promised victory and rest for believers. Expecting a life of repeated defeat ensures a life
Hospitality of the Heart
When someone enters your home you want to make them feel at ease and welcome. If you are a guest there can be certain things that make you feel uncomfortable, even unwelcome. Hospitality is a beautiful welcoming art. Jesus said He wants my heart to be His home, “If anyone loves me, he will
Sin’s Progression
Sin is progressive by its very nature. Once you yield to sin, it becomes easier to repeat the action the next time. Then it traps you. Sin is binding, addictive and dehumanizing. It wreaks havoc in the human personality. Sin is an intrusion into God’s good creation. As we rationalize our behavior, we begin
What We are Becoming
We become tomorrow what we live today. We only have today to be what He wants us to be. We only have this moment to invest in His service. Time does not wait for us, and it will not excuse us. I am building the character today that I will become tomorrow. I am
Rooted and Grounded
You can grow and bloom no more than your root system will support. You can’t grow without nourished roots. This is not about more knowledge but more love. Rooted in love requires that we examine what is feeding us and begin to get the weeds out. Weeds divert growing strength. The “Spirit in the
Mercy’s Cost
God chose a new course of action in the divine councils of the Holy Trinity after the flood; He declared that He would never again destroy man in this way. He chose mercy over wrath. The further expression of this resolve (regret/repentance) is that later, when He made a covenant with Abraham, it was
God Chose Mercy
God had declared the destruction of all mankind, “It repented God that he had made humankind”. Some say that this should be translated that God regretted making humans. It really does not matter, it all comes out in the same place concerning the new resolve and actions of God. God gave a rainbow. The
The Mercy of God
Without the mercy of God we do not even have a prayer. Because of the mercy of God we can pray with confidence. We can claim the promise, “Whoever comes to me, I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37). We can know that this mercy of God also makes the promise, “If
No Escape
We cannot escape the trials of life, its pain, unjust treatment, suffering, nor the hard work to deal with these things and become what we are meant to be. Life can be overwhelming; some try to escape, to deaden the pain. They run to alcohol, drugs, compulsive eating, gambling, workaholic, electronic devices, etc. We
Gentle to Yourself
Be gentle to yourself. It is hard to do, really hard. Most of us are not gentle with ourselves. How is it that we can be so kind and patient with the progress of others and be so overbearing with ourselves? We can be forgiving and understanding of others while condemning ourselves. We can
Earthquakes and Beauty
Creation is made up of delicately designed flowers to rugged cliffs and mountains. One is formed by careful design while the other was created by violent earthquakes. God has a way of taking what looks like destruction and bringing the spectacular out of it. God takes the earthquakes of our lives and makes beauty
Death to Life
The great preacher, Leonard Ravenhill, once said, “Jesus did not come to make bad men good; He came to make dead men live.” We spend a lot of time trying to make us good, promoting a better moral standard, a higher ethic. The way grace finds us is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians
Examine Your Own Self
Nothing shows us how far we need to go more than how we think or comment about the actions and the behavior of other people. God has not called us to be the ones that pronounce others guilty or innocent; it is not up to us to say how far short others are falling
Open the Door
Jesus said, "I stand at the door and knock.” We usually think of this being the door of Jesus’ initial entry into our heart. A pastor friend of mine, Rev. Emilio Menchu shared this insight, “Jesus is still knocking on all the doors that we have not yet opened to him." He wants to
Maturing Together
You are a part of my maturity and I am part of yours. Most of the time we do not know that it is happening. We would likely think it could not happen for this or that reason. Growth is about how we handle all of the relationships in our lives. The people we
Jesus, I Trust You
The most important thing we can do in every moment and every situation is to trust Jesus. Things and people have a way of edging into His spot, so we end up not trusting our Lord. In the middle of your confusion, uncertainty, oppression, temptation, flashbacks, weakness, grief, darkness, storms, etc., start saying “Jesus,