The prayer Jesus teaches to the disciples has become woven into culture. But despite being so well known, it is not so well understood.

There comes a point when it’s no longer that we can’t believe, but that we won’t. And when that happens, we need the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to penetrate and tenderize our hearts once again.

Do you believe that you are “Christian”? Do you confess to be a “Christian”? If so, what does that mean? From Acts chapter 11, into the broader book of Acts, and beyond into the New Testament, we know that…

 In short, the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit brought 3,000 people from all over the ancient world to saving faith in Jesus Christ and created the church!

Often, when God asks us to change direction He does so without telling us the final destination. Scripture shows us this in many of its stories, but perhaps nowhere more powerfully than in the person of Abraham.

If you don't want to give up, you're probably not doing anything worth doing.

If you don't want to give up, you're probably not doing anything hard.

Often we ask God to take our weakness away.  We ask for strength.  Now, there’s nothing wrong with asking for those things.  But sometimes, when those prayers go unanswered, we wonder why.

We only discover the counterfeit when we know the truth. We only discover the fake when we know the original. We only know the unworthy when we know the worthy.

In the book of James, the brother of Jesus compares our tongue - that is, our speech - with a tiny ember that sparks a forest fire.  Likewise, the tongue, though a small part of the body, can start our relationships on fire.

In the letter to the Ephesian Church, Paul says something quite striking. Paul then instructs them that they ARE light!  Not only that they are "in" light, but that IN Christ, they have become light!

Two weeks ago I made a reel of Levi playing in the backyard using his imagination. It lasts 43 seconds. It’s possible people in my own family haven’t watched till the end.

Have you stopped to consider the astounding reality that the God who created all things desires to have a relationship with His creation?  With you?

The word of God to us in scripture  exhorts us to be thankful over 150 times.  Thankfulness, expressed in different ways, should be a part of who we are as disciples of Jesus.

We cannot GET renewed, at least not like you can go to the store and get milk or protein bars. We can only BE renewed, when acted upon by something or someone outside ourselves.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ changed everything.  Jesus being raised is the central moment, the most critical event for all the world and every human being.  

Palm Sunday commemorates the day that King Jesus, Messiah, entered Jerusalem to the cheers of "hosanna" - that is, "LORD save us".  

Psalm 24:3-4 says, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false”.

You may have heard the aphorism,"Forgive and Forget".  Well, that's not exactly in the Bible.  It doesn't match our human experience either.  Sure, for small offenses, we forget.

"Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?” (Acts 1:11) Here is a question that provokes a deeper question in me:

Do I functionally live as if Jesus is away from me?

As disciples of Jesus, we need to be reminded of the basics on a regular basis.  As Paul says in Romans 12, "do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."