kingdom

“Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:62). Has God ever given you a task that seemed like too much for you? Maybe He was calling you to lead a small group in your home. Or perhaps there was a specific person in your life who needed to hear the Gospel. Instead of rejoicing in His leading, did you avoid His assignment? We often claim that we want God’s vision and we want God to use us, but in reality we want to be used only on our terms. Our words loudly profess, “Here I am, Lord. Use me however You want.” But our hearts whisper, “Lord, I want to serve You, but only if it means working on this project or serving in that location. I definitely don’t want to witness to this particular person or to that particular group.” It’s easier […]

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). Many Christians have a wrong view of the will of God. They experience great fear and anxiety as they seek God’s direction for their lives. Others say they want to know and do the will of God, but only if it doesn’t conflict with their own. Still others view the will of God as some sort of bitter medicine, groaning over where God might lead them next. One of Satan’s greatest lies is that God’s will isn’t appealing. Satan wants us to distrust the Lord. He wants us to be skeptical of God’s plan for our lives. Satan wants us to believe that God does not have our best interest at heart. Here’s the Truth: The will of God and the plan of God both come out of the heart of God. God’s will is the expression of His love for […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you . . .” (Psalm 42:6). Read Psalm 42:1-11.  While some of us are more forgetful than others, none of us use our memory to its full potential. And sadly, a lot us forget the most important thing of all—namely, God and His past interventions in our lives. That’s precisely why one of the most-used words in Scripture—both in the Old and New Testaments—is the word remember. Over and over again, throughout the Bible, God exhorts us, saying, “Remember!” In the Old Testament, God warned the Israelites, “When you go into the Promised Land, when you prosper and live at peace, you’re going to forget Me. Be careful to remember all that I’ve done for you!” (see Deuteronomy 4:1-14). And yet, that’s precisely what they did. In the New Testament, we see God’s broken heart on display in the person of Jesus when, one day, He healed […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3). Read Hebrews 12:1-3. Even though there is—and always will be—one true Gospel, that doesn’t mean all people respond to the Good News of Jesus in the same way. There are some people who respond to the love of God, while others respond to the judgment of God. In addition, there are many ways people express their love for God. God, being infinitely creative, has wired each of us differently, and so this shouldn’t surprise us. You will find there are some people who naturally love God with all of their intellect. They come to Scripture and engage with God through logic and detailed analysis of the text—and that’s wonderful. But these same people have trouble loving God with their imagination, their soul. They have trouble visualizing what Jesus did for them on the cross. They are wary […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16). Read 1 John 4:16-18. Intimacy is the connection of spirit to spirit, soul to soul, heart to heart. It’s the connection people have when they love Jesus and each other. It’s a beautiful, wonderful thing. Of course, true intimacy is rare these days. That’s because intimacy requires trust, the kind of trust that allows a person to be his or her true self. There is a friend who knows all about your motives—the pure motives and the mixed motives—and yet He loves you still. He wants you to be intimate with Him, to draw near to Him. In fact, He will never reject you. He will always forgive you when you confess. He will always welcome you with open arms when you return to Him. He always has your best interests at heart. Of course, I’m talking about Jesus. Though […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “Jesus replied, ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment’” (Matthew 22:37-38). Read Matthew 22:34-39.  When the Pharisees came to test Jesus, they asked Him what the greatest commandment in the Law was. They were hoping to drive a wedge between Jesus and the crowds who were following Him. But Jesus didn’t hesitate. He told them plainly: The greatest commandment is the Shema: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37; cf. Deuteronomy 6:5). Of course, the Jews in Jesus’ day knew this commandment. They memorized it. They wore it on their wrists and on their foreheads. They placed it on the doorframes of their homes. They knew this command backward and forward. But they didn’t live it out. To love God with an all-consuming love […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4). Read Revelation 2:1-7. The greatest tragedy of the Christian life is not persecution or suffering. It’s not the loss of material things or broken relationships. No, the greatest tragedy of the Christian life is boredom. I realize this may sound strange at first. We’re used to boredom in other parts of life. We sit in traffic, waiting for the car in front of us to begin moving. We flip through hundreds of channels on the television, hoping to find something to watch to pass the time. We stare blankly at our phones, waiting for our number to be called at the DMV. We understand what it is to be bored. However, the boredom I’m talking about is much more insidious. Sadly and tragically, many of us are bored with Jesus. We’ve lost our first love, and we are now standing […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15).  Read 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17. In times of lawlessness, anarchy, terror, and unrestrained evil, believers need God’s supernatural strength more than ever. They need God-given stability in order to stand firm, stability that stems from the Truth of the Gospel. God will protect you through the storms. He will guide you through the turbulent times of persecution. The Lord will steady you and stabilize you during the time of testing. God will be your fortress when all others collapse into dust. How can you be sure the Lord will never let you down? Jesus said, “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day” (John 6:39). How many […]

“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).  Read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. The apostle Paul knew about the dangers of false teaching. As an itinerant evangelist, he would travel from town to town, preaching the Gospel and planting churches. Many times, after he would leave a city to continue on his mission, false teachers would come in and teach God’s people destructive doctrines and lies. These false teachers were wicked men who would do anything to attain their ends. In Thessalonica, for example, they wrote a letter in Paul’s name, claiming that Jesus had already returned! Thus, in the letter we know today as 2 Thessalonians, Paul set the record straight. And in so doing, he gave God’s people one of the clearest teachings on the second coming of Christ. He wanted the believers in […]

“Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring” (2 Thessalonians 1:4). Read 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12. The believers in Thessalonica faced persecution daily. Some endured physical attack, many lost their jobs, and others had their property destroyed. Some even faced imprisonment or worse. But in spite of their great suffering, they did not lose hope. That is why the apostle Paul could encourage them, “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters” (2 Thessalonians 1:3). Paul had faced his own share of persecution and hardship, so he recognized the beauty of the Thessalonians’ faith. He could see they were looking up when others in their situation would have been cast down. The difference, of course, is Jesus. He brings light into darkness, comfort in times of pain, hope in seasons of despair. We are never more like Christ than when we are looking up to God […]