Jesus is there with you in your need, not only before or after the need. Help is help only when it comes on time. Jesus is never late.

Reading the Bible in a year is not spiritual benchmark whereupon those crossing the finish line arrive at a new spiritual plane. It is not the indication that one is more serious about Christ than any other Christian. It is, however, one endeavor that a church can embark upon to move corporately toward a goal of growth.

What could God do if we used 2018 to reach out beyond social media to the real persons behind the avatars? It would be costlier, yes. But it would be more beautiful and more satisfying. And, in the end, it may be the thing that God uses to bring revival. 

no matter who we are or what we have or where we may be, God has entrusted something to us. What shall we do with it? That is the question to which we must find the answer. All our hopes and dreams must circle that stewardship.

The default assumption I bring to my relationship with God is that he loves me for what I do. I bet you assume the same thing, too.

Sin makes us illogical. It muddies our mind, causing us to choose things contrary to the right path. Paul highlights this lack of logic in selecting the law over Christ.

As every age does, we search out wisdom apart from God. But we cannot find it. Until we turn away from evil and to God we never will. 

There is a spirit behind every religious message. John tells us it’s either from God or from the Antichrist. What should we believe? That's such an important question, isn’t it? What we believe forms what we worship, and what we worship forms who we become. And John tells us not to believe every spirit.

I want my kids to be good people. I want them to know right from wrong. I want them to stand up for the oppressed, the bullied, and the outcast. I want them to be influencers for good in the world. Doesn’t every parent want the same? But as I teach my kids the Bible every night during dinner, I can’t help but see something troubling about who they will become.

We have a choice: embrace the shame of the cross, or become ashamed of the cross. In God’s Kingdom, laying down your life gives life back, and holding on to life takes it away. The choice seems obvious, but it must be made moment by moment.