The first thing Jesus said to the first ones He called to follow Him was, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). This was about more than just relating to them in their current profession. This is basic to following Him. Fishermen catch fish, so how would one catch men?...

As stated last week, one of the great truths that can help keep us on the path of life is I Timothy 1:5, “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” In everything we are called to grow in love, and this helps us understand the purpose of...

There are certain aspects of our walk with God that are essential to character development. Understanding this helps make our challenges and battles more tolerable. Of primary importance is understanding our need to be rightly connected to the body of Christ, to know our place in it, and to...

The Lord has called those who overcome in this present world to the highest position in all creation—to be sons and daughters of God and heirs with His Son. This is the highest calling. It is only for those who prove to creation they are worthy to rule with Him by overcoming the greatest darkness...

We must never run from a battle. We are called to be overcomers, and overcomers don’t run from challenges. The Scriptures repeatedly state, “The Lord tests the righteous” (see Psalm 11:5) . These tests are not to cause us to fall, but to promote us. Just as we cannot advance in school without...

Being a Christian is not for wimps! Following the King is the hardest thing we can do in this life. It will put us at odds with almost everyone on earth, including some of our closest family members and friends. At times we will likely be at odds with others who are following Him. Then we have our...

As we continue this theme of growing in the patience required to inherit the promises, we will look at the most popular of all Scriptures about waiting on the Lord, Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and...

This is the third week we will address the need for patience and waiting on the Lord to follow the King. If you’re getting impatient with this, perhaps this is especially for you! I’m just sayin’… Growing in patience and learning to “wait upon the Lord” are necessary to walk in the faith that...

Last week I shared how many times I had missed the Lord and His will for my life because of my impatience. Since I asked Him to help me with this, I have had daily challenges to my patience and often many each day. I am also starting to expect daily encounters with the Lord, or some other special...

In the Gospels there’s a story about a sick man whose friends brought him to Jesus on a bed. Because of the crowd they could not get near Him, so they climbed up on the roof, tore a hole in it, and let him down in front of Jesus. The Lord was moved by their faith and healed him. The lesson here is...