Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell

Just about everybody tells the truth when it does them no harm, and this can lead people to think of themselves as basically honest when, in fact, they really aren't. Our true character doesn't show until it's put under stress. The moment that determines whether I am honest or not is what comes out of my mouth at a time when telling the truth will: - Expose unacceptable behavior and thereby lower...

When Christ rose from the dead, He gave gifts to His people. Here are five of them: the gift of forgiveness, the gift of redemption, the gift of propitiation, the gift of reconciliation, and the gift of justification. 

No Christian is intended to live out their spiritual life in isolation. No Christian is intended to grow in maturity in isolation. No Christian is intended to carry out the ministry God has given them in isolation. Becoming a Christian is not just a private decision between each person and God, it involves being joined into a community of God's people. In these verses we read today, Paul gives us...

The way we see ourselves and the way we see others must change. Even Christians often don't realize how much has changed when they receive Christ. We're not the same anymore. The way we think about things and the way we respond in situations become very different. And the way we see other people changes at least as much as the way we see ourselves. Paul goes so far as to say we are a new creation...

While under house arrest in Rome, Paul writes to churches he had pastored in and around Ephesus (a city on the coast of Western Asia Minor). He wants to be sure that with the passing of time this group, made up largely of converted Gentiles, does not lose sight of the wonderful things God has done for them. He wanted them to keep focused on the fact that they were "in Christ." It's easy for Christ...

As Christians we aren’t just forgiven of past sins. The Lord has set us free from the control of our flesh and the devil so we can live fruitful lives. So, how’s your freedom? Are there areas where you still feel some bondage to old ways, habits and temptations? If so, you are not alone. The principles in this series Steps to Freedom are the key to getting free of all sorts of addictions and tempt...

As Christians we aren’t just forgiven of past sins. The Lord has set us free from the control of our flesh and the devil so we can live fruitful lives. So, how’s your freedom? Are there areas where you still feel some bondage to old ways, habits and temptations? If so, you are not alone. The principles in this series Steps to Freedom are the key to getting free of all sorts of addictions and tempt...

As Christians we aren’t just forgiven of past sins. The Lord has set us free from the control of our flesh and the devil so we can live fruitful lives. So, how’s your freedom? Are there areas where you still feel some bondage to old ways, habits and temptations? If so, you are not alone. The principles in this series Steps to Freedom are the key to getting free of all sorts of addictions and tempt...

As Christians we aren’t just forgiven of past sins. The Lord has set us free from the control of our flesh and the devil so we can live fruitful lives. So, how’s your freedom? Are there areas where you still feel some bondage to old ways, habits and temptations? If so, you are not alone. The principles in this series Steps to Freedom are the key to getting free of all sorts of addictions and tempt...

As Christians we aren’t just forgiven of past sins. The Lord has set us free from the control of our flesh and the devil so we can live fruitful lives. So, how’s your freedom? Are there areas where you still feel some bondage to old ways, habits and temptations? If so, you are not alone. The principles in this series Steps to Freedom are the key to getting free of all sorts of addictions and tempt...

As Christians we aren’t just forgiven of past sins. The Lord has set us free from the control of our flesh and the devil so we can live fruitful lives. So, how’s your freedom? Are there areas where you still feel some bondage to old ways, habits and temptations? If so, you are not alone. The principles in this series Steps to Freedom are the key to getting free of all sorts of addictions and tempt...

As Christians we aren’t just forgiven of past sins. The Lord has set us free from the control of our flesh and the devil so we can live fruitful lives. So, how’s your freedom? Are there areas where you still feel some bondage to old ways, habits and temptations? If so, you are not alone. The principles in this series Steps to Freedom are the key to getting free of all sorts of addictions and tempt...

Calling is very different from employment. Calling has to do with the most primal issues in any person’s life. It’s the answer to the questions: Who am I and why am I here? Employment, however, is a practical matter. It’s about doing something to generate the resources I need to live. Since we all need food, shelter and clothing, our employment is very important to us, but unless someone is financ...

Within three days of arriving in Rome, Paul sent someone to invite the elders of the Jewish community to meet with him. As he had done in city after city he would begin by preaching to his kinsmen. He would do his very best to show them the suffering Messiah in the Scriptures and explain how Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled those prophecies. And again, as had happened in city after city, as the day wor...

The issue that lay at the heart of this debate between Paul and these synagogue leaders was the question of how God deals with sin. Paul was trying to convince them that God requires a payment to be made for our sins, one that goes far deeper than anything we humans could even provide. But most of those elders appear to have believed that God can simply ignore our sins if He chooses to. And that d...

So much of our testimony about what we believe is given in moments when we don’t realize we’re doing it, to people we don’t even know are listening. When we think about proclaiming Christ to others we usually picture someone talking about Him, but actually some of the most effective preaching is done wordlessly. It’s what people see when they watch us go through life. And you might assume that in...

Paul wasn’t supposed to be on Malta. God had clearly expressed His will. He had prophetically warned those in charge of the ship to stay in the safety of the harbor in Crete (Ac 27:9-11). And then, nearly two weeks later while they were helplessly drifting about in a storm, Paul scolded them for not listening to him (Ac 27:21). No, they weren’t supposed to be on Malta, they were supposed to be on...

When God uses you to minister to someone it’s natural for them to become grateful to you. It’s hard for people to distinguish in their minds what part of that wonderful blessing you did, and what part was God. They realize their help came from God, but it was God through you. And they’re so grateful that you were faithful to do what you did, or say what you said, or pray what you prayed, that they...

People follow certain kinds of people. Some they follow because of fear. The leader will punish them if they don’t do what they’re told, and this is not necessarily a wrong way to lead because certain people can only be led with a firm hand. They will only obey a particular law because they might get caught and punished if they don’t. But there is also another kind of leader who people follow will...

So many books have been written, and sermons preached, about faith that the subject can become overwhelming. Those who long to walk in greater faith can be left with the feeling that real faith, the kind that produces real miracles, is just too hard for normal people like us. We don’t doubt that miracles can happen, or that they do happen for some people, we just assume we aren’t that kind of peop...

There’s a huge difference between humility and insecurity. They may look the same on the surface, but they serve two different masters. One is driven by the fear that it is unworthy of being loved and tries desperately to earn approval. The other is able to wrap a towel around its waist and kneel down to wash feet because it is so confident that it is loved and approved. And I don’t think we have...

This chapter is a case study in bad human leadership. Luke describes Paul’s voyage to Rome in great detail, and by the time 276 people wade ashore on the island of Malta we’re left amazed that anyone survived the foolish decisions made by those who were supposed to protect them. Time after time the human leaders used their authority to benefit themselves and ignored their responsibility to care fo...

It’s easy to confuse the terms “works of the Law” with “works worthy of repentance.” We can take the truth that we are saved by faith and not by works to mean that our works don’t matter; in fact some people consider any attempt to produce good works to be dangerous because it might lead to self-righteousness. The result of this kind of thinking has been believers who are nearly devoid of good wor...

It’s one thing to believe that God still speaks to us today, but it’s quite another to know how to listen to His voice. Many believers, many long-time believers, have never been around anyone who actually lived this way. They have no models to show them how or prove to them it works. Yes, they read about such things in the Bible, but outside of that the Christians they know seem to function just l...

We know a lot more about God than our minds are able or willing to understand. We’ve all had experiences that we know took place, but we can’t explain. There have been moments in our lives when we recognized that someone was present with us, even if we didn’t know His name. There have been times when an unseen hand came out of nowhere to protect us, or a voice interrupted our thoughts with informa...