In order to know your labor in Christ gains rest and significance; remember Israel birthed Jesus how rules and protects; overcome Satan’s accusations by Lamb’s blood, word of testimony and lose life for His sake, endure patiently and faithfully by resisting the devil and antichrist; resist deception and compromise in the great tribulation; achieve victory in Christ through…
Proclaiming God’s truth to extend the gospel is seen by testing the spirits to distinguish truth from falsehood, love God and others through the Holy Spirit, pray for sinning brothers to be kept safe from the evil one and idols, walk in Christ’s teaching without welcoming false teachers, and support gospel workers with hospitality and…
God is active in rescuing prodigals beginning with His sovereignty that spurs Him to action. God’s holiness protects prodigals from wrath, His love destroys those who harm them, His righteousness leads to godly lifestyle, His truth purifies their lips to call on Him and His power rescues them so they can walk with God. The…
In the preceding book of Micah, you learned how to gain spiritual maturity in order to pray confidently so sin is defeated. Nahum explains how to pray in order to see your wounds healed. By praying God’s attributes of goodness, sovereignty, power and truth, your wounds will be healed, especially the lust for control and…
Lack of love and disobedience prompt God’s judgment. He reveals His plans to stop injustice and destroy materialism. These things lead people to seek God by telling the truth, practicing justice, deny complacency to grieve over sin and hate pride. Understand God’s Wrath When People Lack Love Toward OthersAmos, a shepherd of Tekoa, said the…
The church is God’s plan for building healthy cities. Instead of taking personal responsibility, God’s people often rely on government and non-profit organizations to solve problems in the city whether it is housing, jobs, violence or social opportunities. Jeremiah encouraged an expanded role for the church in the city by speaking the whole truth of…
Jesus used on-the-job training in equipping His disciples as they served in the world. This became a starting point for implementing a larger vision of the church studied earlier in Eph. 1-3. Eph. 4-6 instructs how to implement the church’s larger vision by equipping believers for works of service and teaching the truth of Christ…
“Empower me to be a bold participant, rather than a timid saint in waiting; to exercise authority of honesty, rather than to defer to power or deceive to get it; to influence someone for justice, rather than impress anyone for gain; and by grace, to find treasures of joy, of friendship, of peace hidden in…
Author John Piper wrote, “We weren’t meant to be somebody–we were meant to know Somebody.” Making a name for yourself should not be your goal. Peter and the other disciples’ goal was to be successful fisherman. When they caught nothing, it seemed like failure. Christ taught them that success is a by-product of knowing and…
One of the prime reasons why the world does not believe in Christ is the division they see in the church. Marketing the church won’t work. When I served in college ministry, many students said the multitude of denominations confused them. It prevented them from seeing Christ. In John 17, Jesus prayed that believers would…
Many people think Bible reading and prayer is boring. They think it’s a waste of time. They question the value of abiding in His word and asking God for things. John 15-16 lists the following fruits in studying God’s word and prayer: spiritual character, multiply disciples, bear witness, persecution or martyrdom, know truth, see Christ,…
Tim Keller says the following about idolatry: 1. Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God,2. Anything you seek to give you what only God can give you.3. A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living4. An…