"But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." -Matthew 6:15 Sometimes life can make us upset. Sometimes people do things that just aren't right — even people who should know better! Or people may unknowingly do things that frustrate or hurt us, without even realizing it. Still, we have to guard our hearts in order not to let these bitter roots or feelings resulting from these things contaminate our faith and keep us from God's grace. "Loo

"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." -1 Timothy 6:12 One morning in Sunday service I heard our pastor talk about covering and protection. He requested that we cover them in prayer and defend them, and also that we defend and protect each other. But then he challenged us. He said, "Sometimes you gotta fight — because that's how you take ground." I thou

"Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity." -Proverbs 21:23 Did you know what you say defines your life? The Bible says, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." (Proverbs 18:21) Wow! That's pretty powerful — having the power of life and death in our tongues. But, do we realize what that really means? As a culture, we're pretty prone to putting ourselves down. "Oh, I'm just stupid."

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." -1 Peter 2:9 In the Old Testament, it was unlawful for priests to do or wear certain things — it would make them unfit for priestly service. Priests could not touch the dead body of a relative outside of their immediate family, shave or trim their beards, or marry a prostitute or divorced

"Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it." -Psalm 139:14 I love that God created us all so wonderfully, and so uniquely. There is no one on earth with the same fingerprints as you! However, people who are different from us can sure get on our nerves. How can we best relate to people who are different than we are? I think one of the best ways of interacting with different personalities is to understand what mak

"But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today." -Deuteronomy 8:18 What do we have to do to receive God's blessing? Is God's blessing ensured for "special" people? What does God's blessing look like, and how can we set ourselves up to receive His blessings? In Exodus and Deuteronomy, God describes a series of "do's" and "don'ts" that the Israelites are to

"The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." -John 10:10 Probably one of the greatest stumbling blocks to people's belief in God is this question: "If God is good, why does He allow suffering in the world?" I was on an online forum where a lot of atheists were one day, and the comment from one girl was, "It just seems like God is more akin to Hitler than anything else. Why would He force people to believe in Hi

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." -John 3:17 "The #1 barrier that keeps unbelievers from trusting Jesus is not the Good News but the sinful attitudes of believers." - Rick Warren Frequently I meet Christians who are caught up in the legalism of their beliefs. The stark contrast between right and wrong is their fuel. Grace in grey areas is difficult for them to grasp. For them, the pursuit of righteousness is

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." -Colossians 3:15 The best cure for restlessness and lack of contentment is learning to be thankful. Contentment doesn't have to do with the stuff we have now, where we are, where we want to be, or the person we hope to be — it has to do with a choice that we make in our hearts in the here and now. The Bible says, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and into hi

"Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people." -Proverbs 11:3 How important is honesty in a Christian's life? Is every Christian called to honesty? Two professors, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, have surveyed leaders for more than 25 years in every time of organization. They asked the question to more than 75,000 people on 6 continents, "What values, personal traits, or characteristics do you look for and admire in a leader?" The result? Honesty. And t