5 Strategies Satan Uses To Attack Us
What are the strategies Satan uses to attack us? If we are fighting a spiritual war, we need to know his strategies. As Paul says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil […]
What Does It Look Like to Follow Jesus?
Matthew 9:1-17 answers the question: Why did Jesus come? As you walk through the narrative, you discover Jesus came to: Call sinners to Himself, forgive their sin, transform them, and institute a new system centered on Himself. If Jesus calls us to Himself, forgives our sins, transforms us, and institutes a new system, and if […]
Count The Cost, But Don’t Count It Too Long
In Matthew 8:18, before Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gadarenes, Matthew writes: Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to go over to the other side. After hearing Jesus’ command, two men approach him. First, a Scribe promises to follow Jesus wherever He goes. The […]
Why Should We Follow Jesus? | Part 2
In my last post in this series, I answered the first of three questions: Why should we follow Jesus? Today, we move on to the last two. WHAT GETS IN THE WAY OF US FOLLOWING JESUS? Even though Jesus’ authority points to Him as being God, we are not willing to follow Him. There are […]
Why Should We Follow Jesus? | Part 1
When I was growing up, my dad always told me, “Be a leader, not a follower.” If you think about it, for someone to follow you, they need a reason. My Dad’s advice then meant, I needed to be someone worth following. So when Jesus comes to us and asks us to follow Him. We need […]
What Does Our Mission Involve?
To understand what our mission as Jesus’ disciples involves, we must look to Jesus’ mission. As His disciples, His mission is our mission. In other words, those Jesus reached out to are the same ones we are to reach out to. After Jesus finishes preaching His Sermon on the Mount, He comes down and heals […]
Why Do We Fight With One Another?
Why do we fight and quarrel with one another? What causes conflict in a community? James addresses these questions in his epistle. He starts chapter four with these two questions, What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? Background The churches James addressed were […]
How Should We Respond When Others are More Successful Than Us?
No matter how great you are at something, there is always someone who is greater than you. No matter how successful you are, there is always going to be someone who is more successful than you. It doesn’t matter who you are, you will have to deal with the success of others at one point […]
How Can We Distinguish Between True and False Teachers?
How can we distinguish between true and false teachers? Jesus provides us with a test in Matthew 7:15-20. He says, Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree […]
Are You On the Broad or Narrow Road?
When I was in elementary school, I looked forward to that time in the day when we left our class room and went to the gym for P.E. Most days we would play a team sport. Basketball, whiffle ball, or something like that. Our teacher would have us all line up behind a line. Two captains would […]
