The first promise God makes on your spiritual journey is that He’ll save you. The second is that He’ll free you. That seems odd, doesn’t it? Once God saves you, shouldn’t you be free? Why do you need freed after you’re saved? The sad reality is many Christians, up to 87% according to some studies, are never able to move past this second promise, but without the second, you can’t get to the third or fourth, and it’s there that real, abundant, joy-filled life is found.
Read MoreWhat do we have to do for God to accept us? How perfect do we have to be? What's the secret to God loving us? We can't have the life God wants for us unless we have a relationship with Him, but what starts that relationship? It seems so complicated, but it's really incredibly simple. It all comes down to one little word.
Read MoreFrom the beginning of time God has wanted to take you on a spiritual journey to a life of fulfillment. In fact, anything less than living a fulfilled life is less than God's best for you. It's a journey that will make you brand new, exactly as God created you. But there's one catch. You can't do it. You can't give enough, sacrifice enough, work enough to go on the journey. That's why a sacrifice was made FOR you. And with it, all God has for you can be yours.
Read MoreWe know gossip is bad, but do we really know what it is? Even then, it's such an easy thing to do, whether on purpose or on accident, how can we possibly stop doing it? What if there is something deeper than just fixing our words that's the key to stopping gossip? What if our words aren't actually a mouth problem at all?
Read MoreSome of us lie to make ourselves look better. Some lie to protect other people. Some lie to keep the peace. Whatever it is, the reality is we all lie for one reason or another. The problem is every lie we tell comes from the father of lies, our spiritual enemy, the devil. As long as we're speaking his langugage we're in dangerous water, but it doesn't have to be that way. This week we learn how to combat lying and follow God's plan with our words.
Read MoreThe words we speak have the power to destroy or to build, and we live in a society that by default criticizing. To be an intentional force to build up those around us, we have to follow the example set by Jesus in speaking hope to those around us.
Read MoreWe live in a complaint-centered world, but complaining holds tremendous power not just over us, but over the people around us as well. When we complain we put ourselves at the center of our story, rather than God, and take our eyes off His promise and to our problems. And in the worst of cases it not only impacts our own eyes, but can even contribute to the people around us taking their eyes off God's promises as well.
Read MoreYou can only fully experience the Father's love when you are in the Father's house. We were made to be in a spiritual family. We have been adopted by God as his children. Are you a part of the family? Does your heart beat for the house? When the family comes together, united on a mission, the world changes. Be a part of the family. Experience all God has for you. Welcome home.
Read MoreAs we finish up our "Uphill Habits" series we're going to look at the second guardrail you need in your life to keep you on the right path to the life God has for you. Of all the habits, this is the one that is the catalyst for the rest to take off. If we get this right everything becomes easier, more enjoyable, and more successful. Get it wrong, and you're one wrong step away from disaster.
Read MoreOnce we apply Habit #1 and #2 we have the roadmap and the vehicle to get to our desired destination: the abundant, extraordinary, uncommon life God created us for. But the best map and the best vehicle on their own aren't enough to guarantee we finish the trip in one piece. We need some guardrails to help us stay on course and keep us from the cliffs that threaten the journey. This week we learn the first of the two guardrails you need to experience the life change you've always wanted.
Read MoreLast week we learned that the key to 2018 lies in putting first things first. But where do we go from there? Even if we begin to put God first in our lives, it's not a magic bullet that immediately changes everything? What's the next step? How do we begin to experience the life and freedom every day God intends? That's where Habit #2 comes in. The only first step is to put God first, but Habit #2 begins to unlock the life of peace and hope we all long for.
Read MoreWe all want to be better people, but so often the change we want to see in our lives eludes us. We make resolutions and promises to ourselves that THIS is the year that will be different. So why do we fall short? Maybe it's because we have uphill hopes, but downhill habits. This week we begin a journey to switch it, and give ourselves the uphill habits that will change us forever.
Read More'Tis the season... for stress, chaos, and pain. Although it's supposed to be filled with peace and joy the reality is Christmas is often the opposite of that. So, if Jesus is supposed to be the Prince of Peace why is the season we celebrate his birth so different than that? And how can we find peace in the chaos? It's Jesus' mother, Mary, that can help us learn how.
Read MoreChristmas: the season of joy and hope. Or is it? For so many of us, Christmas is a time filled with conflict and relational problems. The good news is that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and in this season where we celebrate and remember His birth we can also learn to handle conflict God's way to make the most of this Christmas season.
Read MoreThe church has a big opportunity. God formed the church to be salt and light; to impact the entire world and show them how good God is. It's not by our doctrine, our buildings, or our holiness, but by our good deeds that people will see God in us. It's by our love working itself out in action for the people around us. When the church takes that opportunity seriously the world changes, because people change. This is not about the church. This is about the world.
Read MoreIn the book of Acts the mission of the local church could not be more clear. Unfortunately clear doesn't always mean simple. Every local church faces the same gravitational pull away from its mission to outsiders, grace, and advancement, and to drift toward insiders, law, and preservation. When that happens the church becomes ineffective, and in worst-case scenarios, can actually do damage to the name of Jesus. Big drift is the temptation. Big mission is the solution.
Read MoreGod has a purpose for his church, and he also has a purpose for each of us individually, but for many of us fear that we are unqualified keeps us stuck where are we. The Apostle Paul lived a life that should have disqualified him from the calling God put on his life, but it was exactly because he was a broken man that God used him to reach a broken world. Our calling is the same. God isn't looking for qualification, he's looking for faith to take a step.
Read MoreBoldness in our faith is something that's unnatural in our culture, but boldness is what makes the movement move. Without the boldness of the early church the name of Jesus may not have made it out of the first century, but because of their extraordinary boldness the world changed forever. What might happen if we could recapture of that same boldness? How might our families change? Our cities? The world would never be the same.
Read MoreHow a church prays indicates whether or not it has strayed. So many of our American-Christian prayers are about us. "God, keep us safe." "God, protect us." "God, heal our sick loved ones." The problem is self-centered pray-ers create self-centered Christians, which create self-centered churches. The early church prayed for boldness to tell the world about Jesus, and the power of God to be at work in the world. It wasn't about them at all. They prayed for the sake of the world, and because of it the world changed.
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