Unpopular Christianity
Jesus spoke of His way being a narrow path that few find themselves upon, and our world is full of people who create their own paths of distorted Christianity. If the religious way is popular, it’s probably not the Jesus way.
🧰 Resources
Teach Us to Pray
Prayer is not an emergency hotline only to dial when we get in trouble; it is an ongoing connection with our Father so we can stay in step with His Son. If we want to learn how to pray well, we best go learn from Jesus.
Don’t Belittle Teenage Disciples
Teenagers get a bad rap in our society for being self-absorbed, technologically fixated, and unwillingly sacrificial. In our churches, we must not expect less from our students who desire to follow Jesus wholeheartedly.
The Atrocity of Selfish Christianity
If you listen to the way many Christians talk today, we sound so different from the way Jesus expected us to live and serve others. Instead of making it about Him and others, we make it all about becoming as comfortable as possible.
Beware the Traps of Sin
There are traps of sin that all of us can fall into because we are humans with desires of the flesh, but there are traps of sin that are very effective on you personally. If you want to follow Jesus in obedience, you must beware those traps.
How to Know If You Love Money Too Much
Money is a gift from God, but if it is not kept in the right position, it will take the place of God in our lives. In our society that treasures the riches of this world in an unhealthy way, disciples of Jesus must refocus their values.
Counting the Cost of Discipleship
Being a disciple of Jesus is more than adherence to a set of beliefs or acceptance to a momentary call; following Christ in this world changes everything. To say “yes” to Him might mean saying “no” to other things that we love.
Treating Prayer Like Your Phone
Our phones give us constant access to anyone or anything at any time, and they often distract us from the people around us. We are so prone to checking our phones throughout the day, but what if we treated the opportunity of prayer like that?
What to Do with That Selfish Person in Your Life
We all know the cringeworthy moments that can happen when a selfish person lacks self-awareness and says and does things that cause others pain. It is difficult to know how to help them redirect their attention away from themselves, but we must try.
How to Avoid Youthful Passions
At some point, we will all realize that we have never graduated from the childish way of thinking, that we ought to have what we want and ought to have it right now. This quest for immediate gratification is not from Christ and must be combatted in our lives.
“You Be You” Is Horrible Advice
We live in a world that encourages you to be you; the phrase implies that you should just live however you want. In all honesty, I can’t think of a more dangerous set of instructions to incorporate as you try to succeed at what God has called you to do.
The Global Mission Starts with Individual Evangelism
When we often think about the task of global missions, we can easily be overwhelmed by the great scope of work required. This worldwide task must begin much smaller with individual disciples taking personal responsibility for the work.
Reliable Connections & Directions
It’s great to have a personal desire to follow Jesus on the second mile but to do so successfully, you need some people around you heading down the same path. We need friendships that encourage our discipleship.
The Next Right Thing
Each of us lives with regrets from previous mistakes, but we can become dangerously apathetic and immobile afterward. Even if you recently messed up and are suffering from its consequences, do what you can while you can.
Intentional Staff Meetings
Many employees believe in a cause but get discouraged in the process when working with a directionless leader and misaligned coworkers. With a few adjustments, you can experience significant changes by coordinated efforts.
Recovering After Failure
It may not sound encouraging to anticipate failure as we follow Jesus, but none of us will always get it right. We should not wonder if we will fail, but we should consider how Jesus desires us to respond when the unavoidable happens.
Reclaiming Contentment
Stuff can’t save us, but that doesn’t stop us from thinking that the more that we have, the more contented we can become. The reality is that we must prioritize a settled disposition in our lifetime if we are going to survive materialistic traps.
Making Better Prayer Times
Even though prayer can be very challenging to stay consistent with focus and direction, we all know of its important for our lives. With some simple adjustments, you can create more effective times of prayer that will cause you to desire it more. It’s time to go the second mile in making better prayer times.
Getting Over the Fear of Evangelism
Nothing strikes fear into the heart of a disciple quite like the expectation to share Christ with another person. We must learn to embrace our commitment to Jesus so much that it becomes an easy thing for us to talk about Jesus to others.
Rejecting Teenage Apathy
Our culture doesn’t expect much from teenagers, but that doesn’t mean that Jesus feels the same way. Throughout the pages of Scripture and over the course of history, God has repeatedly used young people in incredible ways.
Open Homes & Deep Relationships
We live in a society where we oftentimes revert to isolation rather than embracing community. Understanding that we are in need of deep relationships, we lack the prioritized time to see those connections thrive.
Something Worse Than Being Single
While the desire to find someone and eventually be married isn’t a wrong thing, you must be careful not to settle. Wait for the right person and the right time.
Jesus Will Make You Pick a Side
If you really follow Jesus, He will demand you to express clear allegiance. Your relationship with Him will also cause others to determine their interaction with you based on how connected you are to Him.
Healthy Friendships
Whoever is nearest to you will have the greatest influence upon you. There’s no way around it. Our relationships determine how well we can follow Jesus.
4 Steps to Consistent Bible Study
Plenty of people struggle to keep a consistent Bible reading plan due to numerous distractions that consistently keep us from this necessary discipline. These four steps can help you stay faithful in a habit that can change your life for the better.
Why Some Christians Never Grow Up
When someone receives the gospel, that individual starts the journey of discipleship. We often classify such new believers as spiritual infants. But what happens if those young in their faith never grow past their initial faith commitment?
Needing Scripture & Distrusting Ourselves
Each of us cannot be left to our personal wisdom to determine the decisions we ought to make. We require a truth that is more trustworthy than our fickle feelings and reactionary responses.
Devoted to Scripture
You’ve heard people say that you need to read the Bible, but what if you can’t stand reading? You’ve got to retrain your mind regarding the Bible.
Rethinking Bible Plans
We often encourage people to read God’s Word daily, but we rarely provide people with assistance so they can experience success. As you think about your personal time in the Word, do you have a plan that will help you grow in your personal discipleship?
Rethinking Women’s Ministry
Women face unique challenges in our culture. The call of the Word contradicts the claims of the world. The Bible provides clear guidance for how to transform an individual life, a group of friends, or even a church’s ministry geared toward raising godly women.
Rethinking Men’s Ministry
The Word calls men to be bold leaders for the Kingdom of God, but the world calls men to be passive followers for the kingdom of self. Our churches cannot continue to allow the slide for men to progress.
Pursuing Alignment
In the midst of many opportunities for spiritual growth, we can lack a needed sense of alignment. What if we are guilty of widespread efforts that only provide shallow understanding? Focus might be the component we’ve been missing.
Peaceful Family Gatherings
Regardless of your specific traditions, Thanksgiving week is often characterized by food, family, and football, but for many of us, it’s also known for frustration. It’s time to go the second mile in having peaceful family gatherings.
Intentional Encouragement
While we all need to be encouraged, we all don’t need to be encouraged in the same way. Depending upon how we are wired and what is happening, we need something different from those around us.
Our Children’s Biggest Problem
Children in today’s culture have numerous forms of opposition against them. But out of all the sources of stress, sometimes it is their parents who should provide support and actually create more issues.
Filtering Criticism
You cannot avoid criticism in this life. Even if you seek to follow Jesus well, people will have issues with you and discuss it with others or confront you.
Why and When the Opposition Increases
If you are trying to make progress in your walk with Jesus, you will often find that the opposition increases. We tend to think that good intentions should remove any unnecessary obstacles, but we often experience the exact opposite.
Taking Ownership
Humanity has been pointing fingers at others since the Garden of Eden. We rarely want to take responsibility for our actions but would rather blame someone else for our issues.
Edgy & Tempermental People
You don’t mean to let your temper take control. You never wanted to lash out the way you did, but you did it anyway. And you did it again. Maybe you feel like you are stuck in a cycle of regretting temperamental outbursts.
How to Write Yourself Clear
Sometimes my mind is like a nonstop whirlwind of audacious ideas, nagging reminders, and unfortunate regrets. While my brain is on overdrive of varying thoughts, I lack clarity on what it is exactly that I need to do and am unsure of what to do next.