Consider the Example of the Early Church and Then Follow It We’ve already talked about the three main ways Jesus changed our perspectives for following him when he fulfilled the Old Testament prophets. The early church applied this by meeting in homes, serving as priests, and helping those in need. As Jesus’s priests they minister […]
Celebrate Jesus and His Death on the Cross to Save Us Traditionally, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. It continues through to Maundy Thursday (the day before Good Friday and Jesus’s death). Some church calendars, however, end Lent on Good Friday and others on Holy Saturday. This is the season of Lent. (Resurrection Sunday begins the […]
Paul Spent Time with God in the Spiritual Realm and So Can We In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth he makes a cryptic statement about going to the third heaven. He doesn’t know if it’s an out of body experience or not (2 Corinthians 12:2). This is the only verse in the […]
Jesus Expects Us to Fast, but Do We? Jesus fasted (Luke 4:1-2). Should we follow his example? Though his disciples didn’t fast (Matthew 9:14), he said when he returned to heaven, the time for fasting would resume (Luke 5:34-35). In his well-known Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about fasting. He says, “when you fast […]
A Lifetime of Reading the Bible I’ve read Scripture most of my life. It’s been a huge part of my faith journey. To be clear, this started out with my parents reading to me: one Bible story each night before I went to bed. This helped me know God’s Word at an early age and […]
Once Reserved for Prophets, Now All People Can Have Visions from God A friend asked me about hearing from God and of visions from God. I often think about hearing from the Holy Spirit, but I infrequently consider visions, even though visions are one way that God communicates with us. Visions in the Bible Mentions […]
Some Things are More Important Than Religious Practices: Focus on What Matters Most I plan to fast one day a week. While I’m not as consistent as I would like, I follow through more often than I miss. Fasting is a spiritual act of worship for me. It better connects me with God and sharpens […]
God Doesn’t Want Part of Our Attention; He Deserves 100 Percent As the main speaker talked at a business conference, I looked around our table of eight. Seven people had their smartphones out, pushing buttons with intention and staring at those tiny screens as if they showed the most essential of images. Why were they […]
Daniel Reads the Scriptures, Fasts, and Prays, Confessing the Sins of His People When I think of praying, confessing my faults to God is not the first thing that comes to mind. And when I am convicted of the need to admit to an errant act or a missed opportunity, I don’t linger there. I […]
Emulate the Man Who Drove Merchants from the Temple and Denounced Hypocrisy When I blogged about the need for a male role model, I wondered if the life of Jesus might stand as an example for men to follow. Is he the perfect blend of godly power and God-intended masculinity? Indeed the character and actions […]