I’ve been studying what it means to walk in the spirit. As I sought to have a better understanding of this concept, I looked to two great bible teachers, pastors John Mac Arthur and John Piper.

I found this illustration about sin that is eye opening. It reminds us that the grip of sin can be devastating.

1 Peter 1:3-4
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you”

Here are 5 amazing bible passages/verses that talk about 5 reasons we can be encouraged.

As stated on their website, “The Resolved conference is a call for a new generation to live with the same resolve.” The conference meets every year to hear bible teaching and be renewed in the word. I have been listening to the sermons and I have been very encouraged. I highly recommend these messages to anyone who wants to be challenged in their faith.

Repentance involves being broken before God and recognizing that your sin nailed Jesus to the cross. Repentance is a change of heart. Repentance is not just walking away from sin but it’s walking towards God in obedience.

What do you do when you encounter difficult times? How do you deal with it? The best way to deal with sadness and a broken heart is to immerse yourself in the bible.

As Christians we find that at times our heart grows cold in our affection for Christ. The business of life and the affection for other things gets in the way of what matters most. In this video, John Mac Arthur says, “Being a Christian is about loving Christ so much that you want to know Him, so much that you want to exalt Him, so much that you want to serve Him, so much that you want to be with Him, so much that you want to tell others about Him.”

Besides obvious physical reasons (such as addiction to drugs) why do we often ignore a warning that could potentially save our lives? I think we get so caught up in the events of our daily lives that we put “warnings” on the back burner and hope everything will work out okay. Sometimes fear of an event will cripple us and make us unable to deal with a situation. Therefore we don’t allow ourselves to think about an issue, hoping that if it isn’t in our thoughts….maybe it doesn’t exist.

I was watching the movie,”God’s Outlaw: The Story of William Tyndale” the other day and I was struck by his courage to spread the word of God in a society that saw it as a criminal act. He lived in a time where the Catholic church had the bible in Latin, but refused to allow the people to have the written word of God in English. They believed that it was the church’s responsibility to teach the scriptures, and that the people should not read the bible …

Jesus said in Matthew 7:13,14 says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”

Wouldn’t we all like to get the lesson without the suffering? I know I would, but that just isn’t how life works. Sometimes we are tested by things that threaten to break us and bring us down to points of despair we have never felt before. What kind of tests am I speaking of?

Have you ever felt flooded by tears that just won’t stop? God knows each and every tear that falls from your eyes and He understands the pain behind the tears. I’ve been there, and have found myself wondering why God allows particular circumstances in my life. Ecclesiastes 7:14 says, “In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider—God has made the one as well as the other…”.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
–Jim Elliot

“I don’t need God; I’m in control of my own life”. I’ve heard this phrase, or different versions of this phrase thrown around a lot. No one wants to feel out of control or unable to change the negative things in life. And we do have a certain measure of control over our lives. If I don’t like where I’m living I can move. If someone doesn’t like their job they have the option to look for a new job.

How many opportunities has God given you to follow Him? How many times has He sent someone to talk to you about the bible? How many times have you seen the beauty of nature and known in your heart that someone had to be behind it? How many times has your life been spared when an accident was just a hair away? God gives us opportunities to turn to Him but those opportunities will not last forever.

Awhile back I read a book written by Kay Marshall Strom and Michelle Rickett titled, “Daughters of Hope”. I was amazed at the true stories that were written about women who risked their lives for their faith in God. This is a foreign concept to those of us who live in countries where there is freedom of religion. While Christians in America may experience a small measure of ridicule or persecution, it is nothing compared to the stories of the women in this book.

Life can be so busy! You work eight or more hours a day, come home to responsibilities, find time for exercise, socializing, important tasks, etc. At the end of the day it wouldn’t be a surprise if there was no time for quiet and introspection.

I recently listened to a message on anxiety by Don Greene, one of the pastors at my church. He brought to light several things about anxiety that I found interesting. You can listen to his sermons on anxiety here.

He stated, “Your earthly anxieties expose your earthly priorities. What you’re anxious about shows what you think is important”.

Life is full of so much activity. If you look out on the street you will see busy people on their way….somewhere. Everyone has somewhere they have to go, a place they need to be. Look at people’s faces and you will see that each person has something on his or her mind. What are people thinking? It could be trivial, or it could be something more deep or emotional.

I love the light. It wakes me up in the morning and it stirs my senses. I love the way it warms my skin and illuminates the beauty of the morning. Light can be equated with life. Without the light we would not have life on earth. Light is a gift that we take for granted. Light is beautiful; from the early morning sunrise to the late evening sunset, the light allows us to see clearly.