Happiness In Matthew 5, Jesus begins a sentence with the same words, “Blessed are...” eight different times. What does it mean to be blessed? It is a religious sounding word, isn’t it? It is pregnant with virtue–a stained glass sort of a word. The truth is, the Greek word simply means happy. In English,…

In the early 1960s, the Lincoln Futura concept car created for a 1955 auto show was not worth much. It was used a 1959 movie and then sold to automobile designer George Barris for one dollar. Since it was untitled and could not be insured, the car was had little value and was relegated to a back parking…

MISSIONAL In his new book titled American Buffalo, Steven Rinella says that hunting a buffalo in an enclosed pen isn’t hunting. Neither can a video game player call himself a car thief because he plays the popular video game Grand Theft Auto. In a similar way the Christian life is not authentic until…

In his book, The Prodigal God, Timothy Keller writes, “Christians commonly say they want a relationship with Jesus that they want to ‘get to know Jesus better.’ You will never be able to do that by yourself. You must be deeply involved in the church, in Christian community, with strong relationships…

Jesus told His disciples to take the Gospel to the entire world. Two thousand years later, the world is connected like never before, but hundreds of millions of people still do not have access to the Gospel in their heart language. Louann Hunt, who works with a ministry called Faith Comes By Hearing…

MISSION In his book, “An Unstoppable Force,” Erwin McManus writes, "The gospel flows best through the establishing of significant relationships that are authentic and healthy. When relationships become stagnant and the community of Christ closes itself to the outside world, the result is an institution…

Rick Warren says, “Growth is intentional. It requires commitment and effort to grow. A person must want to grow, decide to grow, and make an effort to grow.” --The Purpose Driven Church, 332. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and David Mills It is a tragedy that some people choose to live their Christian…

TRUTH Pastor Steven Furtick says he is diving into topics may other churches won’t touch because he believes people need to hear the truth. Furtick’s message series entitled, “Cow Tipping” is designed to tackle controversial topics and shine the light of God’s truth on them. Furtick is concerned that…

In Crazy Love, Francis Chan writes, “Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives.”—Jim L. Wilson and Stephen Argilla Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By a Relentless God P. 42. Worry can disable or paralyze us…

What is the worst thing that may happen to us because of our faith? In our current culture we may face ridicule or perhaps some form of censure, but for many in our world, the cost of following Jesus is paid in the blood of martyrdom. The mother of an Egyptian Coptic who was among the 21 Christians beheaded…

California pastor and author Francis Chan recently surprised church members saying he was leaving the church he and his wife planted because he feared he liked his popularity too much. Chan explained his actions and called the church to radical service at a recent Exhibition. Chan said he was concerned…

Money Myths 8 money myths and old sayings: Myth 1 Money is the root of all evil Truth: You may have heard your grandmamma say that while you were growing up, but it ain’t true! Pick up your Bible and read I Tim 6:10 which states that, “the love of money is the root of all evil,” not money itself. Nowhere…

In “Approved Life,” Joshua Saefkow writes, “In the 1951 children's classic, Alice in Wonderland, Alice asks Cheshire cat for advice when she comes to an intersection on the road. She said, ‘Cheshire, can you please tell me, which way I ought to go from here?’ ‘That depends a good deal on where you want…

DISCIPLESHIP What does it cost to follow Christ? For actor Jim Caviezel, who portrayed Jesus in the 2004 movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” the role has cost a lot. The actor says since he starred in the epic movie, good roles have been hard to come by. In 2004, he expressed interest in playing the…

What is the impact of our lives and our churches on our communities? Are we fulfilling our mission to reach the world with the message of the Gospel? Or are we just marking time and creating wonderful, peaceful communities of believers who are not impacting the world? The Barna Group has released a 2015…

The “Mythbusters” Television program, which airs on the Discovery Network examines urban legends, Internet myths, and other popular belief within the culture. Each week, the hosts of the program Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage test the myths using scientific methods and determine if they can be confirmed,…

A high school football team in California was forced to forfeit their game recently because they no longer had enough player to field a team. The Capistrano Valley Christian school team was leading the team from Hope Center by a score of 8 to 6. Two players were injured on one play, and those injuries…

In Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash A Revolution In Your Life in Christ, Peter Scazzero writes, “We're afraid of God's will being done because we can't control what he will do, when he will do it, how he will do it, and what the outcome might be. God's will requires surrender and trust, and…

When Mary Jane Ponten, who has cerebral palsy, first searched for Bible study resources for people with intellectual disabilities, she was surprised to learn that there was nothing specifically for her. Rather than be upset, she decided to write the kind of material they need to understand the Bible.…

Don’t live your life full of regret. Often we think the past is painted by regret, the present is haunted by regret, and the future is limited by regret. Even people we would never suspect, find their life overshadowed by regret. At 93 years old, Betty White has worked alongside comedic stars like Mary…

In the movie “Coming to America” An African Prince by the name of Prince Akeem (played by Eddie Murphy) and his sidekick-Seemi (Played by Arsenio Hall) came to America to find Akeem a Queen, and decided to live in Queens, NY. Akeem wanted to find an ordinary woman who loved him for more than his wealth…

IDENTITY In an act of kindness, Actor Kirk Douglas pulled over to the side of the road to pick up a Sailor on leave who was hitchhiking. When the Sailor recognized him, he said to Mr. Douglas, "Hey, man, do you know who you are?" That's a great question that everyone of us should ask ourselves from time…

In Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash A Revolution In Your Life in Christ, Peter Scazzero writes, “According to Gallup polls and sociologists, one of the greatest scandals of our day is that ‘evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered…

It is refreshing to have a place of solitude, a place to relax and experience the presence of God in His creation. Honeysuckles, climbing vines, lilies, violets, and roses covered Helen Keller’s family home. She found joy as she wandered, burying her face in the cool petals of the flowers and smelling…