Why Suffering for Jesus Is Worth It
Because suffering for Jesus is the way of Jesus, it also brings life.
Author: J.D. Greear
The Transformative Power of Grace
The Reverend Willy Jenkins Jr. grew up in Mississippi under the hardship of Jim Crow. He worked for the ethnic integration of public schools and, because of this, was a target of violence. One day, some white teenagers cruised through the Jenkinses’ neighborhood, firebombing homes. They came to the Jenkins home to confront the pastor. … Continued
Dont Just Get Through Singleness, Thrive In It
Make room for God to work through it and thrive in singleness.
What Gospel-Shaped Love Looks Like
Jesus said the most defining characteristic of his church should be its love. Your love for each other, he told his disciples, is how the world will recognize that you belong to me. What convinces the world of the truth of the gospel is simply our gospel-shaped love for each other; its not our defense of the faith […]
How Much Should I Give? A Biblical Perspective
There seems to be two extremes when it comes to how Christians view their relationship with their possessions. The first one is that God wants 10%, often called the tithe. This is based on an Old Testament principle that the first 10% of what God gives us goes back to him. For this group, after you've learned how much to give, you've essentially fulfilled your duty and can do whatever you want with the rest. It's like a God-tax. After you pay it, you're done.
A Christian Response to Cancel Culture
Recently, I typed in how to be happy on our collective consciousness, Google, and one of the first articles was Three Ways to Be Happy Always. Quite a claim. This article had some legitimately good advice, but it was sprinkled in among some proverbs that were less-than-helpful. For instance, this priceless pearl of wisdom: Compliment yourself often. This highlights a broader issue where a Christian response to cancel culture is needed.
Why Being Good Enough Will Never Be Good Enough for God
My family loves the movie The Greatest Showman. Its the (highly embellished) account of P.T. Barnums rise to success. Theres a moving scene where his prospective father-in-law tells Barnum hell never be good enough for the mans daughter. He says, Shell see that and one day come back; shell grow tired of the poor life […]
Who Is the Main Character in the Story of Your Life?
Whats the point of your life? Were on this earth, the apostle Peter says, to glorify God and amplify the gospel: Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits (1 Peter 2:12). For someone who is the main character in the story of your life, what matters is how their situation prepares them and others for that home.
What Is the Believers Living Hope?
In his first letter, the apostle Peter says that, in the resurrection, we have a living hope. Hope is in short supply these days, and Ive heard a lot of people bring up the word. But hope without any substance isnt hope at all. Thats why Im thankful that Peter didnt just talk about the believer's living hope, […]
Looking for True Contentment in All the Wrong Places
Before you came to Christ, your life aspirations arose from a wrong way of looking at the world, what the apostle Peter calls the desires of your former ignorance (1 Peter 1:14). You thought, for instance, that romance was the key to true contentment. But at some point, you realized it wasnt quite as fulfilling as youd hoped. […]