Self-denial isn’t something we really like to talk about. Our enemy has convinced us to fear it, so we naturally resist it. But he has a reason for influencing us toward self-preservation. If we do not diligently—purposefully—resolve to deny our flesh, we will end up denying Christ.
I wonder if you’ve noticed that the harder you try not to do something, the more you want to. Anyone who’s ever tried to diet knows what I’m talking about. The more we tell our flesh it can’t have something, the stronger its insistence that we need it.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 I grew up in Bible-believing, Baptist churches. They taught me that the words etched on the pages of Scripture set the foundation on which I should live. I learned that obeying those words pleases God and earns His blessing. The other half of that […]
And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” Genesis 37:33 On March 7, 2020, my husband and I boarded a plane for an island in the Caribbean to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Some dear friends joined us for their 30th, and we enjoyed […]
…holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. Colossians 1:19 We live in a world gone mad. Accusation and judgment hang in the air around us, dividing and isolating us from one another as we submit […]
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Psalm 23:5 You and I have a natural desire to run from danger. We’d rather our enemies stay at a nice safe distance, preferably out of sight where we can convince ourselves they don’t exist. And we […]
He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:19 It’s amazing how God can be so intimately personal, even in a crowd. Last year I attended a conference with a few leaders from my local church. The invitation had come in a season of tremendous weariness […]
For many, God’s love remains a theory. We’ve heard about it. We quote Scriptures about it. We may even try to will ourselves to believe in it. But John invites us to move beyond blind faith in God’s love. He challenges us to see it.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24 We all long for love, and we think we understand it. We’ve felt its pull binding our hearts to another and think we know. We […]
And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”Mark 11:9-10 We come alive in pivotal moments. Our souls sense the rise of a changing tide and are quick to […]
