How do we prepare for suffering and persecution? Consider how you would train for lifting weights – you would start with small weights and increase from there. In the same way, God desires to train us in the small things.
Have you ever thought of joy as being a part of persecution and suffering? In this command, it is. As ironic as this sounds, the command to rejoice is an invitation to hope and courage during trials. Enduring persecution and suffering for the sake of Christ conforms us to His image...
While he's best known for his role in the movies Fireproof and Courageous, Ken Bevel's story goes far beyond these films. By age 17, he found his life heading toward disaster as he sought love & affirmation in all the wrong places.
Just as sheep will only follow one shepherd, believers in Christ can only follow one Lord. It's easy to think we are following Jesus when, in reality, many other things compete with following Him. These can include relationships, possessions, or even ministry.
Are we willing to follow Jesus wherever He leads? Or do we say that we trust Him while we reserve the right to make our own decisions? Following Jesus means trusting Christ to determine the direction of our lives, even when it doesn’t make sense.
Following Jesus is about getting to know and listening to His voice. Listening takes time — and it competes with the many noises and distractions of a busy life. But if we take the time to still our hearts and listen to God’s voice, we will learn to trust Him and follow where He leads.
When Jesus approached two fishermen with a life-changing call, they embraced the call wholeheartedly. To these men, following Jesus meant a complete change of identity and purpose. Jesus gives the same invitation Him today.
Used over 150 times in Scripture, "grace" is perhaps one of the most important words in the entire Bible! But what is the grace of God, and how does it function in our lives as believers? In this episode, Gabe Cleator and Eric Ludy dig deep into the vital topic of grace.