Following Jesus is all about losing your life. In His eyewitness account of Christ, Luke wrote, Then he said to them all,“If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save …
Jesus traveled with the disciples to Caesarea Philippi and sat down to ask the disciples an important question. Describing this conversation, Matthew wrote, Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:13-15 ESV Jesus asked the question to determine His disciples’ faith in Him. He wanted to know more about who they thought He was than He was interested in what the crowds thought. …
One question that people often ask me is, “What is eternal life?” Often when we think of eternal life we think about heaven. We focus on a place. Is heaven eternal life? If I’m looking for a definition regarding a matter of faith, I’m always doing to go to the Bible to find it. Regarding the matter of eternal life, …
Our culture provides various options for how to define love. Most of them look like the “second hand emotion” that Tina Turner sings about in her 80’s hit “What’s Love Got to Do With It”? People in our society throw the word love around rather flippantly. It seems to be some nebulous feeling that comes and goes with the changing …
The Apostle Paul’s admonition to the church members in Rome to “live at peace with everyone” is a message of truth we desperately need in our culture and as Great Commission Baptists. Too often on social media, in churches, and recently on committee Zoom meetings, we witness people in conflict speaking inciting words in an aggressive tone. Daily on Twitter, …
What does it mean when Scripture states that Jesus Christ is our advocate? In his letters to the churches, John wrote: “My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ the righteous one.” 1 John 2:1 CSB What a …
What is the length of God’s forgiveness? How long will God forgive? Describing the extent that God forgives, David wrote: For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Psalm 102:11-12 ESV How far is the east from the west? It is an infinite distance. David’s message to us is that God grants infinite forgiveness for the sins of people who follow Him. Christ followers …
Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus led through humble obedience, seeking to bring glory to His Father and not to Himself. That humility and obedience took Him to a hill called Calvary, where Jesus’ used the platform of death to bring the Father glory, completing the mission He’d been assigned—to seek and save the lost. Remember, if you want to be a Kingdom leader, Jesus’ platform was a cross.
