Too often, when we surrender our lives to Christ, we expect pastors to conduct the ministry of our local church. Peter offered a different perspective, one that modeled the life of Christ and centered on Him, The Living Cornerstone. You might see the underlying premise as a radical idea: You are a priest. The cornerstone […]
You are a Priest: A Spiritual House Builds on the Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:4-5)
The Four Prison Walls of Withholding Forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32)
Jesus likened withholding forgiveness to a prison (Matthew 18:21-35). The irony is that the person who will not forgive is the one locked inside the four walls. Paul taught the Universal Church: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). Forgive means “to let […]
Walk Humbly (Micah 6:8)
Has a particular sin caught you in its web, and you just cannot seem to free yourself from its entanglement? Perhaps you find yourself sinning against others while avoiding reconciliation. At the same time, you might be holding on to someone’s sin against you, unable to let go. Whether we sin against others, or they […]
The Woman Caught in Adultery: Clay (Isaiah 64:8)
God seeks a humble, malleable heart of clay for each of us: “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8). A renowned poem by an unknown author describes our journey as clay hearts: I took a piece of […]
The Woman Caught in Adultery: Justice + Mercy = Forgiveness (John 8:11)
Do you struggle to forgive those who sin against you? It might be related to how you view the weight of your sin forgiven by a Holy God. Jesus said that the debtor who has been forgiven much loves much, but the person who has been forgiven little loves little (Luke 7:47). Too often, we […]