Blog Archives

Christians live in a paradox: We give up our lives in order to truly receive life. Ostensibly, this may seem […]

He provided a sacrifice. An innocent gave its life to cover the sins of mankind.

“Oh, death where is your sting? Oh, grace where is thy victory?”

Before we get started, I need to let you in on a little secret about a deeply ingrained insecurity that […]

Christ died for you knowing you would be a sinner.

The image of a diamond is commonly used to show the multi-faceted reality of how sinners are saved by God. […]

We are tempted because we feel the warning sign is keeping us from something we want or need to see.

God is the same yesterday today and tomorrow.

Most Christians agree with what Ray Ortlund wrote about prayer: “There’s one prime, basic, all-important place in your life where […]

We are a team because God designed it that way.

For both the student and critic alike, a bow must be made towards the inexpressibly unmatched content of the Bible. Even though […]

God wants us to choose Him.

The Scriptures are deep breaths that satisfy our lungs and clear our minds.

When we rest in God’s presence, He makes Himself known to us.

It’s something we’ve heard preached about plenty of times. It’s almost like broccoli: We know it’s good for us, but […]

We were set apart from every other living thing – not only were we given a voice to speak, but we were given a conscience and a soul. From the beginning, we were created with the ability to choose.

“Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.” […]

God thought of everything

God is the beautiful artist who, with just a few strokes of his hand, created a masterpiece.

In this digital age of indescribable distraction, our prayers have depleted.  No doubt we could all cower behind this grand […]

God died for us, and in doing so, he provided for our future – with a tree.

You’re not alone if you feel disillusioned.  You’re not the only one who feels this way.   You were probably an excited new believer […]

God created the air that fills our lungs which sustains our life!

Click here to read part 4 of this series Christians sometimes talk about “strongholds” and may have in mind something […]

God created the light first because He is the giver of light. He is the only one worthy of our worship and adoration.

Shame can come from several sources. Sometimes, it’s forced upon us by people who made choices over which we had […]

We so badly want God to show up and do great and mighty things. But we also want him to […]

We’ve heard people say they are going to start a “fast,” whether for health reasons, for spiritual reasons, or maybe […]

On March 5, 1995, I was on a school bus headed to Louisville, Kentucky, for a field trip when I […]

In the old days of mining, the miners took a canary bird down with them while they worked. This bird […]

I noticed the other day that my wife has been using the word precious more frequently. I’ve known her for over twelve years, […]

“God is Great God is Good Let us thank him for our food. Amen” When my brother and I were […]

One of my mentors has taught me a great lesson on character. His name is Job. Even though we’ve never met […]

I suppose two mistakes can be made as you ponder Satan’s work in your life. While we can agree his […]

I think we’ve all experienced it before—that sense of timidity and insecurity, feeling like everyone can see it written all […]

Sin brings pleasure, but not satisfaction. It brings ruin, never flourishing. Disobeying God sounds good somewhere in the bowels of […]

This Christmas season, Netflix released a host of holiday movies. One of them, a satirical comedy, is called The First Temptation […]

The Christmas song “Mary, Did You Know?” was written by Mark Lowery and Buddy Greene in 1991.  It quickly became a […]

I’ve never understood why Christians are called to be joyful sufferers until recently. Like, I understood the theology, sure. I […]

My name is John and I am a recovering church addict. Those are words that seem inappropriate. After all, church […]

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, gave us a pathway to happiness called the beatitudes. God blesses those who are […]

The Bible clearly states that God is the creator of all human life. (Find a list of some of those […]

If only my children would be more grateful . . .  As a young mom, I was sure that was […]

We desire the silver platter of biblical literacy – that we might somehow put in the littlest effort yet receive […]

Hard to believe it’s already November, and it doesn’t seem possible, but it’s the month that officially begins the holiday […]

In school you are taught that there are four seasons in every year. However, for the Swart household, there are […]

Neglecting the Bible is nothing new in this world. But what we’re facing today in the West involves proclaiming Christians moving away […]

Video games offer a world for your kids where they are the ones with power. The lure is easy to […]

A father took his family on a vacation to Washington, D.C. so that his two children would have the opportunity […]

If you’ve done much reading through the Gospels, you know that Jesus has a long history of picking the most […]