True Wealth Is Staring You In The Face

If you stumbled onto a flux capacitor—you know, like the one in Back to the Future—and you could travel back to any time in your life, what year would you choose? I think I’d choose 1997. It’s the year I met my wife, Veronica, and the year I left to serve as a missionary in Southeast Asia. There are so many things I’d like to tell my 24-year-old self.

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Experiencing Awesomeness

More than I can say, I hate it, but it’s reality: I’m more easily influenced by people other than Jesus than I ever want to admit. And I’m a pastor. Shouldn’t I be an influencer rather than the influenced? A few years ago, when everyone in our culture started saying, “That’s awesome!” about something good or exciting, I followed suit. Hey, I’m an outgoing and enthusiastic, and extroverted guy who tends ...

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Why Are There Four Gospels? Portraits of Jesus Christ

If four of your closest friends wrote a biography about you, they might tell some of the same stories, but each description would be different. One friend might focus on your sense of humor, while another would emphasize your integrity. It is the same with the Gospels. Under the Holy Spirit's inspiration, each of the Gospel writers highlights a different aspect of the life of Christ.

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Redeemed at the Cross

The Bible says that when Christ died on the cross, He did so to "redeem" sinners (see Titus 2:12-14). But have you ever thought about what it really means to be redeemed? You see, redemption is a marketplace term. It comes from the world of commerce. It means "to buy something back." Historically, it was used in the slave trade. A slave, made so by debt or circumstance, could be ...

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Fight to Win!

This often-misunderstood verse has led to some confusion but without cause. When studied in its context—as all Scripture must be—we see an amazing challenge given by our Lord, and it is this: the depth of our hunger and thirst for righteousness determines our Christian advancement. The kingdom of heaven takes its ground via violent warfare in the spiritual realm. Those who lay hold of it are those who will not ...

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