Tag: spiritual warfare

Discussion-based lessons have groups talking and changing. We are changed more by what we say than...

Think for a minute about how much more powerful than you God must be. As we saw in chapter two,...

The Old Testament is full of prophecies about Jesus. A few of Isaiah’s predictions include that...

When I was a seminary student, I heard the tragic story of another seminary student who lost his...

Over against all human pride, “God chose what is low and despised in the world … so that no human...

One of the most riveting movie scenes I’ve ever seen is from the 1997 movie Contact, starring Jodi...

It’s been gone for more than a century. Yet, if it weren’t for TV commercials, more people...

Perhaps pain or disappointment has driven you to look upward for answers. A professional athlete...

It is no wonder that thoughtful people find the gospel of Jesus Christ hard to believe, for the...

Jesus is in the life-changing business. From the very beginning all kinds of people were drawn to...

About forty years after Jesus’ crucifixion, Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, more commonly known...

Two people suffer from cancer. One becomes bitter and despairing while the other is a beacon of...

In his late seventies, Antony Flew, one of the twentieth century’s most famous philosophers,...

Only the sheer rapture of being lost in the worship of God is as exhilarating and intoxicating as...

It is true that our hearts are often sluggish. We do not feel the depth or intensity of affections...

The next reason I believe in the resurrection is that the identity of Jesus was confirmed. Who is...

What does the word idolatry suggest to your mind? Savages groveling before a totem pole?...

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all...

If someone were to ask you what was the greatest moment of your life, what would you say? What is...

Did Jesus of Nazareth really exist as a human being? Was He created by believers in an attempt to...

If I had my life to live over again, I’d try to make more mistakes next time. I would relax, I...

What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we set ourselves in life? To know God. What is...

Maximizing our joy in God is what we were created for. “But wait a minute,” someone says, “what...

As we begin our journey together to answer the question my professor asked me, there’s one thing...

Biblical scholar Ray van der Laan notes that the first-century Jews had a blessing that...

The largest radio receiver on earth is in New Mexico. Pilots call it “the mushroom patch.” Its...

Next to the giant textbooks in my backpack, Sacred Pathways felt small—the David amid many...

“But wait a minute,” says someone, “tell me this. Is our journey really necessary? In Spurgeon’s...

I hope it is plain so far that if you come to God dutifully, offering Him the reward of your...

Two brothers were walking on their father’s extensive, wooded acreage when they came upon a young...

On Michelangelo’s ceiling, all Adam has to do is lift a finger and he can touch the hand of God....

We don’t know much about Moses’s faith during the years he grew up in Pharaoh’s house or during...

No Spiritual Discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute...

There is more to Christian living than trying really hard to be good. More, but never less. Some...

Discipline, for a Christian, begins with the body. We have only one. It is this body that is the...

The story goes that a man was attending a cattle auction where the auctioneer was enumerating the...

The Greek language of Paul’s day had at least three common words that can be translated by the...

Frederick Buechner writes, “There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it,...

Discipline without direction is drudgery. Imagine six-year-old Kevin, whose parents have enrolled...

Henri Nouwen, a priest and prolific writer on the spiritual life, had just finished an exhausting...

His kingdom will never end. LUKE 1:33 She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His...

One Christmas Eve afternoon I escaped to walk through a favorite part in the woods on the...

David connected with God when he was a shepherd out in a field with his sheep, long before he...

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! PSALM 139:17 NKJV...

The oft-misunderstood Christian notion of sin makes many people uncomfortable. Indeed, it...

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid...

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. JOHN 1:14 NKJV Don’t we love the word “with”? “Will you...

Check out our Bible Study on Sam Chan’s book How to Talk About Jesus. It is on Amazon as...

You must change and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of...

So in his brief note of encouragement in chapter 16, we can discover several important principles...

Legalism is a silent killer. Like carbon monoxide, it is odorless, colorless, tasteless, and has...

The vast majority of what we do is simply habit. We either pray or not as a function of habit. We...

She brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a...

Imagine a man who read the Bible for an hour a day. Imagine he spent another hour a day memorizing...

A tool I sometimes use in teaching is to misquote a verse and see if people can catch me. Let’s...

Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” Three times he followed up with, “Feed My sheep,”...

I  have always been surprised that people who claim to be followers of Christ attempt to use...

What is discipleship, anyway? There could be a number of answers to this question, but central to...

No translation is a truly literal translation. There is just no such thing. But some are more...

The angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among...

Imagine you can’t play the piano and I asked you to play Amazing Grace. Would it be easy or hard?...

God is a God of reason (Isaiah 1:18), and He has created us as rational creatures in His image...

Imagine a Canadian caterpillar chomping away on a plant in September. You whisper to this...

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, equal with God the...

Is Christian living easy or hard? Is it easy or hard for you to live the Christian life? I have...

We want to talk about how we can be people who give thanks in all things, but before we do, let’s...

Truth, reason, and clear thinking are important because Christians can be doctrinally...

Why do so many struggle so deeply to live the disciple’s life? Why are so many church attenders so...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has...

Some today believe Melchizedek was a preincarnate appearance of Christ. They believe Hebrews 7:3...

Tithing is as old as history itself. When Abram left Ur of the Chaldeans on a pilgrimage of faith,...

And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” —Luke...

The Bible says that if you are a Christian, the kingdom of God is within you; the King has come to...

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not...

What does the Bible teach about sheol? The common word for “hell” in the Old Testament is sheol,...

The Concept of Ḥesed THE CONCEPT OF ḥesed is important to understanding the book of Ruth since it...

How much is enough? I had just arrived in Cambridge for my Ph.D. work. I knew nothing about the...

Who is the devil? Originally the devil was named Lucifer, one of the angels that worshiped God. He...

Shine among them like stars in the sky. —Philippians 2:15 NIV There’s something almost magical...

What is a demon? A demon is a fallen angel with the power of intellect, emotion, and will. Demons...

God is the subject of the first sentence of the Bible. “In the beginning, God.” He is also the...

What is an angel? An angel is a living being who has a personality (intellect, emotion, and will)....

With the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved....

Following is an incomplete list of what you have in store after your immorality is found out Your...

When God said, “Let there be light,” there was! But take note that he didn’t design the light...

He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their...

A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken....