Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell

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...

Most people fall into one of two categories: They’re either trying to save themselves, or they’ve realized that they can’t and that they need a Savior. People are either pursuing God’s justice or clinging to His mercy. They either expect to be rewarded or forgiven. And those two attitudes are so deeply different—they lie in such opposite directions—a person can’t pursue both at the same time. No o...

While He was in Jerusalem during the Feast of the Passover and the week of Unleavened Bread which followed it, Jesus must have begun His ministry of healing the sick and delivering those oppressed by demons because John says, “many believed in His name beholding Him (because of) the signs which He was doing” (literal). And then John adds the strangest statement. He says, “But Jesus, on His part, w...

Sometimes Jesus tells us things we can’t understand, at least not yet. Someday we will. Someday we will look back, and it will all fit together. But not now. Now, frankly, what He said doesn’t make any sense at all. This raises an obvious question: Why would Jesus tell us something we’re not capable of understanding? Why wouldn’t He wait until we’ve matured sufficiently? Yet we need only read thro...

What is surprising when we read this account of Jesus cleansing the temple is the lack of resistance by the merchants. For some reason, a large number of people allowed one man to walk in and totally disrupt their business activity. One would have expected a fight to break out or the temple police to intervene, but none of that happened. And though Jesus was certainly a strong young man, having wo...

John recorded this event to build our faith. He wanted us to know about a miracle Jesus performed that fulfilled a particular Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah. The prophets had said that when the Messiah comes, “the vats will overflow with new wine and oil” (Joel 2:24), and “the mountains will drip with sweet wine” (Am 9:13). And a miracle Jesus performed at a wedding in Cana proved He had...

We aren’t animals. If we were, life would be much simpler. We’d go through each day controlled by our bodily appetites and instincts until the moment arrived when we died. And because we were animals, we would have no idea that we were dying, so we wouldn’t worry about it. Our focus would be on getting enough to eat, staying safe and occasionally reproducing the species. But being human makes thin...

After recognizing that Jesus knew things about him that only God could know, Nathanael immediately told Him that He was the promised Messiah. He said, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel” (v49), to which Jesus replied with a statement that must have stunned Nathanael. Basically He told him, “Because you believe in Me, someday you’ll rise from the dead and return to earth wit...

It only took two days for Jesus to gather the first five, and probably six, of the twelve apostles he would send out “into all the world” a few years later (Mk 16:15). Two days! How did such a special group of people meet Jesus in such a short period of time? Why were they all gathered there in one location? The answer, or course, is that they had come to the Jordan River to be baptized. They were...

Each of us has two names: the name our parents gave us and the name God gives us. If our parents took the time to listen to God when they named us, those two names may be the same. In that case our given name is prophetic. It reveals something about God’s plan for us. Whether or not the name our parents gave us holds such meaning, the name God calls us always does. That’s because He knows how He d...

It’s easy for some people to see their need for repentance. They’ve led wild lives. They’ve done all sorts of terrible things, so when it comes time to repent, they literally have a checklist of sins they need to start working their way through. “Lord, I’m sorry for this… and for this… and for this,” etc. But there are others who have a much more difficult time seeing their need for repentance. Su...

Sometimes it seems God waits until the last possible minute to act. I’m sure that’s not true. I’m sure if I could see the situation from His perspective, I would realize He is acting at exactly the right moment, not a minute too soon, nor a minute too late. But since I can’t see things with His perfect knowledge, there are times I can feel myself growing frustrated with Him, wondering what He’s wa...

Those voices don’t go away. We don’t hear them occasionally when we start out, and then they cease as we mature. They keep nagging us every time we speak for God. They tell us we are inadequate before we speak and that we should be ashamed of something we said afterward. It’s literally part of the “cross” any believer will bear if he or she decides to step out and minister publicly for Jesus.

How do you know who to trust? How do you know which leader to follow? How do you know who really loves you? So many people say the right things, promise us the things we want to hear and even look right. They look strong, dynamic and sincere. They speak well, and you can’t miss the impressive intellect behind their words. And who among us has not followed such a person or given our heart to such a...

I don’t think anyone goes through life without experiencing events that make us ask the question, “Where was God?” We’ve all prayed prayers that seem to go unanswered. We’ve all observed suffering and evil that seem to go unopposed. But to be fair, we’d have to admit that we’ve also seen things that are beautiful and very good, and that there have been times our prayers were answered quickly and p...

I look forward to the day when I meet Jesus face to face. Sure, I’m curious to see what He looks like. Are the scars still there? What does His voice sound like? Does He look like the pictures the artists draw, or will I be surprised? But more than that I can hardly wait to meet Him as a person. No, I won’t be meeting a stranger. I’ll be meeting a dear friend, someone who’s been with me all my lif...

There are spiritual laws which God has put into place to govern spiritual matters just as surely as there are physical laws which govern the natural world. The spiritual world is not a land of make believe. It’s very real and has its own order. There are things that can be done, and things that cannot be done. Even God submits Himself to the spiritual laws He has established.

There may be no portion of the Bible which has been more furiously debated, picked apart, retranslated or explained in the most bizarre ways than this part. Apparently the truth it contains disturbs a lot of people; they feel compelled to “correct” John’s theology, which is ironic because John wrote these words to correct their theology. So instead of trying to reinterpret what John reveals about...

Who is Jesus of Nazareth? People were already asking that question as they listened to Him preach and watched Him perform miracles. And then as now, many answered wrongly. They tried to fit Jesus into categories that made sense to them rather than listening carefully to what He said or recognizing the spiritual meaning behind what He did. To put an end to the confusion, the apostle John picked up...

To say that the end times will be dramatic and dangerous is an understatement. The vision the Lord showed the apostle John is filled with conflict, battles, persecution, deception, judgment, rejection and more. But, as you’ll discover with Pastor Steve’s careful examination through the last book of the New Testament, there is great encouragement for us to persevere and overcome, and these themes a...

To say that the end times will be dramatic and dangerous is an understatement. The vision the Lord showed the apostle John is filled with conflict, battles, persecution, deception, judgment, rejection and more. But, as you’ll discover with Pastor Steve’s careful examination through the last book of the New Testament, there is great encouragement for us to persevere and overcome, and these themes a...

To say that the end times will be dramatic and dangerous is an understatement. The vision the Lord showed the apostle John is filled with conflict, battles, persecution, deception, judgment, rejection and more. But, as you’ll discover with Pastor Steve’s careful examination through the last book of the New Testament, there is great encouragement for us to persevere and overcome, and these themes a...

To say that the end times will be dramatic and dangerous is an understatement. The vision the Lord showed the apostle John is filled with conflict, battles, persecution, deception, judgment, rejection and more. But, as you’ll discover with Pastor Steve’s careful examination through the last book of the New Testament, there is great encouragement for us to persevere and overcome, and these themes a...

To say that the end times will be dramatic and dangerous is an understatement. The vision the Lord showed the apostle John is filled with conflict, battles, persecution, deception, judgment, rejection and more. But, as you’ll discover with Pastor Steve’s careful examination through the last book of the New Testament, there is great encouragement for us to persevere and overcome, and these themes a...

To say that the end times will be dramatic and dangerous is an understatement. The vision the Lord showed the apostle John is filled with conflict, battles, persecution, deception, judgment, rejection and more. But, as you’ll discover with Pastor Steve’s careful examination through the last book of the New Testament, there is great encouragement for us to persevere and overcome, and these themes a...