Losing My Life

    When you are in a position of leadership your entire life becomes public. You have people looking up to you and down on you simultaneously. Your life is judged more harshly not only by those who you are leading, but by God. It's not something one should ask God for flippantly. That in mind, how do you view your own leaders? I would bet that the majority of us have complaints about them. So how do we deal with that Biblically?     First, we need to recognize that leadership in a church is God-appointed. God chooses who will lead the church for a specified season. Do you not think that He could take anyone out of a leadership position at any time if He so chose? The point is, we need to recognize Jesus' anointing and honor our leaders. We also need to judge less harshly those who are in those positions. What would the church see if your life was under the microscope? Have grace and compassion for those whose lives are constantly on display. One of the most import...

    Why do we hold ourselves to the measuring stick of the world when we were never meant to be like the world? We get turned off by churches that seem to be doing things too "supernaturally" or different because it's not what we are used to-- it's not like the world . Can't we just look like the world, but still go to Heaven? Friends, that is not the lifestyle we were called into.     We cannot continue to live like the world when we have Jesus. His Kingdom is far greater than the one you were living in before. This world belongs to Satan and if you haven't accepted Christ then you are living under his control. Jesus gives us citizenship to Heaven and we live in that reality even while we are here on earth. With Heaven comes love, healing, restoration, peace, joy, and self-control among many other beautiful things.     However, we cannot continue on as the world would and still reap all the benefits of Jesus' Kingdom. That is what Albert Einstein defi...

    From the beginning, before Jesus was ever on earth, his death and resurrection were prophesied over and over through the years. So of course, Jesus knew about it when it came time for Him to be given over and killed. Jesus talked to His Father and He knew the prophesies well. He knew His "fate" good and well, but He still had to choose it. We may forget, but Jesus had the same free will our Heavenly Father gave us! Jesus chose to die for us. He could have been taken safely into Heaven at any moment!     So what if He had chosen differently? We would still be under the enslavement of the law, struggling in our sin and never having a changed heart that only comes from knowing Jesus. Jesus loved His Father so much (and us so much) that He put His will above His own. He did what He knew was right even though He didn't want to go through with it. And where would you be if He hadn't?     My question to you is this: Are you putting the Father's will above ...

    In our society, words like "pure" and "innocent" have become synonymous with "naive." Why is this also the case in Christianity?  We talk about how wise one is when they have suffered great mistakes and tragedies in their lifetime, but what about the ones who haven't? What about those who have had little mistakes. Are they any less wise?     It is a myth that wisdom comes only from experience. Yes, we do learn lessons when we mess up, but God doesn't want us to mess up! He wants us to have the wisdom to avoid making those painful mistakes in the first place. Why would He even give us the Bible if He intended for us to make mistakes and learn all on our own? He doesn't want it to come to that! He even tells us specifically that if we ask for wisdom, we will receive it-- He doesn't say we have to have experience anything in particular to get it, simply that we should ask and believe.     The whole goal of Christianity is to become mor...

    When we are born again we become a new creation. The Bible tells us that our flesh is crucified just as Jesus was. That is a complete change! Our entire lifestyle should change when we meet Jesus because we are no longer living in our flesh, but by our Spirits. Why then, do we continue to look at the world purely through the eyes of our flesh?      When you get your Spirit born inside of you, the way you see everything should change. No longer do you see only what's in front of you, but you begin to see through the eyes of Jesus. You see what is under the surface. Your Spirit is keenly aware of what is going on around you. Whether its avoiding a dangerous situation, having compassion for a stranger, or even just seeing what Jesus sees in others.     Once you have been born again, you have are to keep in step with His Spirit. That means staying in tune with Jesus. Talk to Him and ask Him for His divine insight. Seek out the gifts He has already ...

    Many people believe that their problems have a location. Therefore, they believe that if they leave said location they will not have to face their problems. You will see people who change their settings again and again only to find that the same issues arise in every place. Running from your problems doesn't work because they will never stop chasing you down.     The good news is that when we have Jesus, we no longer have to run away. When we have Him all we have to do is race into His arms and let Him carry the weight we are facing. He is the only solution to our issues and until we get Him, we will continue to be chased. He takes us by the hand and leads us down the path of righteousness while doing all the work to restore our lives along the way.     So don't run away from your problems as if they have a location. They will always follow you wherever you go, until you have Jesus there to fight your battles for you. Run towards Heaven with your ey...

    I talk a lot about the importance of staying connected in Jesus community/church because it is the only way we grow into the maturity of Christ. Without being involved with others in His community, we are unable to gain more perspective of Christ than what we can see with our own eyes. He has placed a different perspective and piece of Himself into all of us who know Him, so that when we come together we can reflect the full image of Jesus.     None of us can do it on our own. We were never meant to walk out our walk of faith with no support. Instead, we help each other to grow into His image. One of the ways we do this is by speaking truth into each other's lives. When we do so, we can correct, encourage, and aid our brothers and sisters into being more in His likeness. We can only achieve that when we speak the truth in love. We are designed to live a lifestyle of love for our family in Christ and only when that is fulfilled can we speak into other's lives. ...