Posts with the category “spiritual-disciplines”

As disciples of Christ, we're called to live lives of radical generosity. This doesn't mean we give recklessly, but rather that we trust God to guide us in our giving and to provide for our needs.  Read More

So how do we make our love for Christ put skin on bones and be a living example of it? One way is through our giving.   Read More

As Christians, we're called to live with an eternal perspective, focusing on the things that truly matter. We're called to be salt and light, preserving truth and illuminating the darkness.  Read More

Discipline is one of those things that isn’t fun to talk about, but it is so important in the life of a disciple. Notice, the root of “discipline” is “disciple”.  Read More

Obedience isn’t a thumb being pressed down on us. It’s a key unlocking shackles that hold us down in sin and death.  Read More

When we live out our freedom, we realize that we are free to love and serve others. Our joy is no longer in feeding our stomachs or bank accounts. Instead, we find joy in following Christ’s commands and example. Putting others first isn’t a chore. It’s pure enjoyment.  Read More

It is impossible to lift your eyes when you have your hand on the plow every day. Work takes focus. Rest helps us refocus. With that refocus comes gratitude.  Read More

Food is not your psychologist, your life coach, or your treatment program. It’s there to feed your body what it needs to live. When it goes beyond that and becomes our savior, it begins to take the place of our true Savior, Jesus.  Read More

Gluttony is the sin no one likes talking about, and that is for good reason. It is the sin that has become acceptable in the Church.  Read More

Our service has an end goal. We are to make disciples. Our service has one source. That is Christ Jesus. Our service comes from one place, worship. When the day comes that we finally get to receive the very thing we have lived our lives for and our hope is made complete, worship will still be there.  Read More

A disciple is easily broken down as someone who is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus and is committed to the mission of Jesus. Notice, that there are no Bible College degrees in there. There’s nothing about putting in years of service. It doesn’t say that you have to have half the Bible memorized. Instead, we are to go, share, and do life.  Read More

One of the biggest reasons why we serve in the Church is because we are to care for Christ’s bride. He’s now preparing a place for her and will return to take her with Him. It’s our responsibility to get her ready.  Read More

Each of us has a place in the church where we can serve, but not everyone has the same giftedness. While some have the “out front” gifts; public speaking, musical talent, and the ability to teach and preach, most will serve behind the scenes. That’s what really makes the Church thrive.  Read More

Christ served right up until death. He knew His life would be short-lived. He knew His ministry wouldn’t last even half a decade. That didn’t sway Him from giving every ounce of everything He had to serve His Father. In just a few short years, Jesus started a revolution that became a movement that became the Church.  Read More

A passion that is led by sin though; perverted sexuality, greed, power, and jealousy can also attract us to what we think is warmth, but those fires burn out of control. We suddenly find ourselves burning up with our sin and it’s killing us spiritually.  Read More

It’s not a suggestion to love. It’s a command. If we are to love like Jesus did, we will find ourselves in some very unenviable situations. There will be times of discomfort. Awkwardness will happen often. Yet, despite all of that, when we learn to love like Christ, we see people differently.   Read More

Our testimony is a powerful thing. People who do not read the Bible will rarely be impressed by your knowledge of scripture. They definitely won’t be moved by it. Your testimony, however, the story of how God rescued you and brought you out of death and into life, that story will move them.  Read More

The cost of discipleship is great. If you’ve been a believer for any significant time, you know this. To ask someone to be willing to give up their life as they know it and follow after Christ is a huge decision, and it’s one that each person needs to make for themselves. Unfortunately, many people will never get that chance, because someone makes that decision for them without them even knowing.   Read More

It’s obvious that Jesus wanted us to tell the world about Him and His Father, but what does that look like for us today? I would dare say if we took Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8 to heart, we would get a very clear picture of what God has called us to do.  Read More

If the human body doesn’t prove that there has to be a God, I’m not sure what else does. It is the most intricate of creations. Everything works within systems to keep your health running optimally. Each organ works to provide for the rest of the body. It isn’t an accident.  Read More

We try to keep such a breakneck pace going that we eventually crash and burn. We tell ourselves we can handle it, but we know that’s not true. We start to get short with the ones we love out of frustration. We drop the ball on things that we can’t keep up with. We begin losing relationships with people we care about because we don’t have the time to invest in the relationship. We’re a bunch of control freaks who want to have control of our time but find ourselves losing control because of it.  Read More

If we are truly wanting to identify with Christ, then we need to realize that, when we entered into the waters of baptism, we were putting to death the old self and coming out a new creation. We are now no longer about ourselves. We are to live as though Christ Himself is making our decisions. Our desires need to become His desires. Our love should be like His.  Read More

We allow ourselves to be led by our stomachs, our eyes, and our desires far too much, and we lose focus on what is right in front of us. God sees a much bigger picture than we do, and He’s leading us by His Holy Spirit to greater things than what we see ourselves doing.  Read More

As fellow believers, we need to urge each other on to a holier way of living and build each other up.  Read More

There’s a lot of talk these days about self-care. That’s exactly what scripture memorization is all about. When we fill our minds with God’s Word, we are putting high-octane fuel into our souls. Not only does this kind of self-care help us defend our faith, but it also gives us the confidence to actually do it.  Read More

As advanced a society as we are, we should have a greater understanding of God’s Word and have large quantities stored up in our brains. We have so many tools at our disposal, but we don’t really take advantage of those tools.  Read More

When our minds are centered on Christ, we learn how to focus on the things above, and not the things here on Earth. There becomes this sense of urgency to devour anything that we can when it comes to God’s Word and gaining more of His knowledge.  Read More

Scripture is light, life-giving, and food for our souls. Without it, we won’t make it in this world. We need to view the word of God like we do air or water. If we go too long without it, we’ll die spiritually, and if that’s the case, we need a plan in place to get our sustenance.  Read More

Nowadays, it’s considered an archaic form of teaching by many. Why worry about memorizing scripture when you have the Bible with you all day on your phone? This line of thinking is dangerous.  Read More

Without the blood of the Lamb, we cannot be saved. The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, is the only way to the Father. Because we have sinned, we need a savior. God sends His only Son to be that Savior. If we believe in Him, we are saved. Is there a more simple message?  Read More

When “things” become so important that we can’t let go of them, we need to step back and take inventory of what’s most important. We need to ask the question, “Why do I need this so badly?” For many of us, we’ll say things like, “I don’t want to be wasteful.” or “I may need this in the future.” The reality is we’re creeping toward idolatry.  Read More

We want to get that promotion at work so we work a ton of overtime and neglect our families. We get into bad, sedentary habits like watching too much TV and playing too many video games neglecting our health. This is a tough one to say, but we get so involved with our church that we aren’t focusing on our own children enough, and they slip from their faith.  Read More

God will provide for our needs. When we place our full trust in God, he will take care of us. We shouldn’t fear whether or not our daily needs are being provided. God is very clear about this.  Read More

We should never find value in what we have. Instead, our value should be in how God values us. He doesn’t value us by the size of our paycheck. He doesn’t puff out his chest when we buy that house we can barely afford. The kind of riches He has for us far outweigh these physical things.  Read More

As we go about our lives, we are to continually seek out opportunities to tell people about the Gospel. He wanted them to help people recognize the sin in their life, and realize the need for a Savior. The kicker is, they were not expected to do this alone.  Read More

Jesus Christ Himself is there with us when we gather in His name. When we are praying together, the Son of God joins in with us. How amazing is that?  Read More

The people we spend the most time with tend to be the people who affect WHO we are the most. It’s no wonder that God would want us around each other in the Church as much as possible.  Read More

One of the best ways to grow in community with others is to get into the word with a close-knit group of people who will hold each other accountable. The early Church understood this, and that’s why they were growing so rapidly. People are not made to be alone, and there’s an innate need and desire to be in community with others.  Read More

Before there was sin, there was community. Before there was worship, there was community. Before a single song was ever sung to God, before cities, countries, and empires, there was community. God had a plan and community was at the front of it.  Read More

The best ability we have is availability. When we schedule God out of our day, we can’t expect Him to sit around and wait for us. The Bible isn’t our story. It’s God’s story, and He allows us to play a part in it.  Read More