Christian Living

We have a God who delights in answering the prayers of His children. Praying is a holy privilege and resource that every one of God’s children has at their disposal. However, in order for our prayers to be answered, there are unchangeable biblical principles that must be met.

Many Christian financial consultants wisely counsel people to budget and save for predictable large purchases rather than be caught unprepared and go into debt.

“For we are labourers together with God” –1 Corinthians 3:9

When Paul wrote his final letter to Timothy, he included a request for Timothy to come to him. Notice his wording: “Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me” (2 Timothy 4:9). Paul didn’t say, “Come if you get a chance.” He asked Timothy to invest focused effort—diligence—in coming.

Christians are in a spiritual warfare. The devil, the world, and the flesh are real enemies. These spiritual enemies are out to destroy the testimony and effectiveness of the believer. The enemy will seek to take you out or make you a prisoner of war. Thus, we are called upon to be good soldiers for the war.

John was in prison. It certainly was not a very cheerful place to be in, and it would be easy for us to understand his doubtful heart. “I don’t know fellows, this is not at all what I expected. Maybe you should go ask the Master if He is really the Messiah?”

Scripture tells us that the devil is a liar. One lie he tells is that we can sin and get away with it. Perhaps a worse lie is that once we do sin, God doesn’t want us back. Even after Christians repent and return to fellowship with God, the devil tries to make them think that they are now second-class citizens.

I’m thankful for Memorial Day. First, I’m thankful for the unspeakably precious sacrifices men and women have made for our freedom. Second, I’m thankful that we have set aside a day to honor and commemorate these sacrifices. We so easily forget what is truly important in life—especially that which others have given us.

It’s hard to believe that we are already entering another summer season of ministry. Depending on your occupation and age, the word summer likely holds varying connotations for you. If you are a student, it means vacation! If you are a teacher, it means preparation. If you are a farmer, it means work.

Moses had Aaron; David had Jonathan; and Paul had Barnabas, then Silas, then Timothy. Moody had Torrey, Frank Norris had Louis Entzminger, and Lee Roberson had J. R. Faulkner.

I don’t know if your life is like mine, but I find that time is moving at breakneck speed. I hardly get a new week started when it seems like the week is over and I am looking at a new week. They say that time moves quicker the older you get. I don’t know why that is, but it certainly seems true.

In war there are no blacks and whites, young and old—only soldiers. Let us fight for Him. “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”—2 Timothy 2:3–4

What comes to your mind when you think of the word renew? At first we might think of something that is expired and needs to be renewed, such as a driver’s license or passport. Or, we might recall a time when we ran out of our medicine and needed to renew a prescription.

Hyper Calvinists believe in unconditional election—the teaching that there is no condition for God choosing you to be saved before creation, other than His secret will. In fact, one well known Calvinist has even stated that faith is not a condition for election.

It seems to me that there are two extremes when it comes to the will of God. One extreme is demonstrated by those who are willing to let their experiences trump the Word of God. The other extreme is the position that the only way God speaks to man today is through His Word.

The phrase by faith appears fourteen times in Hebrews 11—a chapter often described as the “Hall of faith.” This chapter briefly chronicles the testimonies of many Bible characters as they lived and walked by faith: Abraham, Moses, Enoch, Joseph, Noah, Joshua, even Rahab.

Giving is not a minor topic in Scripture. In fact, the word give in its various forms is used 2,162 times throughout the Bible—that is more than believe (271 times), prayer (268 times), and love (714 times) all combined! Of the twenty-nine parables Jesus told, sixteen deal with money or possessions.

We live in a day of analysts. And everyone, it seems, wants to analyze the church. Some analyze to be critical, some to posture themselves as “better than the imperfect church” in order to gain members for their “near-perfect church.” It seems most pastors view themselves to be more balanced than others or to have a better understanding of grace, theology, missions, etc. than others. Perhaps these self-assessments are true, perhaps not.

One of the most often rehearsed quotes from the lips of the apostle Paul can be found in the third chapter of the book of Philippians. After listing all the things he has been through—both good and bad—he reaffirms his intention to continue to pursue Christ by saying:

In the home where I lived as a boy, there was a medicine cabinet that hung on the wall above the sink in the bathroom. That cabinet is where you would find the thermometer and antibiotic cream and other items that relate to health and sickness. In that cabinet were two small bottles that looked very similar.