Facing our sin is often painful. Many of us have struggled to let go of the shame and guilt that brings. But Jesus calls us to live free from the bondage of sin – and that includes shame and guilt! May these seven prayers help you work through these negative feelings and finally leave your past sins where they belong – at the foot of the cross.

God is loving, but God is love? What are we to make of statements like that? Our sinful world has many ideas about love, but all of them fall short of the perfect example that God presents through His very being. Since God is love, everything He does is loving. That is tremendously encouraging for us.

As a young man, I fell radically in love with Jesus. I poured my life into studying Scripture, learning to hear the Shepherd’s voice, and I committed to the local church. I started leading Bible studies and speaking at events. 

People saw this about me and said, “Hey. You should be a pastor.” I even had an older gentleman who wanted to sponsor me to attend a seminary. 

It bothered me. Yes, I know they all meant well, even trying to affirm me in the faith and my gifts. In part, I believed loving Jesus with all my heart, studying the Bible, and serving in the local church is normal Christianity. I resisted the idea that because I radically followed Jesus, I should have some sort of paid position or start a career in ministry. 

Everyone is called to minister the love of Jesus with their gifts. And that’s what I was doing. 

Ironically, God did call me to lead a ministry and even pastor a church plant. So maybe people saw things I didn’t yet. At the same time, I’m glad I waited until God’s voice led me to it, instead of assuming my passion meant I should follow that as a career. 

Perhaps you’re in the same place, feeling like maybe you’re called to a ministry career. I’ve been a missionary and a church planter, and I’d like to share with you seven questions to answer before you step into that role.

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Many people, even nonbelievers, know the name of Jesus. But throughout Scripture, there are many different names for our Savior. While this may be confusing for new Christians, knowing some of Jesus' various names helps us to understand different aspects of His character and how He cares for us, His people.

We get emergency warnings on our phones regarding winter storms. Or perhaps we watch the local news or get information on social media. As the months get colder, storms with snow, hail, and ice blanket our neighborhoods and communities. While a soft covering of snow creates a calm, beautiful scene, winter storms can be dangerous and harmful. 

Harsh conditions cause widespread damage. Freezing temperatures and heavy snows destroy homes, and cut power, leaving communities in the dark and vulnerable. Icy conditions cause more road accidents, and heavy ice topples trees and other buildings. For the poor or people dealing with homelessness, winter storms become especially dangerous. Without proper housing or heating, exposure to the cold leads to frostbite or hypothermia. Those lacking resources find it harder to endure or recover from winter storms. Local communities need to support these people more during these times. 

As in all things, we should pray during these times. With unfettered access to the throne of God, we make requests to the Father who loves us and has power to change anything. Prayer has power, and while preparing for the cold weather months, we must intercede on behalf of ourselves and our community. Here are seven prayers to pray for safety during winter storms.

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Our modern culture has believed a lie: if it doesn’t feel like love, then it’s not. The danger should be clear. First of all, our feelings are a poor measure for reality. We have all had moments where we “felt” something wasn’t true. Later evidence revealed a different conclusion. 

Second, it’s the wrong measure. God himself is love (1 John 4:8), it’s part of his identity and nature. Love isn’t a standard apart from him; he is love. Therefore, whatever he says and does is loving, by definition. 

At the same time, we shouldn’t completely dismiss emotion. God created our feelings, and they serve a purpose in our lives. We can’t help how we feel, and it proves unhealthy to disregard emotions. The Scripture gives us the right way forward. We admit our feelings and then submit them to the truth of God. As love and truth himself, this corrects our thinking, transforms our mind, and redeems our wayward emotions, helping them operate as they were initially created. 

Thankfully, God hasn’t left us alone in this process. He gives us signs and evidence of his love. When you don’t feel Gods love in the midst of trials or tragedy, you can look at these signs for hope and confidence that he loves you and is for you. 

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Unless we lock ourselves away somewhere and disconnect from the world, we see and hear the news. We get updates and headlines while we scroll. Friends on social media share their thoughts and opinions, maybe their overreactions to these events. We learn about corruption, death, and destruction on a daily basis, if not more. 

Such constant news about our world leaves us weary. A friend recently told me he felt the whole world was about to fall apart at any moment. Not his world. The whole earth. 

So should we just hide away until it’s all over? Jesus calls us to be in the world and not of it (John 17:14-16). This dual and connected call is important. We are to stay engaged with the world. How else would be bring the Kingdom to earth, as the Lord’s Prayer says? (Matthew 6:9-13). Yet we must also remember to not be of the world, not of its nature and source and end. 

Instead, we’ve been born of God and his eternal purpose. We must then bring God into this weary world. And the source of his salvation and redemption is his love. 

Here are seven biblical truths regarding God’s love to encourage us in this weary and broken world. 

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In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, “God became Man to turn creatures into sons; not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man.”

The Bible calls this the new creation, a new kind of human where we have become one in and with Christ. This transformational work makes us new and free from the inside out. Upon repentance, God fills us with his Spirit. This replaces our guilt with forgiveness, our striving with peace, and our brokenness with divine purpose. The new creation reshapes our whole identity to what God desired for us before time began. We can have intimacy with God. We are empowered to live in the world as reflections of his Kingdom.

God already finished this work. Our participation begins with understanding how to display it in our daily lives.

Here are seven daily disciplines to help Christians live out what God has already done. When we practice these habits, we reveal Christ in us to the world.

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There is an incredible biblical promise of a New Jerusalem and New Earth, a future where God dwells with humanity, bringing an end to sorrow and restoring creation to perfection. This ultimate hope, rooted in Old Testament prophecies and fulfilled through Jesus' teachings, empowers believers to live with courage and purpose today.

Spiritual gifts like teaching, evangelism, or even prophecy get a lot of hype. But every Christian has a spiritual gift, and many of them are less visible. But even without a flashy gift, your role in the body of Christ is still invaluable, and working at it diligently, without praise, may be even more worthwhile in the long run.

James tells us that our lives are "even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." Does that mean that it's foolish for us to make any plans for our lives? Not exactly. Let's take a look at how we can make God-honoring plans.

Spiritual disciplines may sound intimidating or unappetizing to us when we first hear of them. But these habits are gifts to help us grow stronger in our walk with Christ. Discipleship, too, is something that all are called to participate in, building each other up in spiritual maturity.

The body of Christ is meant to include all ages, all genders, and all cultures. The people of God are wonderfully diverse! A church that just caters to one particular group isn't necessarily wrong, but it isn't as strong as it could be. Below are some solid tips for helping bridge the generation gap in your local church.

It sounds like a cliché-type question. What is the meaning of life? 

Philosophers and mystics from ancient times have sought to answer this question. Socrates claimed the unexamined life isn’t worth living, and he sought right moral living. Plato tried to participate in an ultimate Good. Aristotle continued with his eudaimonia: flourishing through right activity. Other philosophies like the Stoics, Epicureans, Cynics, and Skeptics have their own perspectives on a transcendent meaning of life, informing how we should live. 

Of course, religions have risen across the centuries to answer this question, too. They each define some type of upward aim and structure morality from it. 

Today, our culture has come to a place of “living your own truth.” To many, the “meaning of life” is individually ascertained, not universal at all. 

The first question we should ask is, why do we ask the question at all?

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