kingdom

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15). Do you ever wonder why answers to prayer tarry? Is it that God is teaching us to wait? Are we not correctly hearing the voice of God? Is God trying to deal with something in our lives? Of this we can be certain: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15). When we pray in alignment with the will of God, we know that He hears us and that His will cannot be thwarted. But what about when our prayers—even prayers for […]

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’” (Luke 15:31). Read Luke 15:25-32. To any outside observer, it would seem the older son loved his father. But in reality, the older son was a legalist—he kept the form of obedience, but his heart was far from his father. When his younger brother came back in repentance, he should have celebrated. But instead, he refuses to welcome his brother home or attend the party being held in his honor. In doing so, he rebels against the heart of his father—all under the guise of so-called “righteousness.” The Pharisees listening to Jesus’ story would have understood He was describing them. If you recall, all this storytelling began when the Pharisees and teachers of the Law complained that Jesus was […]

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). Read Luke 15:11-24. The younger son makes a basely awful request of his father—he demands his inheritance—now. In that Middle Eastern culture, such a request was akin to telling the father, “I wish you were dead already.” Now, the Pharisees listening to this story would have been incredulous at the audacity of this son, but more than that, they would have been reeling at the response of the father, who let his son go with his inheritance. Jesus’ parable was designed to unsettle them with how incomprehensible, how longsuffering, how generous, how humble, how inexhaustible the love of the father, who, of course, represents our heavenly Father. The younger son burns all the bridges—or so he thinks. But sometime later, in a far country, the […]

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8). Read Luke 15:8-10. In Luke 15:8-10, a woman loses one of her ten coins, but these weren’t just any coins. They were part of a semedi, a beautiful headdress a woman would be given by her betrothed. It represented their coming marriage; it was a symbol of their commitment to one another. To lose one of the ten coins set in that headdress was traumatic. It simply would not do to wear it with a coin missing. In Jesus’ day, the houses in Israel were not very big, and they were also very dark. Most were tiny and did not have windows to let in natural light. The floor would have been dirt, which can crack, leaving lots of nooks for a coin to fall into. Is it any wonder, then, that […]

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4). Read Luke 15:1-7. In first-century Israel, tax collectors were on the bottom rung of the social ladder. Everyone hated them. That’s because they cooperated with the Romans to levy high taxes on the people. They regularly took more than was necessary, robbing their neighbors. They were traitors to the nation. They were truly outcasts in society. “Sinners” were in a similar situation. These were people of low moral character—prostitutes, criminals, and the like. The Pharisees considered such people a stain on the nation—people whose occupations were clearly incompatible with keeping God’s Law. They believed these “sinners” were the reason God seemed to tarry in rescuing His chosen people from Roman occupation. Like tax collectors, these people were pushed out of polite society in every way possible. […]

“So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, . . . the king again asked, ‘Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted’” (Esther 7:1-2). In the Old Testament, we learn of an ordinary woman, named Esther, who saw a need and met that need. Esther was a Jewish woman living in exile in Persia. Through God’s plan, she married King Xerxes and found herself in a unique position to help her people. When the king agreed to the planned execution of the Jews within his kingdom, Esther was poised to change his mind. God had placed her in the right place at the right time—but it was risky and dangerous. Esther was afraid and hesitant to act. Drawing from his trust in God, Esther’s cousin Mordecai knew the Lord would act for His people and thus admonished Esther that this […]

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). God gives His vision to those who are faithful in small things. He will give a greater vision to those who are being faithful in what is already in their charge. The Bible teaches us that God rewards His faithful servants. “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things” (Matthew 25:21). The good news is that it is never too late to start following God’s vision. We are always at the right point in our lives to decide to honor God and delight in Him. And when we do that, we will experience the broad and joyous vision of God at work in our lives. Beginning today, commit to accept God’s vision for your life so that you may bring glory to Him. Prepare yourself to receive His vision by asking Him to […]

“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. “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). As we examine the power of God’s grace, we must be careful how we handle it. God’s grace is not a free pass to sin, acting in whatever ways we please because we know God will forgive us later. Rather, God’s grace gives us the incredible freedom to passionately pursue God without fear of condemnation. Each day, we are faced with numerous decisions—many of which are opportunities to honor God. If we choose wisely, then we experience the blessings of God. If we choose unwisely, then we will deal with sin’s consequences. However, if we do make the wrong choice, God’s love for us does not waver. He doesn’t cast us aside nor break ties with us. This is when God’s grace and mercy shine. In the same way a coach gives a player a vote of confidence […]

Michael Youssef, Ph.D. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). Have you ever had a confidant—someone you knew you could count on when life turned dark and stormy? Have you ever played sports and had one teammate who you knew could win the game for you, no matter how far behind you were? Have you ever experienced someone meeting your biggest need when you least expected it? Just when we think we are finished, God begins a new work in our lives. Just when we think we have made a mess not even God can clean up, He redeems our messes. God’s grace gives us confidence because He does things in our lives we could never do. He transforms and changes us into new people. He takes the messes we make and converts them into works of art. Suddenly, we are not helpless […]