We all have habitual sins that seem to plague us around every turn. Whether it’s gossip, lust, greed, or envy, we all falter in one place or another. Instead of wishing for deliverance, God asks us to work at our sins in order to become the people he created us to be. Read More
A central aspect of living as a Christian is lining up our life with the revealed Word of God. The battlefield of our living is actually waged in our soul, our mind. God wants us to understand exactly who we are in His eyes, so that our understanding will lead to right living according to the revealed Word of God. Read More
Despite Jesus clearly foretelling it, Peter didn’t think he would deny Jesus. But just as Jesus knew Peter would fall, he knew he’d get back up again too. Read More
Kevin Johnson shared some experiences he’s had with “strategies” for personal transformation. None of these strategies by themselves are good enough if we don’t have a basic openness to God’s leading. Read More
Most of the time we try to fit Jesus into our culturally-accepted view of God, and the early Christians did the same thing. But Jesus doesn’t fit into our categories. As Kingdom people, we’re meant to follow Jesus’ example and revolt against what’s normal in our culture. Three disciplines that can help us are practicing God’s presence, fasting and community. Read More
When we look are our hectic lives, we can sense the pain and despair that we often feel…but we never stop to think about what has really caused the problem of our shattered beauty. One important problem is that we have forgotten beauty related to the Center of the Kingdom, the Lord Jesus Christ. God wants us to create “spaces for God” so that we can experience the matchless beauty of Jesus in our daily lives, and then, see our own beauty! Read More
Prayer was a way of life for Anna. She prayed with patience and an expectation that God would come through. We, however, live in a fast-food society that tells us to “have it our way” with little investment and immediate gratification. Prayer is not a fast-food, drive-thru experience. Rather, just like a three course meal, it takes time and patience to develop a meaningful relationship with Jesus. There are three basic courses to a good meal with him. Read More
Anna was a widow who spent most of her life in the temple fasting, worshipping and praying to God in solitude. Through the world’s eyes, she was not considered important, visible or successful. However, in God’s Kingdom, she was considered a hero and a success. Anna’s life is a testimony for us as believers, because she was exactly where God called her to be. She was obedient and faithful to the calling God specifically gave her. Read More
Willing just one thing, the love of God, is our only task. Our hearts are pure and our minds are sound when we overcome the double-mindedness that we unconsciously live in by submitting to God (James 4:7). Greg called our attention to how our minds are caught up in routines that produce behavior that is harmful to ourselves and others. Working toward kingdom single mindedness moment by moment will focus our energy where it should be: on the love of God for us and on loving ourselves and others because of it. Read More
It takes discipline and self-sacrifice on the part of individuals for us as a whole to become “a community of spiritually empowered people” as stated in our church vision. As spiritual people, we are called to think more about the eternal consequences of our words and deeds. Read More