THEY HAD THE LIFE AND THE LIGHT
The church of Jesus Christ lacks spiritual authority in society because it lacks spirituality.
Why are our government leaders and the media so condescending to Christians? Why has the church lost all meaning and purpose in the worlds eyes? Why have ... read more
THEY NEVER OBEYED
The children of Israel loved to hear the powerful preaching of Ezekiel but they never obeyed it. "They come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth the ... read more
THIS IS A TEST
Take this test to see whether you have already taken the first steps toward hardness of heart.
1. How many times have you heard messages about the danger of neglecting daily prayer and Bible reading?
If you neglect your secret closet at home—if ... read more
Through It All
As Paul faced his court trial in Rome, he was held under horrible conditions (see Philippians 1:13-14). He was guarded around the clock by soldiers of the Praetorian guard, his feet chained to a soldier on either side. These men were crude, hardened, cu ... read more
TO DIE IS GAIN?
Paul said it: To die is gain (Philippians 1:21). That kind of talk is absolutely foreign to our modern spiritual vocabularies. We have become such life worshippers, that we have very little desire to depart to be with the Lord.
Paul said, I am in a ... read more
TO GOD BE ALL PRAISE AND GLORY
As I sat at my desk asking the Lord how I could bless you, I was moved simply to give you something from his Word.
I offer the following Scriptures, trusting that at least one of them will be a word just for you. I know God is faithful to send us a s ... read more
TO KNOW HIS VOICE
Those who truly know God have learned how to recognize his voice above all others. He wants you to be absolutely convinced that he desires to talk to youto tell you things youve never seen or heard before.
I believe that three things are required of ... read more
To Love God Is to Trust Him
“One of [the Pharisees], a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your ... read more
Today Is the Day for the Harvest
“[Jesus] said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest’” (Matthew 9:37-38).
Jesus declared, “The fields are ripe and the harvest ... read more
Train Your Ear to Hear Christ’s Voice
God still speaks to his people today. And he speaks as clearly as he did in the Old Testament, or to the apostles, or to the early church. Yet we must realize one thing: God chooses to speak only to those who have ears to hear.
Mark tells us Christ “ ... read more
TRIUMPHANT CHURCH
There is a triumphant church rising up even now, coming out of great trials of faith.
This last-days church is emerging from fiery furnaces and long days of affliction. So, you ask, what does God plan to do?
What I see happening is the Holy Spirit ... read more
True Believers Holding On
The New Testament church was born in a blaze of glory. The Holy Spirit came down upon it with fire, and the first Christians spoke with tongues and prophesied. The fear of God fell upon them and upon all who saw them, and multitudes were converted. It was ... read more
TRUE COMMUNION
Many Christians talk about intimacy with the Lord, walking with him, knowing him, having fellowship with him. But we cant have true communion with God unless we receive into our hearts the full revelation of his love, grace and mercy.
Communion with G ... read more
TRUE GRACE
Let me give you the heart of the true grace message: It is not a permissive gospel but one that teaches holiness!
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we shou ... read more
Trust Your Request in God's Care
One of the reasons our prayers might not be answered is because we attempt to prescribe how God should answer them. And that all boils down to a lack of trust. The believing soul, after he has unburdened his heart in prayer to the Lord, resigns himself to ... read more
Trusting God With All Our Tomorrows
The Lord appeared to Abraham and gave him an incredible command: âGet out of your country, from your family and from your fatherâs house, to a land that I will show youâ (Genesis 12:1).
How amazing! Suddenly, God picked out a man and told him, â ... read more
Two Guidelines for Dependence on God
There is no formula for living wholly dependent on the Lord, but there are simple guidelines that you can consider. First, be convinced that the Lord is anxious and willing to make his will known to you, even in the smaller details of your life. The Holy ... read more
TWO KINDS OF LOVE
The Father has two kinds of love: a general love for all sinners and a special love for all who are in His family. Gods general love for mankind can be embraced by anyone who comes to Him in repentance. But Gods heart is also filled with another kind of ... read more
Two Pillars of Peace
“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You … In the way of Your judgments, O Lord, we have waited for You; the desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You” (Isaiah 26:3, 8).
W ... read more
UNDEFILED IN THE MIDST OF WICKEDNESS
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the kings meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might defile himself (Daniel 1:8).
The word defile he ... read more
UNDER THE RULE OF GRACE
The prodigal son needed what the apostle Paul calls the renewing of the mind. I love reading these words from the parable: But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his ... read more
Unshakeable Confidence in God
Most Christians are familiar with this verse: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). We see here that our high priest, Jesus, feels our suf ... read more
UNTO THE FURTHERANCE OF THE GOSPEL
"I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out [turned out] rather unto the furtherance of the gospel" (Philippians 1:12).
In this verse, Paul tells the Christians in Philippi not to worry about all the ... read more
Vessels of God’s Glory
God has not forgotten you! He knows exactly where you are, what you are going through right now, and he is monitoring every step along your path. Too often in times of crisis, Christians forget that God has them in the palm of his hand. Instead, like the ... read more
VICTORY OVER YOUR BESETTING SIN
Sin causes Christians to become craven cowards who live in humiliating defeat. They cant stand up with courage against sin because of the secret sin in their own lives. They excuse the sins of others because of the disobedience in their own hearts and th ... read more
Waiting on the Lord for Direction
God speaks to his people by his Spirit and he makes his voice clear to us: “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’ Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).
Som ... read more
WALK AS A NEW MAN
You know the story. A young man took his portion of his fathers inheritance and squandered it on riotous living. He ended up broken, ruined in health and spirit, and at his lowest point he decided to return to his father. Scripture tells us, He arose, ... read more
Walking in Marvelous Freedom
The foundational truth of Christianity is justification by faith. You will never know true rest and peace until you are convinced that your own works of righteousness can never make you right in God’s eyes. You may feel good because of the good works y ... read more
WALKING IN THE GLORY
One thing that can keep us going in the coming hard times is an understanding of Gods glory. Now, this may sound like a high, lofty concept to you, one thats best left to theologians. But Im convinced the subject of Gods glory has very real, practic ... read more
Walking in the Spirit
The apostle Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). He also said, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (5:25).
Walking in the Spirit is simply allowing the Holy Sp ... read more
Walking in Your Destiny
Destiny, in simple terms, is God’s purpose for your life. It is your appointed or ordained future. We read of many godly men and women in Scripture whom God chose for a destined work or ministry but they ended up aborting his plan. They started out righ ... read more
WALKING WITH GOD
Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:24). The original Hebrew meaning for walked implies that Enoch went up and down, in and out, to and fro, arm in arm with God, continually conversing with him and growing closer to him. Enoch lived 365 yearsor, a year ... read more
WE ARE FAMILY
Claiming the power that is in Christs name is not some complicated, hidden theological truth. In my library are books written solely on the subject of Jesus name. The authors wrote them to help believers understand the deep implications hidden in Chri ... read more
WE ARE NOT WITHOUT HOPE
We who know Christs righteousness are not to live as those who are without hope. We have been blessed with both the love and the fear of God. And his will for us in the darkest, most terrible times is to obtain his joy and gladness. Even as we see judgme ... read more
We Become What We Behold
Stephen saw an open heaven and a glorified Man on the throne whose glory was mirrored in him to all who stood nearby. “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and sa ... read more
WE EXALT THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!
Somebody reading this needs a touch from Jesus. When the Lord ministered here on earth, he went about healing and restoring the afflicted by simply touching them. When Jesus touched Peters mother, the fever left her. He touched the box casket of a d ... read more
We Know Joy Because of Jesus
The psalmist writes of a glorious secret to enjoying a fulfilled, joyful life: “Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance” (Psalm 89:15). The Hebrew meaning of this verse suggests, “Those w ... read more
WE MUST ALLOW HIM TO SPEAK TO US
Elijah exercised the power of prayer. He closed and opened the heavens, called down fire, and parted waters with his mantle. A man of action who brought entire governments under his spell, he stood on Mt. Carmel and mocked the prophets of Baal, killin ... read more
WE MUST TAKE GOD AT HIS WORD
"The Lord said . . . the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and . . . their sin is very grievous" (Genesis 18:20). We all love to hear about God's mercy, grace and longsuffering. But we do not want to face the fact that someday soon He will come against ... read more
WE RECEIVE ALL THE BENEFITS
God gave His Son, the Son gave His life, and we receive all the benefits!
By mutual consent, the Father and Son made a covenant to keep and preserve the seed of Christ. It is meant to ensure that we will endure to the end.
He shall cry to Me, You ... read more
We Serve a Righteous King
The Lord rules over all of creation with majesty and power. His laws govern the whole universe — all of nature, every nation, and all the affairs of men. He rules over the seas, the planets, the heavenly bodies and all their movements.
“He rules by ... read more
We Will Behold Jesus
Heaven! The promise of heaven is at the very core of the gospel, yet we do not hear much on this joyful subject these days. In fact, the Bible does not say much about what heaven is like. Jesus did not sit down with the disciples and explain the glory and ... read more
We Will Behold Jesus
Heaven! The promise of heaven is at the very core of the gospel, yet we do not hear much on this joyful subject these days. In fact, the Bible does not say much about what heaven is like. Jesus did not sit down with the disciples and explain the glory and ... read more
WE WILL GIVE OURSELVES TO PRAYER
In the first-century church at Jerusalem, the Greek widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. Naturally, they sought the help of the leaders in the church.
The apostles did not feel right about giving up their study of God's Word ... read more
What Breaks the Heart of God
Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus even though he knew he would soon raise him to life again. After all, he had come to Bethany expressly for this purpose. “Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, ‘See how He loved him!’ And some of them said, ‘Could not t ... read more
What Directs Your Life?
Christians today live in a time of great light. The Holy Spirit has revealed to us the powerful meaning of Jesus’ work on the cross, and the incredible blessings this means to our lives. Yet there was a time when Christ’s wonderful work was obscured f ... read more
What Do You Do When You’re Overwhelmed?
The subject of giving thanks came to me during a time of great personal heaviness. So many problems were piling up that I blurted out to my wife, “I’ve about had it. I’m at the end of my rope and I just want to disappear!”
Feeling very sorry fo ... read more
What Does Loving Jesus Look Like?
“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).
Ask any Christian, “Do you love Jesus?” and he will answer, “Absolutely — yes!” But words alone will not stand in the holy light of God’ ... read more
WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SPIRITUAL GROWTH
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth (2 Thessalonians 1:3).
What a great compliment Paul paid the Thessal ... read more
What Happens When Unbelief Sets In?
“Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, a ... read more
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