Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell

There are many controversial issues in which it really doesn’t matter if you or I are wrong. It would be nice to be right, but if we’re wrong there is no great price to pay. But there are a few topics in which what you or I decide is a matter of life or death. On these we must be right, or at least as right as we know how to be. On these we can’t afford to let others do our thinking for us.  Most...

Jesus invited everyone who is thirsty to come to Him and drink, but who is thirsty—thirsty for God, that is? You might think the answer is everyone, but that’s not so. Everyone should be, but only some are. Spiritual thirst is the longing for more of God, not God’s power, not His gifts, not His blessings, not a miracle, Him. Wanting God and wanting His help aren’t the same thing. Both acknowledge...

There are many painful things we endure in life, but I think the most painful is strife. There are forces inside us and around us that drive us apart, so we all live with the uncertainty of being abandoned, never sure who may leave us or why. That makes love a very dangerous matter. To give our hearts to someone is to risk rejection. We become vulnerable to the whims of another person, and people,...

The religious world is a swamp, not an oasis. Just because people say they believe in God doesn’t make it a safe place. It’s full of confusion, deception, fraud and sometimes truth. So how does a person know which is which? Who should we allow to teach us? How do we know if what that person is saying is really from God? The spiritual environment in the city of Jerusalem when Jesus ministered there...

Do you know someone whose walk with God makes you jealous? Does it seem that He likes that person better than He likes you? Does He speak to them often and easily, yet when you seek Him you usually hear nothing? If so, those are symptoms of spiritual jealousy. It begins with a bit of envy, but if left unchecked grows into a deep resentment, even hatred, toward that particular person whom we believ...

Few people in the Bible raise more questions than Judas Iscariot. Job would be a close second. The most obvious question that arises when we think of Judas is why Jesus chose him in the first place. The Bible says Jesus spent all night praying about who were to be the twelve men who would travel with Him as His disciples. Listen: “It was at this time He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spe...

It’s difficult for humans to believe in something they can’t see. Something inside each of us wants tangible proof before we believe. Things the human mind considers to be “real” are those things we perceive with our natural senses, which is why it’s a challenge for most of us to function in the spiritual realm. We’re asked to believe in Someone we can’t see, listen to a voice we can’t hear, and d...

I personally believe John wrote his gospel between the years A.D. 65 and A.D. 70. I think John went to Ephesus to pastor the church in that city after Timothy left to assist Paul who was awaiting execution in Rome (2Ti 4:21; Heb 13:23-24). While in Ephesus John wrote this gospel, even though evidence suggests that the other three gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) had already been written. And certa...

It’s not enough to only introduce someone to Jesus. We also have a responsibility to care for that person until he or she is strong enough to walk with Him on their own. So many obstacles and dangers confront every new believer that without proper care their new faith can be badly damaged or even extinguished. They immediately face pressures from their own flesh, temptations from the enemy, persec...

There are people who misunderstand Paul’s teachings about works vs. faith. They interpret him to mean that humans have no part to play in their own salvation. They think the word “works” means every form of human activity. So they conclude that in order to avoid trying to earn our salvation humans must remain totally passive in the process. But Paul’s warnings about “works” were aimed at people wh...

The question that confronts most of us when we pray is not whether we believe God can help us but whether He will. We wonder if it’s His plan. We wonder if we have enough faith. We wonder if we might have done something wrong in the past that will block His answer. In fact so many uncertainties rush through our mind that even when we ask for help we assume there’s probably some reason He won’t. Ou...

The biblical feast of Passover is based on the death of a lamb. It remembers the night in which God delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt. It’s a deeply spiritual ceremony, and every part is full of prophetic meaning. But the two most essential elements are the blood and flesh of the lamb. The lamb’s blood was smeared on the doorposts and lintel (top crossbeam of a door), and the lamb’s body was...

This amazing event is full of spiritual lessons, but here’s the one we want to focus on today: This was a test. Jesus used this event to test His disciples which means, of course, He’ll test us too. He wanted to see how they would respond, or maybe we should say, He wanted them to see how they would respond. What would they do when following God got them into a situation where the need far out wei...

Would you recognize God if you met Him? How would you know it was Him? And no, we’re not talking about things like a long white heard or brilliant light or voice like thunder. If God became a man, a normal appearing man, would you or I be able to tell that it was Him? What sort of person would He be? What qualities would you expect to find? This is the question that Jesus was asking these leaders....

Everyone is glad to have God’s help when they need it. No one minds a “helper-God” who can be called on in time of need. When people discuss whether or not God exists, they’re usually talking about a particular kind of God, rather than the possibility that there is a spiritual being somewhere. What people don’t like is a moral God, particularly one who will hold us accountable for our actions. Tha...

You and I have been invited into a relationship with the One who created heaven and earth (Ps 8), with the One who formed us in our mother’s womb and knows our thoughts before there is a word on our tongue (Ps 139), with the One who understands the deepest groanings in the human heart (Ro 8:26-27). We’ve been offered the opportunity to consult with Him before we make decisions, to heed His warning...

Faith is a choice, not a feeling. It’s not the ability to talk myself into believing that something has already happened. It’s choosing to believe something will happen because God said it would. There are certain people with very energetic personalities for whom faith seems to come easily, but I don’t think a person needs such a personality to please God. Because faith is a choice, not a feeling....

People generally come to God for one of two reasons: either their life has ended up in shambles and they’re left with no other option, or they find themselves in a situation where the presence of the Holy Spirit becomes so strong that their resistance and confusion melt away and they rush into God’s arms. In other words most people turn to God either because they’re desperate or because they’ve be...

Jesus saw the moment: they had stepped into a “divine appointment.” The people there were ready to hear the gospel. This woman was ready, the city of Sychar was ready, but He was exhausted and in a hurry. He had only stopped to rest and get something to eat. What would He do? Would He explain the condition they were in and politely postpone, promising to come back at a more convenient time? After...

It’s so easy to stand there praying, saying all the right things, with my mind still asleep or focused on something else. I can be halfway through the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9-13) and suddenly realize I haven’t a clue what I just said, and am saying things with no particular awareness that God is listening to me. I’m just reciting words that I’ve memorized. They’re good words, if you actually stop to...

After a very dramatic confrontation with the temple leaders in Jerusalem (Jn 2:13-25) Jesus left the city and moved His ministry out to the towns and villages scattered throughout the Judean countryside. There He preached and undoubtedly healed and delivered people from spiritual oppression. His disciples also baptized the people. Judging from clues John gives us Jesus apparently remained in Judea...

Many of the truths Jesus taught can be found in the Old Testament. He explained and applied them brilliantly, but when He taught those truths He wasn’t revealing anything new, just showing us what Moses and the prophets really meant. But there were a few select truths which He taught that were absolutely fresh revelations. They were, in fact, truths that He brought with Him from heaven. Of course...

I think it’s easier to handle failure than it is to deliberately walk away from success. When we fail, we have no choice but to face reality sooner or later and admit that we’ve fallen short. But when we succeed at something we tend to grow proud, and as much as we may complain about all that such success demands of us, we cling to it desperately. It gives us meaning. It validates our existence. I...

When God sent His Son into the world it was like placing a bright lamp in a dark room. Things that had been hidden were suddenly revealed. Wherever He went His presence and His message exposed the deepest attitudes in each person’s heart. Whether or not they fully understood who Jesus was, their human spirit intuitively recognized Him and reacted immediately. Some hated Him and some loved Him. Som...

What if I told you that you could be guided by God just like Jesus was guided by God? What if I told you that the same power which was at work through Jesus was available to work through you today? Would you believe me? Would you want a relationship with God like that? Now, let me ask those same questions again, but this time let me ask them another way: What if Jesus told you that you could be gu...