Is it possible to not sin? Be careful how you answer. John the evangelist wrote: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Still, it is amazing how many people claiming to be Christians think they do not sin. Solomon taught: “There is […]
Confessing Darkness, Restoring Light (1 John 1:8-9)
Walking in the Darkness or Light (1 John 1:6-7)
Would those closest to you describe you as authentic or phony? Unfortunately, our culture blinds us to pretense: “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” (1 John 1:6). Too often, we claim to trust in Christ, but we live […]
God is Light: Flip the Switch (1 John 1:5)
Are you stumbling and bumping into life’s challenges with no clear vision for what lies ahead? One morning, I was late for a 5:30 a.m. meeting. As I rushed out of our bedroom and down the hallway, I bypassed the light switch, choosing to walk in the dark. I reached out with my hand to […]
3 Connections of Life: Every Encounter is a Three-Way Call (1 John 1:4)
God has designed every encounter with another person to be a three-way call. When we connect with God and then connect with others, they connect with God. All of this occurs through the power of the Holy Spirit moving through us, so everyone experiences the eternal and abundant life of Christ (1 John 1:1-3). This […]
3 Connections of Life: Others Connect with God in Christ (1 John 1:2)
As with a 120-volt electrical outlet in the United States, God has designed three connections with us to consider each day. The right vertical slot is the hot, or live, wire where the electricity flows into what is plugged in to the outlet, a picture of God first connecting with us in Christ and providing […]
3 Connections of Life: We Connect with Others in Christ (1 John 1:2)
Do you wake up every morning thinking about how to connect with those around you to draw them closer to Christ? After we first connect with God, receiving the electricity of the Holy Spirit, God wants us to connect with others in Christ. Jesus’ disciple, John, focused on this effort: “The life appeared; we have […]
3 Connections of Life: God Connects with Us in Christ (1 John 1:1)
In a world filled with darkness, hate, and death, God is Light, Love, and Life. Jesus Christ’s disciple, John, wrote to those who had fully surrendered their hearts to Christ when it could have cost them their livelihoods, if not their lives. His message is just as applicable for us today. Similar to an electrical […]
Peace in the Pandemic (Romans 15:13)
Our world is plagued with unrest amidst the global pandemic. While politicians are fighting, economies are shutting down, businesses are failing, people are getting sick, and many are dying. Each of those who have traveled to the other side have a name, a legacy, a family, and friends who mourn their loss. Even as vaccines […]
Focus Magnifies (Matthew 14:23-33)
Many would like to forget the year 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked unparalleled havoc across our globe. More than 81,000,000 reported cases have taken the lives of 1,771,000 worldwide. Many who died in 2020, regardless of the cause of death, did so without loved ones allowed to be at their sides. Government-ordered shutdowns have […]
A Spiritual House Connects with the Living Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:9-10)
You are a priest in God’s temple, His spiritual house, that builds, aligns, and connects each living stone with the Living Cornerstone, the first and foremost stone in the construction of any building. In the Kingdom of Christ, Jesus is that Living Cornerstone, and we are the living stones who build, align, and connect our […]
A Spiritual House Aligns with the Living Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:6-8)
How do you align your life with Jesus Christ? This is one of the most significant questions each of us must address because God has designed Christ-followers to be His ambassadors to a lost and hurting world. Jesus Christ the Living Cornerstone is the benchmark, the central point of measurement, for every living stone, each […]
Every Moment is an Act of Worship (Ephesians 5:19-22)
God has designed every moment to be a worship service where we evangelize and disciple through our everyday lives. We are God’s temple, His spiritual house, comprised of people who build their lives on Jesus Christ. Let’s look at the history of this imagery. When God led the Israelites as slaves from Egypt to the […]
You are a Priest: A Spiritual House Builds on the Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:4-5)
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 […]
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 […]
The Woman Caught in Adultery: The Heart of God (John 8:11)
Have you taken time to truly pursue the heart of God, knowing Him for who He is and focusing on His identity? Our sin flows from flawed hearts clouded from God’s original design and is completely foreign to the heart of God, which is holy. The woman caught in adultery answered Jesus’ question asking who […]
The Woman Caught in Adultery: The Face of God (John 8:10)
Do you daily seek the face of God? Are you consistently focusing on His presence? Too often, we seek only the hand of God, specifically, what He can do for us. We want the gifts at the expense of the Giver. We even desire forgiveness from Him without forgiving others. After the accusers of the […]
The Woman Caught in Adultery: The Hand of God (John 8:9)
The woman caught in adultery was saved by the hand of Jesus. The same is true for every sinner. After exposing the Pharisees’ mishandling of the law and their deceitful hearts, Jesus began to write again on the ground: “At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, […]