The gift of salvation is first and foremost a change of identity. When we understand this truth, the New Testament will make much more sense. When we discover that our salvation promises to infuse us with the divine, turning us into sons and daughters of God, then we’ll begin to…

I wonder why so many of us are tempted to live as if we’re identified by our old labels. The word label hardly ever shows up in the Bible’s original languages, and when it does, it’s similar to the word called—he or she was “called” to something. And I think…

Jesus Christ was the greatest gift the world has ever been given. The next greatest gift is now. Today. We are not promised tomorrow. We are not promised another month. But you do have the incredible gift of right now. If you remember, Jesus was crucified between two thieves. I…

Some Christians seem to be discouraged all the time. Here are two perspectives of people who are chronically discouraged. Expect victory without difficulty. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the…

When I was nineteen, I got a job at an underage nightclub working as a doorman. I had walked with the Lord my whole life, so this job was getting me an education in a world with which I was completely unfamiliar. The club was in a rough area of…

My friend Jackie has tried to get pregnant for five years. The ache in her soul has been nearly unbearable. I was with her not long ago, and her despair had grown so intense that she was losing all hope in life, in God, in His “good and perfect gift”…

Today, two football teams square off in a game viewed by more people on the planet than any other championship. While the focus will be on the players on the field, there is one position that has more impact than any other. He will never catch a pass, throw a…

Finding our identity in anything other than Christ is like building our house on the edge of a volcano, and it could blow at any minute. If someone or something destroys that identity, we don’t know who we are anymore. We were created to worship, and we will worship something…

Here’s a twist—in Christ you have been born twice, so you have a new Father to resemble, and there’s a whole new heritage stream coming down to you. That means you have two family trees. It also means you have two birth certificates. One is earthly, one heavenly. On one…

God tells the prophet Jeremiah to make this grand pledge to Israel. God has a message for His wayward people.  He makes good on His first promise of the land, but it means so, so much more than that. The Lord God makes a greater promise, a promise to be with His…