Finding true joy by abiding in Jesus.Every spring when I was growing up, we would go into the garden and clean up all the dead vines from the plants that died over the winter. They were no longer connected to their source of life and would not be producing fruit, so we gathered them up and placed them in a pile to be burned. Jesus uses this simple example from nature to present us with a great tru...  Read More

Sanctification—our growth in holiness—is a process that lasts from the moment of our conversion until we are glorified in heaven. God definitively sets us apart as His holy people when we turn to Christ, and so we can be called “saints” (Eph. 1:1).However, becoming holy in practice takes time and a single-minded commitment to do what the Lord calls us to do as citizens of His kingdom (Luke 16:16)....  Read More

This weeks request for all who read this is to pray a simple prayer.  Not asking anything of God, but praising Him for His great love for us.  I hope you will join me in doing this. Here is mine.  May He bless you as you praise Him.“Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you that you are able to bring hope through e...  Read More

My reading this week led me to revisit a text we studied last year, Galatians 5:22-23. In this text, the apostle Paul laid out nine virtues called the Fruit of the Spirit. The text made me think of how my life has been shaped by experiences encountered along the way, especially in moments where the virtue of patience or perseverance was required. I must admit that I was a slow learner, yet those e...  Read More

Many of us can recall the time before our new life in Jesus when we walked in darkness, unaware of the light of Christ. Before Christ, there were seasons where we were slaves to our own ignorance and the futile pursuits of the things of the world.But then a glorious transformation occurred. We encountered the living hope (1 Peter 1:3) found in Jesus Christ. Through His resurrection, we were born a...  Read More

For Christians, both new and seasoned, obedience often stands as the defining test of our commitment to God. Our faith is not just a set of beliefs we profess, but it is lived out in the daily decisions we make, especially when we find ourselves faced with adversity and trials. In these moments, when obedience seems to clash with our desires and understanding, our faith is put to the test.In Genes...  Read More