Leading people to a more intimate friendship with God
I am so inspired by the words penned by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21. In response to these verses, I can affirm with all my heart that Christ’s love compels me to give my heart and soul, everything I have, my all in all, to Him! I embrace the fact that no one …
You… must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. [12] Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. [13] Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death …
Continue reading ““O Wretched Man That I Am” — NOT! (Part 7: Sin Personified as a Defeated King)”
God’s new way is not to avoid the “nots”, but to do the “dos” The law has authority over a man only as long as he lives… [4]You… died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we …
Continue reading ““O Wretched Man That I Am” — NOT! (Part 1: Stop Obeying the Law)”
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” — John 3:17-18 (NIV) Jesus …
Continue reading “Neo, Morpheus, and the 2 Pills: How Much to Tell? (John 3:17-18)”
“I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” — John 3:3 (NIV) The term “born again” has probably been overused since it was popularized in the seventies. This verse is where the saying originates. Nicodemus, one of the religious leaders, came to Jesus at night …
Continue reading “You Need to Be Born Again, But That’s a Beginning, Not an End (John 3:3)”
In any long-term relationship, there are many occasions for disagreement, conflict, and hurt — things that can damage or end relationships. This is true of those following Jesus and those who have not yet started following Jesus. One might think that inside the family of people following Jesus there wouldn’t be conflict, since all of …
Let me get to the bottom line on what I share here: God wants you to do great things — with Him, NOT for Him. In the hours before he was arrested and ultimately crucified, Jesus spoke to his disciples about things that were both near to his heart and important for them to know …
Continue reading “Jesus Rejoices When We Bear Fruit, So Abide in Him and Dream Big”
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.” Philippians 2:5-7 (NIV1984) Jesus wasn’t your typical leader. He didn’t just tell you what to do, then …
One of my favorites Psalms is the 23rd Psalm. There are few verses in all of Scripture that speak more powerfully about the rich and abundant life that is found in a walk of intimacy with God. As you read the words of the first three verses, let them speak to your heart: The LORD …
The Church struggles in finding balance on many Biblical principles. One of the most important struggles relates to what I have called in brief the balance between the Law and the Flesh, but is perhaps better described as keeping the balance between the extreme of legalism on the one hand and selfish independence and licentiousness …
Continue reading “The Narrow Path Between the Law and the Flesh”