In the Bible we are reminded that once we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are a new creation, a new person. 2 Cor.5:17 The Christian is a person whose identity is found in Jesus. We find many metaphors or illustrations in the Bible to help us understand who we are in Jesus. When…
Committed to Loving God and Loving People.
Posts by Ysrael De La Cruz
Struggling to keep Christ at the center of our Christmas celebration? The lure of materialism and all shiny things is real. The heart, quite literally, was behind the birth of Christ. Emmanuel-God with us; God came near. The Creator became the created to deal with our hearts. We had, have, and will have a sin…
We all have said at one time or another that God’s love is unconditional. We know this is stated in the Bible; however, I believe we have failed to explain what we mean when we describe God’s love as “unconditional.” The Bible is full of conditions established by God in his relationship with his people. …
Most of us claim to have faith or to believe in God. It is easy to make such profession when things seem well in our lives. However, it is in those difficult times that our faith will be shown; it will be evident whether we truly believe or not. James 2:14-26 reminds us that faith…
Large crowds followed Jesus everywhere he went; he was undoubtedly a very popular person during his ministry on earth. Have you ever thought that not everyone in the crowd became a true follower of Jesus? Sometimes people think they can follow Jesus in their own terms or whichever way they please. Jesus defined the relationship…
Junk food is defined as food that has low nutritional value; it may be very appealing and enjoyable, but not nutritious. A diet of junk food will be disastrous in someone’s life. There are lots of Christians, especially in America who are just eating “spiritual junk food” and they wonder why their faith is anemic. …
“Did you know it’s possible for a person to listen to biblical preaching and teaching, and even read the Bible himself, yet have it make it little difference in his life? My point is this: It takes more than just the mechanical exposure to the Bible to accomplish the renewing of the mind. It takes…
As church leaders, we have wrestled with this question for quite some time. If you work in a church, you see that some people tend to grow faster than others. In my years of ministry, I have witnessed this trend for quite a while. I have seen people who have been in the church a…
A great insight from the book “Multiply” by Francis Chan. “Somewhere along the line, it became popular to pursue Jesus while shunning organized religion. We even hear from people who ‘love Jesus but hate the church.’ While no one can deny that the church has its share of problems, Jesus never gave us the option…
Contentment is the inner joy or peace that doesn’t depend on our circumstances, but on our relationship with God. We struggle with being content in our society. Most people think that in order for them to be happy they have to accomplish things in life or have more money, etc. We live in our society…
Many times Christians may feel their growth is stagnant. They profess to believe or have faith in Jesus, but they may feel that they are not growing in their spiritual journey. Just as we take supplements when something is not right with our health, our faith also needs spiritual supplements. Peter wrote to Christians who…
By Angela De la Cruz I often wondered why God’s sense of humor played out the opposite of “traditional” molds in my life. I was confident growing up I would be married to someone who was in civil service of some kind, but I had made up my mind that I would not marry a…