Itʼs a bit dismaying to realize that you’re going to be spending eternity with people in the family of God you don’t even speak with on earth! Quite frankly, when someone has wounded us with his or her sharp quills, it’s natural to want to keep our distance. But we do need each other, needles and all!
Simon, through the power of the Holy Spirit, was transformed into the man he was created to be. Jesus can do the very same for all of us—untying the death ropes and releasing us to live as He created us to live.
There is a big difference between prophets and politicians. Politicians act in a way to please their constituents. Prophets act in a way to please God. In the Bible prophets often stood alone. They spoke God’s truth and risked losing their lives for it.
One of the most remarkable eras in the history of the church occurred during the first century. Shortly after Christ had left the earth, His disciples (who became apostles) led congregations into new and exciting vistas of faith. Though young and relatively inexperienced, the believers who comprised the first-century church showed evident marks of maturity…the children were now growing into adolescence!
Pastor Chuck Swindoll will guide us through the great story in Acts 4, when the apostles Peter and John boldly stood up against all the religious authorities of their day. With uncompromising integrity mixed with fearless courage, Peter and John refused to stop proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, no matter the cost.
In Micah 6:8, the bold prophet answered the question many people wonder about today: What does the Lord expect of us? Micah's answer is comprehensive: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. The first of these three expectations means to do what is right, regardless of the consequences. This kind of courageous obedience is illustrated for us in the lives of the first-century apostles.
Before Paul put the final period on his first letter to the Thessalonians he issued a double-edged command: “encourage…and build up one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). In a world more sinful than saintly, such a command is necessary because the spirit of discouragement is dangerous.
How would you define hope? In what way would your definition apply to a local church? What if hope were missing from a congregation? Would anybody notice? We’ll think about these and other things as we allow Peter’s words to guide us into the truth about hope. These passages of Scripture suggest several ingredients that must be present if hope is to remain a vital part of a church’s life.
To truly learn from Abraham’s life, we must think what he thought, hear what he heard, feel what he felt, go where he went, and most of all, learn what he learned. Among the many benefits of studying the life of a man of God is the opportunity to discover truths about the God of that man.
When we’ve been wronged, it’s tough to see things from the other person’s perspective. But when we do that, it’s grace in action. Grace lived out in our everyday lives revolutionizes our relationships.
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Insight for Living is committed to excellence in communicating the truths of Scripture and the Person of Jesus Christ in an accurate, clear, and practical manner so that people will come to an understanding of God’s plan for their lives, as well as their significant role as authentic Christians in a needy, hostile, and desperate world.
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