Anderson Hills

The apostle Paul taught us that there are two different mindsets that we can have in our approach to God—we can approach Him as slaves in bondage or as adopted children. The Bible presents a high view of adoption and uses it to parallel the relationship God wants to have with us. The spirit of slavery views God as a slave owner and we are His trembling subjects. The spirit of adoption views God as...

The apostle Paul taught us that there are two different mindsets that we can have in our approach to God—we can approach Him as slaves in bondage or as adopted children. The Bible presents a high view of adoption and uses it to parallel the relationship God wants to have with us. The spirit of slavery views God as a slave owner and we are His trembling subjects. The spirit of adoption views God as...

The Holy Spirit empowers Christians in their walk with the Lord. First and foremost, He empowers us to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ, giving us boldness to testify about Him in situations where we would normally be fearful or timid. The Holy Spirit also empowers us to live a godly life. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, there is less of us— of our wants, our desires, our sins, and...

The Holy Spirit empowers Christians in their walk with the Lord. First and foremost, He empowers us to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ, giving us boldness to testify about Him in situations where we would normally be fearful or timid. The Holy Spirit also empowers us to live a godly life. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, there is less of us— of our wants, our desires, our sins, and...

In the book of Acts, God brought revival through the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Power came upon the apostles and they came pouring out into the streets, speaking in other languages, with small visible flames of fire floating above their heads. It was an incredible miracle, and it was the start of a massive revival among Jewish people who would come to know that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Reviv...

In the book of Acts, God brought revival through the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Power came upon the apostles and they came pouring out into the streets, speaking in other languages, with small visible flames of fire floating above their heads. It was an incredible miracle, and it was the start of a massive revival among Jewish people who would come to know that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Reviv...

The Christian life is a blessing, but without an understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, it can feel more like a burden. The secret to a blessed Christian life is being filled with the Holy Spirit. Having a Spirit-filled life is a command from God to obey, as well as a blessing to enjoy. Living life in the Spirit is also our obligation as Christians, because on our own we do not have the...

The Christian life is a blessing, but without an understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, it can feel more like a burden. The secret to a blessed Christian life is being filled with the Holy Spirit. Having a Spirit-filled life is a command from God to obey, as well as a blessing to enjoy. Living life in the Spirit is also our obligation as Christians, because on our own we do not have the...

Jesus never intended for His followers to be passive observers of His victory over death. He intended for His victory over death to bring His followers back to life, a new and better life. The word that best describes this moment of new life is surrender. The tomb is empty so that we do not have to live empty lives. The resurrected Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples, even walked along side of...

Jesus never intended for His followers to be passive observers of His victory over death. He intended for His victory over death to bring His followers back to life, a new and better life. The word that best describes this moment of new life is surrender. The tomb is empty so that we do not have to live empty lives. The resurrected Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples, even walked along side of...

The Holy Spirit is the One who dwells in us, guides us, and convicts us of sin. We could not live a holy life without His power. However, we cannot experience His power without totally yielding to Him. From the moment of spiritual birth, the Holy Spirit indwells, or resides in, every Christian. But to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, we must, as an act of our wills, completely surrender our lives...

The Holy Spirit is the One who dwells in us, guides us, and convicts us of sin. We could not live a holy life without His power. However, we cannot experience His power without totally yielding to Him. From the moment of spiritual birth, the Holy Spirit indwells, or resides in, every Christian. But to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, we must, as an act of our wills, completely surrender our lives...

Jesus gives us a brilliant picture of what it looks like when people on earth live in abiding trust and dependence on an unseen God who is in heaven. The image of a vineyard overflowing with grapes is the metaphor Jesus chooses to talk about how His disciples must depend on Him. Dependence is the fruit of trust. Do you trust Jesus enough to surrender to Him as Lord? If Jesus is Lord, what kind of...

Jesus gives us a brilliant picture of what it looks like when people on earth live in abiding trust and dependence on an unseen God who is in heaven. The image of a vineyard overflowing with grapes is the metaphor Jesus chooses to talk about how His disciples must depend on Him. Dependence is the fruit of trust. Do you trust Jesus enough to surrender to Him as Lord? If Jesus is Lord, what kind of...

The rich young man, wanting to know how to inherit eternal life, was given an answer that he could not accept. While giving up all material possessions is not normative for every person, full surrender is expected of every person. We want surrender on our own terms, but that is not how it works. There has never been a harder time for the church to hear these verses, as we have more material things...

The rich young man, wanting to know how to inherit eternal life, was given an answer that he could not accept. While giving up all material possessions is not normative for every person, full surrender is expected of every person. We want surrender on our own terms, but that is not how it works. There has never been a harder time for the church to hear these verses, as we have more material things...

In John 14, Jesus shares with His disciples the important truths of who He is, the great work that they will do, and the help He will give them. When the disciples truly believe and embrace these truths, they will see Jesus for who He is as God in the flesh. They will see that the greatest work they can do is sharing the Gospel message and bringing others to belief in Jesus. They will also see tha...

Jesus was tenderly preparing the disciples for His death. He was going to leave them, and though they could not journey with Him, the door was open for them to follow and be with Him again. The new commandment He gave them may not have seemed new —it was a commonplace principle based on the Law. So what made it new? The new commandment was not the Law but one of grace. It was based on the establis...

Jesus was tenderly preparing the disciples for His death. He was going to leave them, and though they could not journey with Him, the door was open for them to follow and be with Him again. The new commandment He gave them may not have seemed new —it was a commonplace principle based on the Law. So what made it new? The new commandment was not the Law but one of grace. It was based on the establis...

Jesus was tenderly preparing the disciples for His death. He was going to leave them, and though they could not journey with Him, the door was open for them to follow and be with Him again. The new commandment He gave them may not have seemed new —it was a commonplace principle based on the Law. So what made it new? The new commandment was not the Law but one of grace. It was based on the establis...

Jesus was tenderly preparing the disciples for His death. He was going to leave them, and though they could not journey with Him, the door was open for them to follow and be with Him again. The new commandment He gave them may not have seemed new —it was a commonplace principle based on the Law. So what made it new? The new commandment was not the Law but one of grace. It was based on the establis...

All too often we pray safe prayers like, “God bless me.” Or “God, guide me.” These are safe in that no matter what happens, our confidence in God remains unchallenged. God desires for us to pray prayers that are life-altering and soul-shaping, the kind of prayers that wreck our lives in a good way to make us more like Christ and draw us to closer intimacy with God. One such prayer was prayed by th...

All too often we pray safe prayers like, “God bless me.” Or “God, guide me.” These are safe in that no matter what happens, our confidence in God remains unchallenged. God desires for us to pray prayers that are life-altering and soul-shaping, the kind of prayers that wreck our lives in a good way to make us more like Christ and draw us to closer intimacy with God. One such prayer was prayed by th...

David prayed, "Search me, God, see if there's "any offensive way” in me." When you pray that kind of prayer, God is going to show you things that have to go so that He can reclaim your heart, these things that you’ve allowed that have not only captured your heart, but have created a stronghold in your mind. A stronghold is considered a thought or behavior that is not pleasing to the Lord that you...

David prayed, "Search me, God, see if there's "any offensive way” in me." When you pray that kind of prayer, God is going to show you things that have to go so that He can reclaim your heart, these things that you’ve allowed that have not only captured your heart, but have created a stronghold in your mind. A stronghold is considered a thought or behavior that is not pleasing to the Lord that you...