The ability to keep your eye on the prize and live in JOY through the midst of trials is an indicator of the purity and the quality of your faith. ...
Our salvation is not "manufactured by man" but by God. And the same thing is true of the hope we’re talking about. I’m not encouraging you to start thinking optimistic thoughts; I’m inviting you to step into something GOD has created....
Another way living hope is described is as a guaranteed future. He points to two dimensions of the guarantee – He keeps an inheritance safe for us, and He protects us so that we can receive the inheritance He has for us....
The picture of an anchor points to something that gives stability in times of shaking or trouble. To anchor the soul means that our souls – our heart, our minds, our emotions – have a source of stability. And that source of stability is the hope we have. And this is where we get into the content of that hope: it is a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain. ...
Biblical hope is the joyful, confident anticipation and expectation of something that is certain; specifically, the joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation. In other words, God wants us to live with confident certainty that He is going to keep his promise to us. ...
2020 was a hard year. Will 2021 be better? The prophets teach us how to think about the new year. ...
We live in an unprecedented time of change; in Joshua 1 we learn principles for moving forward in God's purpose even when the future is uncertain....
Feeling beset by enemies inside and out, David reminds us in Psalm 144 that God is the God of all provision, the God of more than enough, the God who provides everything we need to not only survive - but thrive - and to enjoy his blessing....
It is not a political statement to affirm that there is no room for racism; this is a non-negotiable tenet of God's kingdom....
Mary teaches us by example, and Jesus by his words, of the priority of listening to God....
Following Jesus in times of turbulence draws us to trust God more....
The gospel is more than justification, but it is never less than God's declaration of 'not guilty' to sinners who repent and believe....
We continue to equip people from across Europe with theological foundations and practical ministry skills to be effective leaders for God's harvest in Europe....
God's grace not only takes us to the mountain peaks but sustains through times of darkness and difficulty....
As Christ's body, we share a vital life-link with Jesus, our head. It is through the gospel and by his Spirit that we come to share in his life....
Seeing the dream is the first step to living the dream God has for us....
To live a life of significance and pleasing to God, Grace is the best coach you will ever have....
As we launch into a new year and a new decade, the Lord offers vision correction to help us see from his perspective....
God's grace is more than amazing, more than beautiful, and more than sufficient to accomplish all the good God intends to bring into our lives. It's much, much more than you realised....
This beautiful and familiar hymn by Charles Wesley, amended by George Whitefield, is packed with solid truth to enrich our understanding of Christmas....
God invites us to breakthrough the barriers that prevent us from experiencing all the blessing he has for us....
If we can recognise the identity of the baby born in Bethlehem, we can be rightly aligned to God by enthroning Jesus as our Lord and King....
God's promises are worth waiting for, but waiting can be hard work. Keeping our eye on the prize makes it easier....
An up and down emotional life can be unhealthy, but there is a kind of up and down rhythm to following Jesus important for living life well....
Evaluting the price Jesus asks us to pay in light of the promised pay out....
Jesus doesn't leave us alone, and he doesn't leave us where we are. He has purpose, destiny, and intention for our lives, but to get there, we have to go through storms....
Jesus uses the metaphor of light explain the impact in our lives of hearing God's word well...
God's kingdom grows in our lives as his word takes root and bears fruit....
Like God's people giving thanks for deliverance from Egypt and turning to enter the promised land, we celebrate what God has done but extend our faith for the future God has for us....
It is impossible to have a neutral attitude towards Jesus: either we remain the managing director of our own life, or we recognise him for who he is, and submit to him - the King of kings and the Lord of lords....
We all like being praised for our accomplishments; Jesus offers us a unique kind of commendation....
Jesus teaches us how to build strong lives that, like well-built structures, don't collapse when storms rage against them....
Jesus invites us to a beautiful life by understanding the power of reciprocity: what we throw at others comes back to hit us on the head....
Jesus invites us to invite the ways of the kingdom as we represent God to the world....
Jesus inducts his followers into apprenticeship by teaching them to live with eternal perspective....
God is a father who loves us enough to search until he finds us. And when he finds us, he throws a really big party....
In a world marked by pain and suffering, God has given us the greatest gift; in Christ, God answers our most fundamental issue....
In giving us a mission to go to the ends of the earth with the gospel, Jesus hasn't left us alone: the Holy Spirit empowers us to complete the Father's mission....
It may come as a surprise, but Jesus made a point of going to parties. We may think of Jesus as an emaciated desert wanderer who spoke in chapter and verse, but in truth, he was the hot ticket item in the Galilee social scene. This meant he got party invitations, but when he showed up, it was a party with a difference....
When we are willing to trade our dignity for desperation to experience all God has for us, good things happen....
To hit the target, we need to know the target. If we listen to Jesus, he's crystal clear on what that target is....
We can run, but we can't hide; we will all have an encounter with God, and he invites us to get ready....
When Jesus finally speaks in Luke's gospel, his first words teach us about his identity....
When we believe the story of His Son we step into the destiny God created for us....
The resurrection of Jesus marks the launch of his mission to the world. ...
Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem drew praise from his disciples and reminds us that He is worthy of all the praise we can give him...
The fellowship of faith sparks songs of faith that empower a life of faith....
Word's spoken by John's father at his dedication give us insight into an amazing destiny - both his and ours...
The manger of Jesus' birth illustrates the extremes God went to for our salvation: He identified with our poverty that we might share his glory....
By building our lives on the promises of God we are positioned for the future - whatever it brings....
We are touching the nations of Europe with the gospel through equipping leaders at our school of ministry....
We live in an age in which skepticism is applauded; the Lord invites us to trust him fully....
Zechariah and Elizabeth were both faithful and fruitless; God fulfilled their personal dreams for his big picture purposes....
Jesus teaches us that 'all things are possible for him who believes'; the circumstances surrounding his birth illustrate this...
The life of faith is not just floating downstream, it is a swim of destiny against a cultural flow perpetually pushing against us. But it's worth it....
Faith and faithfulness in following Jesus produces more than victorious outcomes, it also sustains us victoriously through moments of darkness and challenging circumstances....
Abraham's life was rooted in God's promise even when we lived as man without roots; by inhabiting God's promises, our lives become marked with the substance of eternity....
How do we walk with God on a daily basis? Lessons from Adam, Enoch, and Jesus help us enjoy the Lord in the mundane details of life....
From Abraham we learn that we can trust God even when we don't know how things are going to turn out....
By keeping our eyes on Jesus, we can endure the difficulties of life and thrive in faith....
God invites us to extend faith to experience his presence and walk in his purposes in 2019....
God in Christ gave a gift that not only answered the need of those alive when he was born, but a gift that had been promised many centuries before, a gift we need today more than ever before....
Mathew's introduction to the Christmas story makes one big point: it all adds up to Christ....
Matthew intentionally places women in the genealogy of Jesus to highlight the fact that everyone is invited to God's BIG BIG Party....
God has always been with his people; in Christ, God is with us in a unique, personal way....
The Lord uses the proactive participation of his people to build his purposes on planet earth....
Our Lord promises to restore our souls with green pastures and still waters: He also refreshes us with his people....
Do you ever feel like you're caught up in circumstances way too big for you? That's when we need to remember that God has wrapped our lives with purpose and destiny....
What does it mean to be a friend of God? Thankfully, Jesus doesn't leave us in the dark; he explains in clear detail all that's involved in friendship with him....
Few forces are as powerful for the human soul as encouragement. We need encouragement because we are highly susceptible to discouragement. How can we win the battle over discouragement?...
How does our thought life determine our destiny? How do we live faithfully as God's people in a society whose reality excludes his relevance? Daniel's example in Babylon teaches us how to think correctly and live faithfully in a society increasingly out of step with God's Word....
When we walk through fiery tests and trials, we're not alone - the Lord is right there with us....
As we look at the world without and the world within, we often have the feeling that things are not as they should be. The good news is that God promises to fix it all, abolish evil, and establish righteousness....
God wants you to prosper. But what does that look like? What does it take? The Lord invites us to a life of flourishing, planted in his house with his people...
God builds us together into a championship team to fulfil his purpose on the earth today....
God excels in accomplishing big things from small beginnings. What began with a tiny outreach in L'viv is now bearing fruit all over Europe....
God's promise to Joel that he would pour out his Spirit was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in powerful way....
We all have something, and if we use what we've got, we feel fulfilled, but more importantly, the kingdom of God advances....
What would it look like to be filled with an abundance of peace? Jesus invites us to live anxiety-free lives while pursuing the kingdom of God....
It's one thing to guarantee a victory in football. It's another thing to guarantee a resurrection. ...
Kings 17 and 18 tells the story of Elijah's confrontation with Ahab. When Elijah announced, 'it's not going to rain until I say so, he wasn't simply making weather predictions; he was asserting God's authority, declaring that God is really God, and reminding the Israelites that wannabe-false-pretender-not really god they were worshipping wasn't. Elijah's victory, however, left him open to a threat....
When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon and saw his house, she thought, 'Solomon's great!' When people encounter us, we want them to think, 'God's great!'...
The gratitude of Thanksgiving quickly turns to the anticipation of Christmas; as we approach the celebration of the Incarnation, deep appreciation for God’s incredible mercy fills our hearts. I have been reflecting on the introduction to the Christmas story in Matthew, with Acts, and 2nd Samuel informing this text....
In one of her biggest hit songs, Bette Midler sings that God is watching us from a distance. It's a beautiful song, except that it's not true. God's not watching from a distance; he is personally engaged in the details of our lives....
By unveiling the glory of Jesus, the Father got the attention of the disciples so they would listen to him....
God seats us in Christ in the heavenly places, but we often forget who we are and spend our time pecking around with an earth-based perspective....
Weddings happen all over the world, every day. But it's not every day that my own daughter gets married. We just returned from Nagoya, Japan, where my oldest daughter Julia married Kazuyoshi Matsumoto. Here's the story behind the story, followed by some reflections from a fatherly perspective. ...
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