When I preach – no matter where it is in the world – I can always count on five areas of human need that afflict all peoples. Emptiness, loneliness, guilt, fear of death, deep-seated insecurity.
Victor Hugo said of death: “When I go down to the grave I can say, like so many others: I have finished my work, but I cannot say I have finished my life. My day’s work will begin the next morning. My tomb is not a blind alley. It is a thoroughfare. It closes in the twilight to be open in the dawn.
Don’t forget: Without fuel, a fire grows cold – and without the “fuel” of the Bible, prayer, and Christian fellowship, our faith grows cold.
Pleasures are the things that appeal to our flesh and to our lust. But joy is something else. Joy runs deep.
God has paid the greatest debt you will ever incur, and once you understand the incredible sacrifice He has made just for you, you will feel compelled to turn to God and to accept Jesus Christ into your heart.
Benevolent hands reach down from heaven to offer us the most hopeful warning and remedy: “Prepare to meet your God.
Satan wants to lure us into his traps, and he knows exactly what kind of “bait” will appeal to us. He knows what we’re like, and he will attack us exactly where we are the weakest.
We know we ought to know more about the Bible – but perhaps you’re like many Christians: It’s so overwhelming you’ve never really gotten into it. The first step is to realize what it is: God’s “love letter” to you. From one end to the other it tells of God’s love for us – a love so great that He sent His Son into the world to redeem us. You wouldn’t ignore a letter from someone who loved you; don’t ignore God’s love letter either.
The Bible teaches that our homes should be hospitable and that those who come in and out of our homes should sense the presence of Christ.
The happiest Christian homes I know are those given to hospitality, where neighbors feel at home, where young people are welcome, where the elderly are respected, where children are loved.
The home only fulfills its true purpose when it is God-controlled. Leave Jesus Christ out of your home and it loses its meaning. But take Christ into your heart and the life of your family, and He will transform your home.
When we are young and restless to be free, home is the place from which we long to escape. But if there is still a home intact when trouble arises and life becomes a battlefield, home is the place to which we yearn to return.
God does not want an apartment in our house. He claims our entire home from attic to cellar.
The Bible stands as the supreme Constitution for all mankind, its laws applying equally to all who live under its domain, without exception or special interpretation.
God wants us to be broken in spirit so that He can make us strong at the broken places.
Nations and civilizations rise, flourish for a time, and then decay. Eventually each comes to an end. This, because of sin, is the decree of history and the way of life on this planet.
I am still learning, for the Christian life is one of constant growth.
Do others see something of Christ in your life? Do they see a “family resemblance” to Him by the way you live?
One of our most deep-seated fears is that we might be called an “outsider.” This fear has led us down the road to conformity, has put the imprint of “the organization man” on our souls, and has robbed us of originality of thought, individuality of personality, and constructive action.
God’s goal isn’t just to remove the bad things in our lives; He wants to replace them with good things. His plan is to remake us from within, by His Holy Spirit.
The evangelistic harvest is always urgent. The destiny of men and of nations is always being decided. Every generation is crucial; every generation is strategic. But we cannot be held responsible for the past generation and we cannot bear full responsibility for the next one. However we do have our generation! God will hold us responsible at the judgment seat of Christ for how well we fulfilled our responsibilities and took advantage of our opportunities.