What If I Can’t Do What God’s Asking Me To?
ASK ROGER AND BRIE Dear Roger and Brie, I think God’s calling me to go into full-time ministry. I feel it in my gut. When I pray, it comes to…
ASK ROGER AND BRIE Dear Roger and Brie, I think God’s calling me to go into full-time ministry. I feel it in my gut. When I pray, it comes to…
Dear Reader, I receive many emails asking questions about how to live a victorious Christian life. While many experiences, choices, and actions come together for our maturity, others can be…
The ultimate goal of the Christian life is to become just like Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). John the Apostle referred to those who had become like Christ as spiritual…
Angel and I have a nineteen-year-old and a seventeen-year-old. On the precipice of empty-nesting, I’ve been reflecting upon what has worked and what hasn’t worked as I have tried to…
Psalm 121: “I lift up mine eyes to the hills— Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, The Maker of Heaven and earth.. He will…
Michael J. Kruger’s book, Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College (Crossway, 2021) is a wonderful resource for high school or college students preparing to live…
Christianity is a faith of relationships. This means that we were created to be with one another. From the beginning of creation when God saw that the first man,…
Nourish Your Soul: 30 Day Challenge You have a living soul that lasts forever, and it forms the very foundation of who you are. This in itself is absolutely incredible!…
KNOWING GOD THROUGH PRAYER There is one practice in the Christian life that many Christians struggle with: prayer. Think about it this way: many Christians want to pray to God…
Feelings of spiritual inadequacy can make us fearful of God, but not in the healthy way. This series explores how knowing the loving, gracious God of Scripture can overcome our…
HOW GOD’S WORD CHANGES US ABIDING Read: John 14:23, 15:10; I 3:24, James 1:22 Becoming a spiritual young man begins by “Abiding” in God’s Word. We abide by: Knowing God’s…
GETTING TO KNOW THE HOLY SPIRIT As a new believer in Jesus you have probably heard about God the Father and Jesus the Son. But have you heard of the…
God loves you. God is good, God does good, and God is always working all things for our good—even through all the unexpected events (Romans 8:28). He doesn’t cause bad…
Malcolm Gladwell on His Personal Faith Journey, the Intersection of Church and Politics, and How He Fuels His Curiosity. www.careynieuwhof.com.
THE TRAITS OF A SPIRITUAL CHILD Read: I John 2:12-14 Their sins have been forgiven and they are just coming to know God (I John 2:12-13) The word “know” in…
Almost every spiritual conflict is fought on a specific battlefield. This is because the Enemy, Satan, only has access to a specific area of our lives where we might…
Have you ever had a life verse? God can give you a clear direction for your life as you study His Word! I am in a local women’s Bible…
Humility is not thinking less of yourself or having low self-esteem, it is thinking of yourself less, by thinking of others and God more. As the Spirit of God dwells…
Luke 15:11-32; Genesis 2-3 Aloneness reaches deep into the inner recesses of the human heart. No one likes to be alone. I was flying recently to Orlando: girl on airplane:…
A very wealthy gentleman offered a poor young boy the opportunity to earn some extra money by watching over his home while he and his family went away for a…
The search for purpose can lead you to some unexpected places. Learn to embrace the moment in time God has placed you in: you’re there for a reason. www.lifechurch.tv/open. Used…
Recently one of the members of our connection group courageously poured out her heart. She felt disconnected from God and bruised by a challenging season of life. “How can I…
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the…
“Returning to God” 1 Samuel 7:3-4 Introduction From Aaron and the golden calf to Paul and the altar to an unknown God, idolatry is discussed and illustrated as the governing sin…
“Returning to God” 1 Samuel 7:3-4 Introduction From Aaron and the golden calf to Paul and the altar to an unknown God, idolatry is discussed and illustrated as the governing…
KNOWING GOD FROM THE INSIDE OUT Ephesians 1:15-19; 3:14-19; Colossians 1:9-12 Imagine before we had the Bible, how would we know what God is like. Imagine you lived on…
Introduction Few people in history had as much to lose as Job had. He was enormously successful, vastly wealthy, blessed with a large family and he was known for his…
Introduction Some people have a compulsion to hoard things like collectibles, sentimental items or even garbage. When someone accumulates garbage, that waste attracts insects and rodents, making a bad situation…
Introduction Whenever a teacher in school gave you a test, they never had much to say during the test. The teacher had nothing to say because the test was designed…
SO I SAY, WALK BY THE SPIRIT, AND YOU WILL NOT GRATIFY THE DESIRES OF THE FLESH. GALATIANS 5:16 One of the most dangerous heresies that confronted the Early Church…
Let’s do a little Bible study together through I John 3:19-4:4. First, let’s look at our passage. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure…
The days of being buried in the church where you were baptized and married are long gone for most. Ours is the age of the McChurch. There are realities embedded…
I love to run—with friends, alone, on a trail, anytime, anywhere. I love the challenge and the press of reaching new milestones and levels of exertion, so I know what…
At the age of thirteen, I deceitfully hid her desert saga inside my textbook during class, trying to steal any precious reading time I could find. I was tempted to…
God’s truth must quicken your heart, be obeyed and take root in every part of your life. www.tonyevans.org.
“Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God” (Eph. 6:10-11). Spiritual victory is not passive; it involves the discipline of…
Paul writes that we should refrain from quenching the Holy Spirit as He works to make us look more like Jesus. Preached at the Village Church.
Believers, increasingly conformed to Christ in faith by the Spirit, and comprehending, in community, the immensity of Christ’s love, glorify God who dwells in them. Ephesians 3:14-21 This pericope is…
Yellowed and shriveled up, the sight before me was inconceivable. The cactus looked dead but was flush with flowers. Gently and carefully my coworker moved around the thorns to pick…
The blast felt like a furnace. Opening the door to greenhouse number seven, I could not believe I was going to walk into that atmosphere. The blazing dry heat confronting…
Introduction Certain things hopefully come with age as we grow and mature: more understanding, more wisdom, more responsibility and more expectations. Parents recognize this as they approach their children in…
Introduction Life is full of battles, wars in both the physical and spiritual worlds. Even being a follower of Jesus, you may eventually come to experience what feels like nothing…
Life, like gardening, is dynamic. If it’s not pests, then it’s weather. If it’s not weather, then it’s critters. If it’s not critters, then it’s poor soil. If it’s not…
No matter how long you’ve been in leadership, it still hurts when people leave your church. It’s somewhat easy to understand people leaving when things are going poorly— when there’s…
Revive Our Hearts Day 1: What You’ll Find Between the Covers We’re so glad you have taken the challenge to read the Bible daily for the next thirty days. It’s…
To some, the dark tone is Psalm 130 seems incongruous with the victorious praise you would expect from a “spiritual young man or woman.” The difference between a maturing Christian…
Dear Roger, I have a question: If our salvation is eternally secure, why does the Bible warn so strongly against apostasy? Sincerely, Weldon Dear Weldon, Let’s begin by defining the word,…
As a celebration for our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary my husband, Gary and I saved, sacrificed, and trained to carry backpacks across Italy on a Eurail Pass. Now, that Gary has…
The glory of God is coming but we must live in His presence now if we expect to walk in His glory later. And it is this very thing —…
Dear Roger, When I read the Bible, I see Jesus placing so much emphasis upon a full-blown commitment to him. His demands remind me of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer said: “When Jesus…
Dear Roger, I’m puzzled. When Jesus said that we are to take up our cross and follow Him, what did He mean? What is the cross, and what does it…
This morning, I’m reflecting on the fact that I’m going to die soon. I don’t know how soon. I don’t know whether I’ll live to be 90 or just have…
Like Paul praying for the church in Ephesus, we should earnestly seek the things that God has promised to those who are in Christ. www.thevillagechurch.net.
Denial is a concept found in virtually every major religion. Various ideas on the practice of self-denial can be found in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and other religious and philosophical…
“Heavenly places” means the “spiritual realm.” When you are under assault, when your life is being shattered, when you are trying to be in the will of God, you have…
Have you watched the pages of the calendar flip by or listened to the tick-tock of the clock counting out the hours year after year, wondering where God is in…
If you feel disconnected, hopeless, or you just know something is missing—it’s not the end of your story. It’s an opportunity to reconnect. To find hope. And to rediscover what…
Part one from the series on biblical interpretation from Tom Terry and Dr. Steve Posey discusses the importance of accurate biblical interpretation and the tools you need to understand God’s…
Jesus never seemed to be in a hurry. He lived and interacted with others at the speed of walking. He had time for people. He was relaxed. However, for most…
When life gets turned upside down, we might try to solve our problems on our own or turn to food, shopping, or an addiction for comfort and strength. But those…
Dear Roger, Our current crises are leading churches to develop all sorts of new technology to evangelize as well as minister to their own congregations. Streaming, zooming, drive-in church, online…
“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes…
There are three test areas to evaluate if we’re personally doing church right – are we growing in knowledge, love, and service? How do the following verses reinforce the importance…
Dear Roger, I’m not even sure how to ask this question. I am terribly discouraged. I am so overwhelmed with what is happening in the world. I’ve prayed and prayed,…
The Bismark was the pride and terror of the German Navy in WWII. It could outrun and outgun anything in the English Navy. But when being pursued by the British on…
Christianity is a faith of relationships. This means that we were created to be with one another. From the beginning of creation when God saw that the first man, Adam,…
I’ve decided that my life verse is Jeremiah 29:11-13. I’m usually not one to post about the new year. However, the lessons I’ve learned from studying these verses were ones…
I’ve decided that my verse for the new year is Jeremiah 29:11-13. I’m usually not one to post about the new year. However, the lessons I’ve learned from studying these…
Our emotional lives are driven by what we think. There is plenty of scripture instructing us how to think –taking captive every thought out of obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).…
Why is Jesus called the Bread of Life? “Get me in as fast as you can,” demanded the frantic woman at the blood lab, “I am fasting, and I…
Dear Roger, I really need to know what God says about swearing and cursing. It’s hard not to do, especially when you are around people who swear and curse all…
How can God use stress in our lives to produce good. How can it conform us to the image of Christ. Randy Alcorn writes: 1. God uses stress to get…
Do you crave God’s Word? Why or why not? Dr. John MacArthur writes: “Babies crave milk, and only milk. Parents care about the color of the blanket, the pattern of the curtains,…
Brandon Cox shares the prayers his church prayed for revival. You can pray them, too! “There were nine particular prayers we’ve prayed, repeatedly, and that we’re going to continue to…
One critical key to overcoming depression is to process your losses. A loss can be real, threatened or imagined, which is often a negative thought or lie that is believed.…
Dear Roger, I’ve been a nominal Christian for years. Recently I was invited to a Bible study group where they were studying in 1 John about spiritual children. It began…
Grief is never truly finished. When a loved one dies, we will always miss the relationship we had with that person. Sometimes we will re-experience the pain of that loss…
“My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you…
What is it in my own life that I need to change or should change? Change starts by first taking 100 percent responsibility for our thoughts, actions and attitudes. It…
Dear Roger, I’m a new Christian and I’d like to know more about spiritual gifts. Our pastor preached once on spiritual gifts, and then he went on to something else. How…
1. Position yourself in prayer by reading Scripture first. “In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD…
Dear Roger, I have an inoperable brain tumor. The pain is increasing. I am on heavy pain medicines. It still hurts. I’ve read several articles on dealing with pain, done…
“Books don’t change people,” John Piper once observed. “Paragraphs do. Sometimes even sentences.” A good sentence is a gift. We love finding complex truth shrinkwrapped in clear, simple, memorable form. It’s…
No matter how long you’ve been in leadership, it still hurts when people leave your church. It’s somewhat easy to understand people leaving when things are going poorly— when there’s…
Talk to any church leader, and they’ll tell you it feels more challenging than ever to get people to come to church on a Sunday. Even in growing churches…
When we’re in places of transition and trouble, God shows up to reveal that He has been with us all along. We can learn so much about meeting God when…
Facebook recently announced they’ve hit the milestone of two billion users. There are more Facebook members than members of any religion except Christianity. (Just barely. There are 2.4 billion proclaimed…
Long before Jesus took on the imagery of the vineyard for Himself, God had been using vineyard imagery to communicate His heart to the people. The Song of…
Here’s a question I am asked occasionally…Here’s my podcast with Doug: Guilt drives a dad to worry about how to explain to his daughter that she was conceived before her…
Dear Roger, In the past, I have been a part of many short term missions’ trips both at home in the U.S. and abroad in foreign countries. Lately however,…
Dear Roger, If I have a mortal sin on my soul, can I still attend a Sunday mass; will I still receive graces even tough I receive no communion?…
Recently, I had a phone call with a young leader convinced he was no longer qualified to lead because he’d messed up in a way that pretty much every man…
Dear Roger, I am a member of your church. We take the girls to various Assembly of God Churches, but I am allowed to bring some of them to Casas…
I believe that one day, my preaching of God’s Word will be called a hate crime. That day may come sooner than later. Look around. The way the U.S. is…
Dear Roger, Greetings. Does the Bible really mean that we will be judged and punished in heaven for our sins? As a Christian, I did “big” wrong things that…
“There are times when I am so unlike myself that I might be taken for someone else of an entirely opposite character.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Confessions, 1782 Last night Mary and…
Two thousand years ago, Jesus approached twelve seemingly unsuspecting Galileans and bid them: “Come, follow me.” For the next three years, they walked alongside him as he discipled them. Toward…
Vets tell us that our canines have the emotional and intellectual capacity of two-year-olds. I beg to disagree. Toddlers are much dumber than dogs, and I have hard evidence to…
Peter teaches how deeply Jesus values you and showers you with unconditional love, grace, joy and blessing for the good purpose of blessing others. Imagine the audience in 1 Peter.…
Battles come every day. In whatever form they come, they come. They come with relentless pressure, incessantly assailing the battlements of our lives and our culture. Battles come in our…
Why is Christianity declining in the U.S.? Here are five basic reasons found in Ross Douthat’s new book, Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics. FIVE MAJOR CATALYSTS…
Jesus engages people as souls. He engages all of them, not just one aspect of them. A deep life is living as the whole person Jesus redeemed you to be.…
Time is a precious commodity. If traded on the commodities market, its value would be incalculable. But alas, time cannot be bought or sold. And while the length of our…
If there’s anyone who wants to hurt the church, we have a spiritual enemy who wants I believe to divide us in denominations so we don’t work together. I also…
Seeking Sobriety Faithfully When we put a face to someone who uses drugs or abuses alcohol, we usually think of teenagers experimenting with marijuana, abusive fathers who always have a…
Dear Roger, My Bible study had a long discussion on Masons. None of us knew much about Masons except for one person. He told us that they were…
Last week we announced that the U.S. now has at least 8,000 multisite churches, a phenomenon growing in churches worldwide (www.leadnet.org/world) and which Leadership Network tracked in a recent survey.…
Like many younger ministers I worked far too many hours, never saying “no” to anyone’s request for my pastoral services. When salary increases were offered to me, I turned them…
When we find ourselves living in a spiritual desert, we must understand God wants us to bloom.
How do false teachers creep in and contaminate the church? Peter, in the book of 1 Peter, describes the nature of false teachers and their certain judgment. As believers, we…
Empower your son! You can, you know! How to give your son the confidence to say no! If you have a boy who’s entering the world of adolescence, there’s almost…
While I was getting my hair cut my hairdresser related to me a question one of her young children asked about whether or not poop smelled in Heaven. The…
Ed Young Jr. describes why God allows us to suffer, and how pain shapes us into the people God wants us to be. Pain is purposeful, building our faith. Pain…
The Plate High atop the old wooden cupboard, stood a beautiful, antique plate. She was by far the most valuable of them all. Day after day she sat high on…
Dear Roger, I recently became a Christian and I have a question. The woman who led me to Christ encouraged me to start reading my Bible immediately. She told me…
The clock was ticking, demanding her urgent attention, and yet she sat still. Martha breathed deeply and tried to close out the clamor of her to-do list. Rest. She wanted…
Who is your enemy? Perhaps you think of Satan or a political leader. Yet, it could be a family member, ex-spouse, neighbor or the person who just cut you off…
Four great discoveries are revealed in Romans 6. We have evil natures and have committed sins against a Holy God. While we desire to do well, we always struggle with…
Christians are called to be surrendered to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and bring glory to Christ. We are no longer able to live according to what we want.…
We cannot afford to be lukewarm Christians. Paul teaches in Romans 12:11 that serving the Lord means 1) seeing the Lord as worth more than what the appetites offer; and…
Francis Chan gives his testimony of how God reignited the fire of love and dedication in his heart. We can learn how to “regain” our first love for Jesus as…
I still chuckle when I think about the joke I heard about the game warden who got a quick lesson on fishing. It seems he noticed how this one particular…
Paul teaches us that we can know that we are buried with Christ, and raised to new life with Him. We can count ourselves dead to sin and alive to…
Sometimes God needs to break us out of our comfort zones to see what we can truly be if we surrender our lives to Him. God still stirs hearts –…
Do you remember the “Where’s Waldo” children’s books? Little ones (and their curious parents) search in the sea of faces for one nerdy little guy in a red and white…
What should we continually pray? Should we just pray for the ordinary needs of our lives-safety, security and happiness? Paul encourages the Ephesian Christians to continually pray for a deeper…
Dear Roger, I’ve heard that the Bible says that one of the ways we will know that the end is near is a dramatic increase in the number and intensity…
Jesus’ goal is for us to follow Him and to do in the lives of others what someone has already done in our own. To follow Christ means to fish…
Man is body, soul and spirit. Cultivating the inner spirit is critical because that is where God the Holy Spirit indwells and speaks.
Spiritual maturity moves us steadily toward intimacy with God. The greatest tragedy is the Christian who refuses to grow up.
Dear Roger, Abraham was known in the Bible as a man of great faith. By faith He left Ur, following the call of a God he had never known…
Dear Roger, What does the Bible say about plastic surgery? Anonymous Dear Anonymous, What does the Bible say about plastic surgery? Absolutely Nothing! Plastic surgery is never mentioned…
Our passion is to help people in their spiritual journeys so that they might become mature, passionate followers of Jesus. God is calling all of us to a greater pursuit…
Jesus’ parable of the soils challenges us to allow God’s Word to penetrate our life, to count the cost of following Christ and to take steps to move forward on…
God is the source of all agape love, the essence of His character. Believers, indwelt with the Holy Spirit, have that same capacity.
Knowing and loving God is facilitated by the revealed light of Christ and His Word and by intimately connecting with Jesus on a personal, experiential level.
Growth toward spiritual maturity is a journey into deeper intimacy with the Triune God that produces a reflection of Christ’s love to our near ones and to one another.
I’ve been reflecting back upon Christmas in a way that most people tend not too. I’ve decided that I’m all for the commercialization of Christmas. In fact, during a time…
Spiritual warfare is part of every believer’s journey to spiritual maturity. As the Word of God dwells in us, Jesus empowers us to resist the enemy and exercise authority over…
The detestable nature of rebellion is contrasted with submission. Pride’s destructive nature is weighed against humility.
We witness at every stage of our spiritual growth, but we evangelize more effectively as we mature in Christ. Fishing for lost souls looks like accepting the rejected, supporting the…
Our spiritual crucifixion is God’s work to make us into His image. It can be painful and take time depending on our barriers of pride and self-dependence. We can’t accelerate…
The Sermon on the Mount is Christ’s revolutionary teaching on God’s ability to transform the human heart. The Beatitudes, set forth in Matthew 5, are not a set of rules…
King Solomon learned that wealth, women, power and pleasure never bring satisfaction. Balance, simplicity and contentment may be gained by living a godly life. Pursue Me first, says God, and…
God wants to have a reciprocal, intimate relationship with us. Spiritual children experience the beginning of a relationship with their Heavenly Father. Spiritual young men and women know the Bible,…