The gospel is: “Jesus lived the life I should have lived and died the death I should have died.” Salvation comes to those who believe this. A question often asked is: “Now that I’ve ‘crossed over’, what should I do? Now that I believe the gospel, what’s next?” God wants us to make forward progress…
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“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 Imagine going on a hike through the forest and getting lost. What was supposed to be a 2-hour…
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Faith. The word is thrown around quite a bit. “Where is she in the faith?”“Does he have faith?”“I have faith.” For most religious people, ‘faith’ is important. But why? “[We] know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we…
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Let’s be honest. Our prayer lives can be anemic. And often, our times of prayer only heat up when things are difficult. In those difficult times we cry out to God to solve our problems, but how much of our prayer time should be used for this kind of praying? Studying the apostle Paul’s prayers…
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Imagine a conversation like this: Skeptic: I don’t believe in Christianity.Christian: Why not?Skeptic: Because science can prove some of the stuff in the Bible isn’t possible. There’s no way it could have happened.Christian: So science is what you use to determine what is true?Skeptic: Yes.Christian: How did you decide science is what you would use to determine what…
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The perception religious people often have of salvation is that it’s a “get out of jail free card.” It’s an “insurance policy” we can cash in when we need it. One of the reasons I love to read and study the Bible is that it so frequently challenges my assumptions and makes me rethink my…
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“I know what I need. My motives are pure. Certainly this prayer request is something God would want to answer.” How often do these thoughts run through our minds? And when He doesn’t give us what we asked for, we’re perplexed and even a bit agitated. How do we deal with unanswered prayer? Jesus addresses…
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’Tis the season to be thankful. Thankful for family and friends, health and food, clothing and shelter. I enjoy Thanksgiving and the traditions it brings. But the thanks we offer around Thanksgiving has always struck me as a bit forced. Perhaps it draws out the cynic in me, but questions like: “are we really thankful…
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So you say you have ‘faith’. Great! But is the faith you say you have the kind of faith that will save you? The Bible clearly elucidates a kind of faith that is fraudulent; one that will not hold up under the scrutiny of a holy God on the last day. Are you sure the faith you…
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This is the final installment to this short series on “Sloppy Christian Sayings.” The purpose in doing a series like this isn’t to be harsh or critical of what Christians say. The purpose is simply to encourage us to pay more careful attention to the details of Scripture. God bothered to put it there, so…
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