Why Would a Christian Need Grace?
A great many Christians today think that grace only has to do with gettng saved — Grace is when God forgives our sin and makes us a child of God. True enough. But that is only the beginning! Grace is everything God does in us and for us that...
Can God Get Hurt?
It would be difficult to read Hosea and not come away with the impression that God was feeling a lot like a husband whose wife was cheating on him with everyone she could find. He had given Israel everything — their land, their produce, their wealth — and they...
Why Love Can Heal Our Soul
All throughout the New Testament, God's incredible love for us is demonstrated over and over. "For God so loved the world…" that He came here to live among us, reveal His heart to us, and do for us what we could never do for ourselves. That is love. When...
Paul’s Resilience
"I want you to know that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel." (Phil.1:12) OK, let me get this straight — your imprisonment, being shackled, accused, in danger of execution, unable to continue your earlier calling to establish new churches, and your isolation —...
Real Knowledge
"And this I pray — that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment" (Phil.1:9). When Paul speaks of knowledge in this way, he is not talking about information. He means that kind of knowing that comes from experience, as in knowing a...
He Who Began a Good Work
"Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a god work in you will continue to perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil.1:6). We begin the Christian life by coming to God and letting Him do for us what we cannot do. We continue to...
He Will Hide Me In His Shelter
"For in the day of trouble he will hide me in his shelter" (Ps.27:5). Every once in a while I need to feel more safe than I do. My fears creep in like an unwanted weedy vine, and I begin to feel uneasy, then anxious, and finally downright afraid....
Christ In You
Jesus said He would abide with us, and He and His Father would make their home in us. Why in? What wasn't alongside close enough? Ever wonder about that? Jesus wanted to be more than our Mentor, Friend, and Lord — though He intends to be all of those things to...
The Importance of Movement
In Peter's second letter, he makes an important statement about continuous growth: "If these characteristics are in you and continuously increasing, you will become effective and fruitful in your experiential knowledge of Christ" (2Pet.1:8, paraphrased)....
Heartfelt Intercession
To be perfectly honest, most of the time when I pray for others, my prayer often takes less than a minute. I pray for what seems important and make it as simple and succinct as possible. But today I tried something different. Feeling led to spend more than just...