(Psalm 18:1)…..I will love You, O Lord, my strength. Notice David’s declaration here of his feelings towards God. David makes two profound declarations that seem to indicate how his life will be lived before the Lord. He declares his determination to love for the Lord, and he declares his absolute dependence upon the Lord. That is amazing, isn’t it? The word translated “love” here carries the idea of tender intimacy, a word of very strong devotion towards the one you love. As with Peter (John 21:15-17), and as with Mary …

God’s voice that is heard in His Word is designed to produce faith (trust, conviction) in every believer of Christ’s gospel (Romans 1:16-17). Fulfilled prophecy is designed to produce faith in God (Isaiah 42:8-9) (Isaiah 44:6-8)(Isaiah 45:18-21) (Isaiah 46:9-11). Just think how much prophecy has already been revealed in the word of God. Not only the word of God, but also eyewitness testimony offer evidence to believe in Jesus (Acts 10:39-42) (1 John 1:1-4) (2 Peter 1:15-16). How can any person not see and believe? Especially since through …

It began with Martin Luther and his 95 Theses. But it really the result of God and His word, and God using Martin Luther for His purpose. Near the end of his life, Luther declared, “All I have done is put forth, preach, and write the Word of God, and apart from this I have done nothing, it is the Word that has done great things, I have done nothing; the Word has done and achieved everything.” Elsewhere, he proclaimed, “By the Word the earth has been subdued; by …

(2 Peter 3:18)…..but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. We can gain understanding of spiritual growth by comparing it to our natural growth. There are many similarities. We do not start out as full-grown adults. It takes time, nurture, and experience to learn and develop, to mature. In the natural realm, physical food is required for each person for growth, for strength, for life. In the spiritual realm the food required for strength, growth, …

With a willingness to deny self and bear one’s own cross on a daily basis, one must be willing to do something that will take every day, if not every moment, of your life. It must be the passion that drives your very life. It is what you wake up for every morning, and bound from bed with the expectation of something grand as you begin your conversation with the Lord. You must be driven with all your being to…..

Follow Jesus

But what does involve? It’s not easy by any …

(Matthew 8:34-35)…..When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ³⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

Take Up His Cross

The Christian is to take up his cross and follow Jesus. What does that mean? It means to voluntarily and decisively accept the pain, shame, and persecution …

(Mark 8:34-35)…..When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ³⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus called people to become His disciples, such as Simon and Andrew (Mark 1:16-18), and also James and John (Mark 1:19-20). At the …

(Philippians 4:4)…..Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Now that is an amazing verse. Did you know that at least five times the Bible tells the people of God to rejoice in the Lord. We may not always be able to rejoice in other people, or in our circumstances, or just life in general, but we can always rejoice in our Lord. Right? Certainly people can be frustrating, people can be immature, people can even be undependable. But the Lord is different! God is dependable, God is faithful, …