Faith over fear

When athletes have the privilege of representing their countries in the Olympic Games, they agree in advance to play by the rules. This includes an anti-doping code. If athletes test positive for performance-enhancing drugs, even after they’ve won a medal, it will result in their disqualification because they didn’t play by the rules. In the same way, God gave us rules to live by. And if we don’t...

Jesus—and Jesus alone—is uniquely qualified to connect us with the Father in Heaven.

If anyone could ever say “Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt,” it was Solomon. He was the hedonist extraordinaire. He went after everything the world had to offer.

Maybe you’ve come through a fiery trial in the past year, or maybe you will have a fiery trial in the coming year. But know this: Jesus will walk with you through it. You will not be alone.

Sadly, people will disappoint. People will let us down. But we have a friend who never will betray our confidence. We have a friend to whom we can bare our secrets and who also will declare His secrets to us. We have the ultimate friend in Jesus Christ.

The same Jesus who was born in Bethlehem and lived a perfect life voluntarily went to a cross and died for the sins of the world. Then He rose from the dead. That is the gift that God offers us. It’s the gift of eternal life. We have a Savior. We have a Messiah. And we have a Lord. That is all we need to have a joyful Christmas.

It’s ironic that sometimes in all the busyness of Christmas, we can be ready for the season to be over. The theme of Christmas is joy. That’s certainly what we find in the pages of the Bible. Part of the problem is that we try to find joy and happiness in Christmas when we really need to find joy and happiness in Christ. There is a big difference.

Because of the Father’s love, whoever takes the Son gets it all. God demonstrated His love by giving us the most important gift of all: the gift of His Son.

There are a lot of people today. They want Jesus, but they want Him on their terms. They want the kind of Jesus whom they can control, the kind of Jesus who won’t challenge them.

Eventually we must start thinking for ourselves. We must recognize that nothing this world has to offer us will fill the void in our lives that was created to be filled by God Himself. No experience, no possession, and no accomplishment will fill it. Not even religion or morality will fill it. What we need is Jesus.

God sent His Son to die on the cross and rise again from the dead so that we could live life to its fullest on earth and then live forever in eternity in Heaven. It is the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That is the real gift of Christmas that we all need.

Jesus humbled Himself and walked this earth and breathed our air and lived our life. And then He died our death. We have a God in Heaven who understands what it’s like to walk through this life. He literally felt our pain. And He went through all of this for us.

We want to know the perfect will of God. But God is saying, “Submit yourself to Me, and I will tell you. First, give yourself over to Me.” Mary did that. She submitted her will to God.

It seems that God goes out of His way to choose the most unexpected people to accomplish His plans. The Bible is filled with examples of the most ordinary individuals being chosen by God to do the most extraordinary things.

Do you know Jesus in a real and personal way? Nothing this world has to offer will fill the void inside us because we were created to know God. Only Jesus can give you a life that is worth living and the absolute assurance that when you die, you will go to Heaven.

To us, Christmas represents the entrance of Jesus to Earth. For God, it meant the departure of His Son from Heaven. “A child is born to us.” That is Earth’s perspective. “A son is given to us.” That is Heaven’s perspective.

God is still looking for people to stand in the gap today to pray and proclaim His Word.

If you’ve ever played the game of Monopoly, then you’ve seen the various strategies people use to win. Some people buy every piece of property on the board and hope to put their opponents out of business. Others save up, hoping they’ll land on green or blue so they can buy up Boardwalk and Park Place and put hotels on them. They can make a lot of money that way. But when the game ends, so do their...

Jesus said of His church, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless” (Matthew 5:13 NLT).

Nothing makes us more uncertain and insecure than not being sure we are in the will of God. And nothing is more encouraging than knowing for sure that we are. Then, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what happens, we can stand fast.

As you think about your own life, what type of person are you right now, and what type of person do you want to be? I know correction is not always an easy pill to swallow, but it’s better to struggle with swallowing the pill than to be declared stupid. As I said earlier, rarely has that word ever been used in a positive light. “Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity.” – Rick Rig...

Since the Fall of Man in the Book of Genesis, our world has become replete with all kinds of foul and evil deeds. The limits of sin are only the limits of human imagination. And with our propensity to do wrong comes temptation, the temptation to commit new sins or to return to something familiar. Jesus experienced temptation in the desert when Satan tested Him and even offered Him all the kingdoms...

So many of us long to grow in our trust in the Lord. It does not always come easily to us. When difficulties and unknowns surround us, our minds can race, and our hearts can pound. However, there is peace waiting for us at all times found in the Holy Spirit. One of the fruits that He offers in our lives is peace. When we are afraid, we are invited to put our trust in God. Notice the action word pu...

The image of God given to us through Scripture illustrates an ever-pursuant and always-loving deity. If neither mortality, time nor sin can separate us from His love, then who or what possesses such an ability? The answer is nothing. Why do we find ourselves time and time questioning that love? We ask, “Where are you in this?” or “Why haven’t things changed?” because we genuinely feel abandoned. W...

Today, we face the constant temptation of mixing our yes and no, all in an effort not to offend, get along, and make peace. We strive to stay on everyone's good side and stray away from saying anything that would be considered "judging." Not only does Scripture make judgments and call us to do the same, but Scripture admonishes us to make honest judgments. We call a spade a spade, a woman a woman,...