SCRIPTURE: Acts 14:1-7 “The people of the city did not agree with one another.” (Acts 12:4) There is certainly something divisive about Jesus. How can you hate a message of love, of mercy, of generosity, of compassion? But what if many people start living the Jesus life? It will impact the families and communities of those people….
Breaking the cycle
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 137 “Happy is the person who pays you back according to what you have done to us.” (Psalm 137:8) Can you imagine watching someone take your baby and smash them against the rocks? I get sick just thinking about this; I get the anger and anguish of those who endure this. This psalms ends with…
Seasons change
Talia Biel is a member at Crossroads Church. She is a sincere Jesus follower with a gift for connecting her faith to real life, and for sharing that through her writing. Check out her blog “Holding On To Faith. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) You know…
Encouraged and built up!
SCRIPTURE: 1 Thessalonians 4-5 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) The ‘normal’ way of life in this world is immoral, selfish, godless living. As a Jesus follower, I am committed to living ‘abnormally’, like Jesus, like God. Living the Jesus-life ought to make us stand out,…
Spirit extinguisher?
SCRIPTURE: 1 Thessalonians 1-3 “Our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.” (1 Thessalonians 1:5) I am both inspired and discouraged by how Paul describes these new Jesus followers. The transformation was so deep, so profound, everyone was talking about it. I would love to see this…
Carry on with joy!
SCRIPTURE: Acts 13:49-52 “They shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium.” (Acts 13:51) To shake the dust off one’s feet is the same idea as ‘I wash my hands of it.’ It is to give people the freedom to decline the offer, to reject the message. It should not…
Appointed?
SCRIPTURE: Acts 13:42-48 “Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life…” (Acts 13:46) Some chose to accept Paul’s message, others chose to reject it. If results were up to us, we might take pride in good results, or despair at bad ones. But when all is said and done, the results are…
The freedom of forgiveness
SCRIPTURE: Acts 13:32-41 “Through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.” (Acts 13:38) Forgiveness is proclaimed, announced, declared. God has forgiven us, without our doing anything to deserve or earn it. We do not need to believe to be forgiven; we are forgiven… believe it! “Through him everyone who believes is set free from every…
How great is Your faithfulness
Talia Biel is a member at Crossroads Church. She is a sincere Jesus follower with a gift for connecting her faith to real life, and for sharing that through her writing. Check out her blog “Holding On To Faith. This week marks one year since I have started working at my job at Big Hearts Childcare…
Don’t recognize Him?
SCRIPTURE: Acts 13:24-31 “The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus…” (Acts 13:27) God is all around us, we many people do not see Him. He is at work in our lives all the time, yet people don’t realize its Him. “Though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.”…