walking after the spirit

How to Test the Spirits

March 30, 2023 // 9 Comments

Spirit, soul, and body – do you know the difference? Your spirit is that inner part of you that connects you to the spiritual world; your body or flesh is that external part of you that connects you to the physical world; and your soul is that part of you that chooses whether you are going to walk after the [...]

How to Walk in the Spirit

March 23, 2023 // 14 Comments

You were designed to be spiritual. You were created to walk in the spirit. Yet many people walk after the flesh. They make judgments based on what they hear, see, and understand, rather than listening to what their spirit is sensing the Lord is saying. To be led by the Spirit is to live with our eyes fixed on the [...]

What Does it Mean to be Spiritual?

March 16, 2023 // 10 Comments

What comes to mind when you think of the word spiritual? In scripture, we are exhorted to desire spiritual gifts, sing spiritual songs, and pray spiritual prayers. We are to walk in the spirit and live a spiritual life. Sounds good. But what does it mean? Here’s what spiritual does NOT mean: Spiritual does not [...]

Duck Church

March 9, 2023 // 4 Comments

Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish existentialist, used to tell a story about Duck Church. It goes something like this: Once upon a time there was a town of ducks. On Sunday morning all the ducks came waddling out of their houses and waddling into church where they squatted in their pews. After they sang their duck [...]

Four People You Should Never Listen To

April 29, 2021 // 24 Comments

On the day Jesus died, he encountered opposition from four powerful men. These authority figures represent the types of people who will seek to frustrate God’s plan for your life. We can learn a lot from how Jesus responded to these four men and his responses to each. 1. Annas the false father The first [...]

Walk like a King, Talk like a King

November 14, 2019 // 23 Comments

True kings rule. They draw lines in the sand and say, “This far and no further.” They protect and bless those around them and take ownership of other people’s problems. Jesus is a prime example. He didn’t have to leave the comforts of heaven and die for us but he did. This was a noble and kingly act. [...]

The Sinless Life?

October 27, 2016 // 106 Comments

When the Holy Spirit came into your life the change in you was like night and day. It’s like you were given a heart transplant. Your old heart, which was captive to desires of the flesh and enslaved to sin, was replaced with a new heart with new desires and appetites. Your new heart beats with new passions and [...]

What is the Law Written on our Hearts?

April 23, 2015 // 132 Comments

Six-hundred years before Jesus came, the prophet Jeremiah spoke of a new covenant that God would make with his people: This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they [...]

How Do We Continue in the Grace of God?

March 25, 2015 // 27 Comments

In the New Testament we are exhorted to continue in God’s kindness (Romans 11:22), continue in the faith (Colossians 1:23), continue in the teaching of Christ (2 John 1:9), and continue in what we have learned and been convinced of (2 Tim 3:14). In short, we are to continue in the grace of God: When the [...]

Believing in Vain (1 Corinthians 15:2)

February 12, 2015 // 42 Comments

“How do I know if my belief in Christ is in vain?” When a reader asked me this question recently, she was referring to Paul’s warning here: Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you [...]

What Does it Mean to Take Up Your Cross Daily?

July 3, 2013 // 183 Comments

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). What does it mean to take up your cross daily? I’m going to give you two interpretations and you can choose. Interpretation #1: Jesus is preaching self-denial “Following Christ is all [...]

Is God Sovereign?

January 4, 2013 // 277 Comments

A friend of mine lost several million dollars in a bad investment. He is well into his seventies and this was his retirement money, so this was a big blow. What happened? He took some bad financial advice and put his money where he shouldn’t have. But my friend doesn’t see it like that. He told me, “God is [...]