The Life-Shaping Power of What We Believe A Call to Think Faithfully The Lord has never asked His people to follow Him with empty or careless hearts. He calls us to love Him with all that we are—with our heart, soul, and mind—and to be ready to speak of the hope He has so graciously…
Knowing God Because He Speaks One of the sweetest comforts in the Christian life is knowing that God has not remained distant or silent. He has lovingly made Himself known (Heb. 1:1–2). Everything we truly know about Him comes not from our own wisdom or effort, but from His mercy. We would never have found…
Do Not Lose Heart When Spiritual Discouragement Hits There are seasons in the Christian life when the soul feels weary, heavy, and ready to give way. The Word of God does not ignore that struggle. It speaks plainly to the discouraged heart, and it points us to the only true remedy: the sustaining grace of…
The Desires of the Heart The Struggle For the believer, life in this world does not always unfold like a fairy tale. The righteous are not always rewarded in ways we can see. Honest people do not always prosper. Faithful people do not always receive the ending they hoped for. Sometimes they do—but many times,…
Are You a Bible Window Shopper? A familiar figure on the streets is the window shopper who strolls along, gazing fondly into each display but never purchasing anything. In the spiritual realm, we often find a similar character: the Bible window shopper. He moves through the Scriptures, admiring God’s precious promises, noticing its high challenges,…
The Four “All’s” of Prayer “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18). Prayer is given more attention than any one piece of armor because it’s foundational to the effectiveness of the entire armor. The…
The Confidence We Have Before Him “This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15). Verses 13-14 are tied together; John…
Draw Near “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). When we read this verse, we often focus on the second part of the verse—and for good reason—but in doing so we miss what the…
“And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment— so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Heb. 9:27-28). In the first part of verses…
All Have Sinned “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). God and man measure righteousness by a vastly different standard. Man measures his righteousness by comparing his goodness to that of others instead of asking himself a most critical question, “what righteousness does God require?” Jesus told the disciples, “For…