Examine Future Expectations A friend told me he prays every day for Jesus to return. “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” Yes, every day. His imperative words emoted sincerity and passion. He meant it; he really meant it. Upon hearing this, two thoughts simultaneously bombarded my mind. The first was the realization that I have never prayed […]
The Return of Jesus Today’s passage: Matthew 24:1–44, Mark 13, and Luke 21:5–38 Focus verse: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Matthew 24:36) After Jesus does some more teaching (Matthew 23), he and his disciples leave the temple. What […]
Where Do We Place Our Trust? Currency in the United States declares, “In God we trust.” But do we? Most people who follow Jesus would say the same thing. But do they? Is In God we trust a lifestyle choice or an empty platitude? Consider these areas for many people place their trust: Money In […]
3 Steps to Realize the Improvements You Desire As we move into the new year, many people make New Year’s resolutions, a practice I’ve criticized on many occasions. I’ve never been a fan of resolutions. Instead I set goals. These goals help me move forward into a better tomorrow. Some of my goals are for […]
Successfully Move from One Year to the Next I never really understood the allure of staying up late on December 31 to welcome in the new year. As such, I saw no reason to celebrate New Year’s Eve. As a teenager, however, I embraced the idea of staying up until midnight as confirmation I was […]
God Will Answer When We Pray After Zechariah’s discouraging implication that God is weary of his people and will no longer be their Shepherd, Zechariah has some good news. He concludes his prophetic writings with an optimistic prophecy of a better tomorrow, a future hope. This is a hope that the people of his day […]
Celebrate the Past, Anticipate the Future, and Embrace the Present Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). Yet most people only celebrate what he has done or anticipate what he will do. They fail to see what he is doing now. That’s why we must live for today. Yesterday The Bible records […]
If You Are a Citizen of the Kingdom of God, Then You Live Here as an Alien Peter writes his first letter to Christians scattered about in pagan cities. He first calls them exiles (1 Peter 1:1). He also refers to them as foreigners (1 Peter 2:11). Though foreigner is accurate, I prefer the label […]
Eternal Life Begins Today (Not When We Die) Jesus often talks about the kingdom of God (the kingdom of heaven). He talks about how close the kingdom of God is, saying that it’s near and even that it’s here. How do we understand this immediacy of the kingdom of God in our life today? Is […]
Pray for Family and Friends Ever since our daughter was born, I knew I should pray for her, as well as for her brother, when he came along. I did pray for them—when I thought of it—which wasn’t very often. I felt guilty for not doing what I knew I should do. And when I […]