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We talk a lot about revival. We pray for revival in our churches. We ask God to revive our nation. We look at the condition of the world and cry out, “Lord, something has to change.” And maybe it does. But what if revival begins somewhere much closer? What if revival begins inside us? What if one of the things keeping us spiritually exhausted isn't simply how bad the world has become, but how much time we spend looking at everything that's wrong? The Church is doing this wron

Jesus never promised His followers an easy road. He warned that we would be hated. He warned that we would be rejected. He warned that following Him could cost us relationships, comfort, reputation, and even our lives. Jesus said: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” — John 15:18 (KJV) The Bible prepares the Church to face persecution. But somewhere along the way, we need to be careful that in our desire to defend truth, we don't become the o

Something is happening that should get the attention of the Church. In places where following Jesus can cost people everything, people are turning to Christ. In Iran, reports continue to tell of Muslims encountering Jesus, underground churches growing, and believers following Christ despite enormous personal risk. At the same time, I recently heard the testimony of a missionary woman who experienced terrible persecution while serving in a Muslim-majority country. She and her

I recently heard the testimony of a missionary couple who served in a Muslim-controlled country. Their ministry came at an incredible cost. They were arrested. They were beaten. They were threatened. The wife endured horrific abuse. Eventually, they returned to the United States. You would think they would never want to go back. But after about a year, they did. Why? Their explanation has stayed with me. They described how real their dependence upon God had become while servi

When we hear the word gluttony, most of us immediately think about food. We picture someone who continually overeats or refuses to control their appetite. But what if uncontrolled appetite can reveal itself in other areas of our lives? We can overindulge in entertainment. We can become consumed with work. We can obsess over exercise, relationships, social media, attention, possessions, or success. Anything we continually consume without restraint can begin controlling us. But

Jesus made an incredible promise about prayer: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”— John 15:7 ESV We often focus on the last part: “Ask whatever you wish.” But what if the key to understanding that promise is found in what Jesus said first? “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you…” Jesus wasn't giving us a formula for manipulating God into giving us whatever we want. He was inviting us into a relationship

I recently heard someone make this statement: “Only God should correct you. The Holy Spirit lives inside of you, so if God wants something changed, the Holy Spirit will tell you.” There is something true in that statement. God does correct His children. The Holy Spirit does convict us, lead us, teach us, and reveal areas of our lives that need to change. But there is a problem when we take that truth one step further and conclude: “Therefore, God will never use another person

There is something terrifying about the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3. They were not a church that believed they had abandoned God. They believed they were doing fine. That may be what makes Jesus' warning to them so important for the modern Church. Jesus said: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing…”— Revelation 3:17 KJV Notice the problem. They said, “I have need of nothing.” Jesus said they did not realize how desperately n

There is something I believe can become very dangerous in our study of the Bible: We can read Scripture and assume that because we understood the words we read, we automatically understood what Scripture meant. I want to be very clear about what I am saying. I am not saying it is dangerous to read the Bible for yourself. Quite the opposite. Every believer should read Scripture, study Scripture, meditate on Scripture, and allow the Word of God to shape how they live. The probl

I think sometimes we set our standards for people so high that we actually rob ourselves of the opportunity to learn from God through other people. We decide what someone used by God should look like. How they should speak. What their past should look like. How educated they should be. How confident they should be. What denomination they should belong to. How polished their delivery should be. And if they don't meet those standards, we decide there probably isn't anything we

There is something deeply wrong when our beliefs cause us to look at another person and hope they are destroyed. It does not matter how wrong we believe they are. It does not matter how sinful their lifestyle may be. It does not matter how badly they have treated us. It does not even matter if they openly oppose everything we believe. If our response is hatred—if somewhere inside us we actually want to see them condemned—then we need to examine what is happening in our own he

One of the greatest dangers in Christianity is taking something God did in our life and turning it into a rule for everyone else's life. “God delivered me this way, so this is how deliverance works.” “God called me this way, so this is how calling works.” “God speaks to me this way, so this is how He must speak to you.” “God convicted me about this, so every Christian should have the same conviction.” Without realizing it, we can take our testimony and turn it into someone el

We talk about church unity a lot. We pray for unity. We preach about unity. We hold community worship nights and pastors' gatherings and talk about how wonderful it is when churches work together. But I have been thinking about a harder question: What does church unity look like when it actually costs our church something? Because unity is easy when everyone benefits. It becomes much more revealing when helping another church means giving away something we could have kept for

I have been studying biblical correction a lot lately, and the deeper I go, the more I keep coming back to one simple thought: We would be much better off if we stopped looking for reasons to correct people and started looking for reasons to love them. Because when you genuinely love someone, it changes the way you correct them. And when you genuinely desire Christ, it changes the way you receive correction. Stop Looking for What's Wrong Sometimes Christians can become so foc

There is a fascinating contrast between two moments in Scripture: the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 and the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. At Babel, humanity looked upward and said: “Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name…” — Genesis 11:4, KJV Then, centuries later, a group of believers gathered in an upper room. They weren't building a tower. They weren't trying to make themselves famous. They weren't trying to force

“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” — John 7:24 KJV We live in a world where we can see one action, hear one sentence, read one post, or witness one moment and immediately believe we understand the person behind it. Someone stops coming to church. Someone becomes angry. Someone makes a bad decision. Someone responds differently than we expected. Someone falls into sin. And almost immediately, we begin filling in the blanks. “They don't care

When we hear the word correction, many of us immediately picture confrontation. Someone is doing something wrong. Someone else points it out. The person is told what needs to change. But I believe we have made biblical correction much smaller than it actually is. Correction is ultimately redirection. It is recognizing something that is wrong, broken, misunderstood, sinful, or out of alignment and helping point that person toward what is true, healthy, and ultimately toward Ch

Division has become so common in the Church that sometimes we barely notice it anymore. One Christian disagrees with another, and within minutes, someone is labeled false. Churches separate. Friendships end. Social media posts are made. People gather others to their side, and before long, brothers and sisters who both confess Jesus Christ as Lord are treating one another like enemies. But what if we have been asking the wrong question? Instead of asking, “Who is right?” perha

Hebrews 11 is often called the “Hall of Faith.” It gives us a list of men and women who trusted God through impossible circumstances. But when you read the chapter carefully, something interesting begins to stand out: Their faith caused them to do something. They didn't simply believe God existed. They believed God enough to arrange their lives around what He had said. And perhaps one of the clearest examples is Noah. Noah Didn't Wait for the Boat Hebrews 11:7 says: “By faith

Before you worry about tomorrow, remember something: Jesus already told you what to do with it. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”— Matthew 6:34, NKJV Think about how much of our anxiety isn't actually connected to something happening right now. It's connected to tomorrow. What if this happens? What if I lose them? What if the money doesn't come? What if the opportunity falls apart?