Our salvation is 100% based on the performance of obedience,holiness, faithfulness, righteousness, and sinlessness… Read more »

His intercession provided salvation for all men through His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, but it is only realised through His Intercessory ministry today in Heaven. God’s desire is that all men be saved, but in this context we are urged to join Christ in ministry as our Advocate through earnest, heartfelt prayer. Read more »

As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. John 15:9

In your workplace, you probably take coffee breaks, lunch breaks, tea breaks and definitely toilet breaks. Why not do the same in your spiritual life — take time out for breaks, especially love breaks? Read more »

Last year when I was in hospital a nun came to visit me. I asked her “What was the most difficult thing for you to give up?” and she answered “My boyfriend because I loved him a lot.” Her answer shocked me. She said she was earning a very good salary as a nurse but found something unfulfilled in her heart. Her response to the Lord’s calling in her life gave her such peace and she has never regretted it. Read more »

Over the centuries, some biblical prayers have become particularly loved by Christians. The Lord’s Prayer is one of them (Matthew 6:9-13). The Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner”), based on Luke 18:13, is highly regarded by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Today I give you my favorite. Let’s call it “the Doubter’s Prayer.” Read more »

These days that name does ring a very loud bell!!  So I was quite shocked to see this name in a book I picked up.

Yesterday, I went into this bookstore in Bangalore and the first book that caught my eye was titled I Dared To Call Him Father.  For several months I have been wanting to read this book but didn’t get around to borrowing it from my prayer centre’s library.  So I bought this book and finished reading it in 3 hours.  I just could not put it down.  It’s amazing how the Lord brings to you something which you really need to know so your relationship with Him is strengthened. Read more »

Last week, my prayer center celebrated our 18^th anniversary.  One of the events was testimony time and little Justin who is 10 went up to give a testimony.  Till today it is still playing in my mind.

He said that before he came to the center for our Sunday Family Ministry sessions with his mum and two sisters, he was so stressed from going to school and having to spend so much time on his homework every day.  He said that after coming to the center, praying the prayers given to him and listening to the teachings, he was no longer stressed and could handle his homework.  In fact, he started excelling in his studies. Read more »

Because of what Christ did on the cross, we can expect God’s best

All believers want to experience God’s unmerited favor. We all want to enjoy God’s best and richest blessings. We want His provision, health and power flowing mightily in our lives. All these blessings are wrapped up in God’s grace. When His unmerited favor is on our side, nothing can stand against us. But if we can’t earn or deserve it, how can we be confident that we have His unmerited favor? Read more »

I had a lot of things on my mind before I went to bed last night when I remembered a verse I read recently – Psalm 127:b (NJB) “… it is he who provides for his beloved as they sleep.” It was a promise that helped me fall asleep.

This morning, the Lord showed me this verse – Psalm 45:12 (AMP) “And, O daughter of Tyre, the richest of people shall entreat your favour with a gift.”

And He said “by 12 o’clock I will answer your prayer.” Read more »

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. —Colossians 2:9–10

God plants this love inside us, and it grows healthy in the soil of abandonment. We abandon our rights, our judgments, our opinions, and our schemes. Jesus is uncompromising in his abandonment of the privileges of his position as the only begotten son, and he expects no less from us when it comes to abandoning anything that sets us in rebellion to the Father. Read more »

An on-the-street reporter once asked an on-the-sidewalk citizen if he agreed with this statement: “Polls show that the two greatest problems with society are ignorance and apathy.” The man responded, “I don’t know and I don’t care!”

“I really don’t care!” can betray a nasty attitude. My parents often uttered it in exasperation when I nagged them too much about something I wanted to do. It really meant, “Leave me alone already!” However, for the believer, “I really don’t care!” can be the ultimate expression of positive faith. Read more »

Recently we watched a movie that was made back in 1999. It was entitled, “The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn.” If you haven’t viewed it I highly recommend it. Read more »

During high school a buddy and I decided to skip school one day. We lived in the country near a small hamlet called Azalia. We rode a bus to a nearby town where we switched to a bus that would take us on to the high school in Columbus, Indiana. The direct trip was around ten miles. In order to keep suspicion down we had planned to go to school as normal only when we arrived at the high school we would simply not go in. Instead we headed down the street, found a pay phone and called in sick. After that we were home free, or so we thought. Read more »

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] John 16:33 (Amplified Bible)

Recently I came to know that for every event in my life, every test, trial or tribulation, God has a specific Word for it.  Be it a promise, an answer to a prayer or a way out of a situation – He has a very specific Word for me from Scripture. Read more »

If you are at all concerned about the growth and the future of your church, you are probably already thinking about and engaged in ways to bring young people into your church, and how to get them more involved.

Let’s face it, if you’re not bringing young people into the church and getting them actively involved in the life of your community of believers, your church is eventually going to die – both literally and figuratively.

But how?  Young people today have a lot to distract them and occupy their time – how do we get them involved with something so often perceived as “stodgy and old fashioned”? Read more »

… and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:23

God has promised you His constant presence (Hebrews 13:5), but are you conscious of His presence every day? When you are conscious of His presence every day, you will experience a peace that gives you rest, joy inexpressible in your spirit and a power that nothing in this world can offer. In fact, you will begin to be peaceful and powerful like Jesus. You will speak and behave like Him. This is because you cannot be in God’s presence without His beauty, love, peace, power and glory rubbing off on you.

But how do you practice being conscious of God’s presence? Read more »

Many believers are so caught up in looking to their own faith to save them and bring about blessings in their lives. What they don’t realize is that it is not their faith that saves them. It is His grace, His blood alone that saves them. When you believe that it is the blood that saves you, God sees that as faith in the blood. Yet, it is not your faith in the blood that protects, delivers, or saves you. It is simply the blood alone that saves you. Let me illustrate this truth with an enactment of what might have happened on the night before the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt. Read more »

I’m a big believer in marking up your Bible — make lots of notes, interact with it! Make it yours! Over time you create something much more valuable. I advocate using wide-margin Bibles to give you more room to write notes. People ask me for specific tips on how to mark up their Bibles, and my answer is “How you do it is much less important than why you’re doing it. Start with underlining and making notes in the margins, and go from there.” Read more »

The following is reprinted from www.JoelComm.com. If you’re not into internet marketing you quite likely have never heard of Joel Comm. If you are into internet marketing and are not yet familiar with him, you can find out more by going to his website.

So, what is an article by an internet marketer doing in this section of Everyday Christianity?  The short answer is that Joel writes also, from time to time about spiritual matters. The long answer can be found by exploring his website.

But let’s get to his article. My comments are found at the end. Let me know what you think. Read more »

Short and sweet today…

All prayer should have the will, Word and promise of God as its basis:

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, 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 the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (1John 5:14-15 NKJV)

The foundation of faith is found in knowledge of God’s will.

His Word is His will. Read more »

Continuing our theme of essential elements of prayer…

All prayer should be prayers of faith

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb 11:6 NKJV) Read more »

We are looking at overarching principles that apply to all kinds of prayer that we might pray.

First we find that prayer is to made: TO THE FATHER.

Second, it should be offered: IN THE NAME (AND AUTHORITY) OF JESUS.

The third important point is that prayer should be made: IN (OR BY) THE SPIRIT. Read more »

First, prayer should be made TO THE FATHER.

Second, those prayers should be presented IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

This one is a really liberating truth. We don’t come in our own name or righteousness, but Christ’s. How much confidence should that afford us when we approach our daddy in Heaven? Read more »

Over and over again we want to see positive changes — in our weight, fitness, relationships, godliness, bank account, abilities to teach well, etc.

There are just three things needed to see positive changes: Read more »

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Read more »

I received this meditation including the poem from Ann Mauritia D’cruz. I don’t know Ann, but the email I received impressed me enough to ask for and received her permission to include it on Everyday Christianity.  Ann learned of the song from a fellow intercessor of hers and evidently saw the Letter from Bill inspired by the same song. You can find that letter here.

If you are not familiar with the song, I pray you will take the time to read this poem and my letter, where you can listen and be captivated as we are. Read more »

Let’s correct some common but flat-out wrong teaching on suicide. These verses have been incorrectly used to say that suicide is an unforgivable sin:

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” (1 Cor 3:16-17) Read more »

A coworker, a believer, recently came to me and expressed his doubts about God’s goodness in his life. So many things had gone wrong recently for him, and he simply ached over them. “God must have abandoned me,” he said tearfully. Read more »

We all have different ways to worship, and we all sometimes judge the way others worship. What does worship mean to you?

V

This saying came from the Gandhi; not from the Bible. It would be Scripturally correct to say that God hates sinners (Psalms 5:5), but because of Jesus death on the cross our sin was propitiated. Now when God looks at the cross he sees the believer and when he looks at the believer He sees Jesus. Christ righteousness was imputed to us, the active believer. 2 Corinthians 5:21 sums this up for you.

…and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”  Matthew 1:23 

God has promised you His constant presence (Hebrews 13:5), but are you conscious of His presence every day? When you are conscious of His presence every day, you will experience a peace that gives you rest, joy inexpressible in your spirit and a power that nothing in this world can offer. In fact, you will begin to be peaceful and powerful like Jesus. You will speak and behave like Him. This is because you cannot be in God’s presence without His beauty, love, peace, power and glory rubbing off on you.  Read more »

Louie Giglio tells the story of Laminin. If you’re pressed for time, start watching at the 3-minute mark (but it’s ALL good).

One of the most difficult things for me is coaching teachers who have low expectations for what can happen in their class or group. They say things like, “Oh, I’m not a good presenter, and so people aren’t going to learn much from me.” Or “It’s just a few people and I can’t imagine what I could teach them because they’ve all been Christians a long time.”  Read more »

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). John 10:10

Though Jesus is completely God, He was born completely human. He went through temptation after temptation and conquered every one of them. (Hebrews 4:15) And all that overcoming power is found in His life. And He put that life in you — the life of Christ is in you!  Read more »

How do you break out of the performer mentality during worship? Paul Baloche explains.

This past year I have had the opportunity to participate in and observe several national and citywide worship events. Looking back, I’ve noticed that many of us who share in these amazing moments are greatly inspired by the nights of worship, concerts, and performances. We experience high times in the presence of God with believers from very diverse backgrounds and traditions, and a powerful sense of community occurs in such a short time because of several factors. God’s presence, intense spiritual hunger from the participants, and the skillful leadership of many of the presenters. Read more »

Last week I preached on Mark 1:14-15 where Jesus delivers his first sermon: “The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” In this one sentence we find four of the most important words in the New Testament: kingdom, gospel, repent, and believe. Although we are familiar with these four terms, many Christians would struggle to articulate an accurate definition of each.  Read more »

I’m sure my friend and mentor didn’t understand the explosive power of the bomb he dropped on me. His simple question transformed the way I have thought about sin, temptation, and the Christian life. Read more »

The Navy Seals have a color code system to describe states of awareness.
White means you’re in zombie mode. You’re on autopilot, not even sure what you’re thinking about. You might be walking on the street, but at the moment you don’t know where you’re walking and you’re completely unaware of cars and people around you. Read more »

An epic in the spirit of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, this widely acclaimed motion picture is a meticulous recreation of the turbulent era of Jesus and the events that changed the course of history! Narrated by Golden Globe nominee Christopher Plummer (Best Supporting Actor, AMERICAN TRAGEDY, 2000), it’s the bold and powerful story of Jesus as told by his disciple John. The best-loved but least understood of the gospels, John presents a uniquely human portrait of courage and passion encompassing Jesus’ entire three-year ministry, the final years of his life. Intimate and reflective, THE GOSPEL OF JOHN offers an unparalleled opportunity to experience the incomparable life and times of Jesus Christ.

Buy The Gospel of John at Christian Book Distributors

Review from Publishers Weekly
Atheist-turned-Christian Strobel, with four Gold Medallions and other awards, focuses on rediscovering the real Jesus, whose identity and message have come under attack in recent years. He addresses six major challenges and claims: that a different Jesus is seen in ancient documents that seem as credible as the four canonical gospels; that tampering by the church has damaged the Bible’s portrayal of Jesus; that new explanations refute Jesus’ resurrection; that Christianity copied pagan religions regarding Jesus; that Jesus didn’t fulfill messianic prophecies; and that contemporary people should be able to choose what to believe about Jesus. As with his previous books, Strobel attacks the issues as an investigative journalist, though one with a clear agenda. He searches out experts (including Craig A. Evans and Michael Licona) to refute each objection, offering readers top evangelical scholarship revealed in everyday language while challenging the claims of liberal writers like John Shelby Spong, Bart Ehrman and others. In the end, he says, none of these seemingly daunting challenges turned out to be close calls… they were systematically dismantled by scholars… with facts, logic and evidence. Evangelical readers will come away with deeper understanding of the various arguments about Jesus.

Click here or on the book cover to learn more.

Surely there’s more than one way to get to heaven? Bestselling author Andy Stanley addresses this popular belief held even among Christians. But believing that all good people go to heaven raises major problems, Stanley reveals. Is goodness not rewarded, then? Is Christianity not fair? Maybe not, he says. Readers will find out why Jesus taught that goodness is not even a requirement to enter heaven – and why Christianity is beyond fair. Andy Stanley leads believers and skeptics alike to a grateful awareness of God’s enormous grace and mercy.

About the Author
Andy Stanley is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and the pastor of North Point Community Church in Atlanta , Georgia . He carries on a tradition of excellence in ministry with a youthful congregation of over 12,000. Andy is the author of the 1998 Foreword Book of the Year finalist Visioneering and the bestseller Like a Rock. He and his wife, Sandra, have two sons, Andrew and Garrett, and a daughter, Allison.

To buy this book at Christian Book Distributors, CLICK HERE.

To buy this book at Amazon, CLICK HERE.

Discover the secret of reigning over every adversity, lack and destructive habit that is limiting you from experiencing the success, wholeness and victory that as a Christian you were destined to enjoy.

Find out how it is not about what you have to do, but what has already been done. It is not about using your will power to effect change, but His power changing you.

Start reigning over sickness, financial lack, broken relationships and destructive habits today! This book is about being radically transformed by His grace and His grace alone.

Man has developed many strategies, methodologies, techniques, and tactics for achieving personal success. Yet there is a higher way than relying on your own efforts to achieve success in life. The Bible says in Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the ungodly.” Hence, while there is some counsel in ungodly resources, there is a higher way for the believer! Why rely on self-help when you can have direct access to God’s help?

Are you ready to be radically blessed and transformed by His grace and to give up on your own efforts to have success, wholeness, and a victorious life? Once you begin to take this journey of discovering His radical grace, your life will never be the same again.

About the Author
With almost two decades of full-time ministry behind him, Pastor Joseph Prince has become the leading voice for a new generation of believers — a generation that builds its hope on the abundance of God s grace and the gift of His righteousness.

A founding member and pioneer leader of New Creation Church, Pastor Prince initially served as an elder and associate pastor. However, his appointment as senior pastor marked a turning point in the history of the church, which started experiencing growth at an accelerated rate never before seen in its history. Under Pastor Prince’s leadership, the church congregation has grown by a hundredfold from about 150 to more than 15,000!

Pastor Prince’s humorous, personal and practical style of preaching complements the fact that he is an anointed teacher of the Word of God. His dynamic messages have always been centerd on the pure gospel of the grace of God based on the finished work of Jesus Christ.

He moves in a strong worship anointing, ministering healing and prophetic words by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Over the years, Pastor Prince’s ministry has helped to set many people free from guilt and condemnation, and caused them to fall in love with Jesus afresh as they see His love, goodness and grace.

Having built and established the leadership and congregation of New Creation Church on the finished work of Jesus Christ, Pastor Prince is now actively fulfilling the mandate that God has given him to Bring My Son Back to the Church. He leads an international ministry called Joseph Prince Ministries, Inc., a non-profit organization that focuses on unveiling the person of Jesus and liberating people with the new covenant realities based entirely on the cross at Calvary. A highly sought-after international conference speaker, Pastor Prince has also impacted many church leaders and ministry servers around the world. His sermons are now broadcast weekly to millions of households across America, Canada, Australia and Uganda. Pastor Prince has experienced, first hand, the amazing grace of God in his own life. That is why he believes the best of people and in what God can do for them, in them and through them, by His grace. His desire is to help this generation of Christians realise how greatly blessed, highly favoured and deeply loved they are by their Father in heaven, so that they may be blessed to be a blessing.

To buy Destined to Reign from Christian Book Distributors, CLICK HERE

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My personal recommendation of this book can be found on my Home page. under Featured Book.

From the Back Cover
At any moment and in any circumstance, the soul that seeks God may find Him, and practice the presence of God. Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century French monk, learned to practice the presence of God at all times. And you can, too. Here in one volume are two classic works by Brother Lawrence. Each book reveals how to practice God’s presence and see His glory in every facet of your life. The Practice of the Presence of God is a collection of documented conversations and letters that reveal the heart of this humble man. He wrote, “The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen . . . I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.” Brother Lawrence’s wisdom and spiritual insights have helped bring people closer to God for more than three centuries. The Spiritual Maxims of Brother Lawrence, a lesser known but equally outstanding work, is a summary of his teachings. Throughout, he develops one great theme, best expressed by the psalmist, “In Thy Presence is fulness of joy.”

About the Author
Nicholas Herman of Lorraine, better known as Brother Lawrence, was born in 1611 of humble origin. First serving as a soldier, he entered the Carmelite Order in Paris at the age of 55 and became a cook. He died in 1691 at the age of 80, honored by all who knew him.

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