The Hope of the Gospel

The Hope of the Gospel

What is the hope of the gospel of Christ? The hope of the gospel is not about living your best life now. It’s not about health, wealth, peace, and prosperity. It’s not even about friendship and fellowship. It’s not about this life, this planet, or this physical body. If the hope of the gospel is…

The Truth

The Truth

The expression “My truth” is a point of view. It is an assertion rejecting reality. It is a means of trying to have things our own way. “My truth” is an offspring of humanism.  It is a declaration that our observation is the only thing that matters. It closes the door to further discussion and…

Discover the power of "decent exposure." Learn how honesty, courage, and exposure can lead to self-improvement and spiritual growth.

Decent Exposure

Exposure is the experience of or contact with something. It could be a physical element or a social association. It is usually not a friendly term. Exposure is often used to articulate something bad or excessive such as radiation exposure, over or under-exposure, or even indecent exposure (something lewd, immodest, or criminal). But we want…

Satisfaction in completing tasks mimics God's satisfaction in His creation. Sin defiles what God made, separates us from Him, and damages us.

We Are His Workmanship

Have you ever completed a task, reached a goal, or built something you looked back upon with some satisfaction? Not a feeling of pride or lifting yourself up but just a feeling of satisfaction. Maybe it’s part of your home that you renovated or improved. It could be an object that you built or sewed….

Sympathy is an easily manipulated impulse. Christians must navigate compassion without compromising truth or accepting sin.

Playing the Sympathy Card

God’s word endorses mercy, as Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). The prophet Hosea wrote that God desires “mercy, and not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6), which Jesus echoed (Matthew 12:7). The Lord wants mercy more than rituals performed by worshipers. James warns us that “judgment is without mercy to…

We create stumbling blocks when we give little-to-no thought to how our words and actions impact our fellow Christians.

Stumbling Blocks

Everybody likes to be encouraged. The feelings that come from being encouraged can often last a lifetime.  It is not uncommon for people who have lived a good long life to happily remember back to an encourager that they knew when they were a child.  Encouragement makes an impact.  It is also looked on very…

Smyrna's Christians faced intense trials and persecution for their faith. Will the church of today take to heart their example?

Smyrna’s Crown

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, “These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue…

"A Mustard Seed" encourages Christians to trust in God when we are confronted with difficult trials. A little bit of faith goes a long way.

A Mustard Seed

And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:5-6). The mustard seed was the smallest seed…

"Commandments of Men" warns Christians about the dangers of creating rules and laws for ourselves rather than listening to Scripture only.

Commandments of Men

One sure way to offend the Creator is to start creating laws for Him. Jesus said in Matthew 15:8-9, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Traditions…