Flock is one of the metaphors we find in the Bible to refer to the church.  If the church is a flock, the leaders are known as “shepherds” (pastors)  Acts 20:28-31  The shepherds are responsible to care and protect the flock.  When Paul addressed the elders of the church in Ephesus, he told them to…

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 who are just eating “spiritual junk food” and they wonder why their faith is anemic.  In order to…

At any given situation we will respond either with faith or fear.  Jesus confronted his disciples’ fear that night as they were going to the other side of the Lake of Galilee; the story where Jesus was asleep in the boat while the disciples battled against the waves. (Mark 4:40).  The disciples woke Jesus in…

Opposing Jesus As Christians we may not realize, or perhaps thought has ever entered our minds.  At times, instead of being kingdom people, we become obstacles (stumbling blocks) in his kingdom agenda.  Have you ever found yourself fighting against God? We know from Scripture that Satan’s job has always been to thwart God’s plan; he…

Stop limiting God By: Ysrael De la Cruz It amazes me how often we limit God in our daily living. You may not realize it, or care to even admit, that you have a limited perspective of God.  God is Sovereign above everything he created.  Nothing is bigger or more powerful than him.  He (Jesus)…

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…

Jesus is referred to in the Bible as the “Cornerstone” (foundation stone).  He is also called the Living stone in 1 Peter 2: 4-8.  In other words, he is the foundation upon which we are to build our live.  In this very passage followers of Jesus are called “living stones” in (verse 5).  You also,…

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…

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…