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I suspect you’ve probably tried to follow Jesus’ example for most of your Christian life with little success. After all, you aren’t Jesus and you can’t be expected to do what Jesus did. Right? Wrong. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father” (John 14:12). I don’t know about you, but that frustrates me. We’ve tried so often and failed so miserably. There isn't a Christian alive who doesn’t know that frustration--and...

The source of almost all spiritual problems is an inappropriate effort to avoid the cross. When we, as the church, turn away from the cross, we miss the path that God gave us—the path to freedom, joy, faithfulness and forgiveness. It’s the only way there.We think the cross is fine and necessary for those who aren’t saved…but, once we’re saved, it’s no longer relevant to our lives. We, as Christians, forget that the cross is the very paradigm for who we are and everything we do, think, feel and believe. So if that’s true (and it is), then what does...

Are you trapped in a fire and it’s only getting hotter? “Never doubt in the dark what God has taught you in the light.” That sounds good…until you find yourself in the dark and can see no way out. Maybe your dream shattered. Maybe you’re in pain and don’t know what to do. Maybe you look out at the world where the bad guys are winning, wondering if God is on vacation. Maybe you’re sick and nobody else knows the fear. Maybe it’s a financial or family problem. Maybe someone you loved died. But whatever it is, it’s only getting...

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4).There are two worlds—two realities—and we cannot find our identity in both. As we move into this new year, maybe it’s a good time to be reminded of who we are and how we can live....

If we want to know about the real God, only one source will do. Look to Jesus Biblical Christians should find out about God from Jesus. Christ is the standard for everything a Christian should think about God. If something we think about God violates what we know of Jesus, what he taught, and how he acted, then that thought lies. If someone gives us the impression that God’s nature differs from what Jesus said and demonstrated it to be, then don’t buy a used car from that person—and don’t listen to anything he or she says about anything else....

If you are a Christian, you are radically free. No, I don’t mean you are free with a number of ifs, ands, and buts. I mean you are really free. No disclaimer. No addendum. No qualifying points. You are free. I didn’t say it, Jesus did: “‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free….So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’” (John 8:31-32,36). Freedom is a gift from the Son of God. If he says I’m free, that ought to...

Salvation is through grace. So is obedience. My late friend, Jack Miller, used to say that all of Biblical theology can be summed up in two sentences: 1) Cheer up; you’re a lot worse than you think you are. 2) Cheer up; God’s grace is a lot bigger than you think it is. In that comment, Jack pointed to what the Christian faith is all about. It is about God doing and continuing to do what we simply can’t do for ourselves. Martin Luther was asked once what he thought about “works of repentance” (i.e. the work that flows from...

Do you ever wonder if the Christian faith is true? Perhaps it’s late at night just before you fall asleep. Maybe you’re going through a tough time or an unbelieving friend questions your faith and you think (but of course, would never say) that all of this might just be some gigantic con game and I’ve believed a bunch of lies. God knew you would wonder. From the very beginning, God knew he would do something so astounding, so wonderful, so unbelievable and so incredible that nobody would believe it without some kind of space and time evidence. The resurrection...

Life simply won’t work without the safety net of God’s grace. If you’re like me, what defines you and your life includes your issues, your secrets, your need to achieve, your desire to please people and your ambition. It is therefore important to place grace at the very foundation of such a life to understand God’s unconditional acceptance and love. If you don’t and then fail big time (and we all will), your life will end up meaningless and empty. Grace does more than that though. I hate religion (and I’m a religious professional) because I’ve seen what toxic religion...

What is going on? What does the future hold? Is the world coming to an end—really?I don’t know about you, but I take great comfort in God’s sovereignty. We don’t get a vote (I don’t want to be in charge anyway) and all this is way above my pay grade (I can’t even fix me). The fact is, like it or not… God is God. Our King goes wherever he wants, and does whatever he wants, and whenever and however he wants.And rest assured. When all is said and done, God’s kingdom will not end. “But immediately after the tribulation...

I hate church retreats.They’re too religious and too intense, and always with too many people. So when I saw on my schedule a pastors/staff retreat for a church in Nashville, I reached for Prozac and booze. Well, that’s not true. I don’t drink and haven’t had to take anti-depressants yet. I did, however, think about both. Man, did God surprise me. The church was Midtown Fellowship, and we met at a large and quite beautiful home on a lake near Nashville. I spent Monday with the nine pastors at Midtown and then Tuesday and Wednesday with the rest of the...

Do you sometimes grow tired of religious people? Do you ever want to just grunt, scream and spit? I know I do.Sometimes I just want to say something shocking. And once that’s done, I’ll think, There, I did it and I’m glad! I try to stifle those feelings because, of course, no real Christian would even think such things. That is what I thought until I read Christ’s words in Matthew 6:1-8 and 16-18. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who...

Have you ever noticed the way God relates to the world? He never dreams up a new vocabulary. He uses the one we use. He never communicates in a category that is unrelated to human experience. He communicates through it. Love is one of those categories. When we talk about love, we can all understand it to one degree or another—all of us love or have been in love. And it is no accident that the relationship between the Creator and his creation is also one of love.However, have you ever considered the fact that God has a problem with...

You may remember that I dedicated my last book (Three Free Sins) to my friend with HIV. My friend continues to ask me to ask you to pray for him and many of you have done that and have asked about him. He’s still clinging to Christ as he faces some dark times and, whenever I hear from him, my friend encourages me with understanding of grace and the fact that he still walks with Christ. When he writes I often think of the song I heard Noel Paul Stookey once sing in a concert: In prison cell and dungeon...

Let me give you a troubling Scripture: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). Let’s talk about loving one another. You’re probably saying (along with me), “Let’s not. I know about that already.” Let’s talk about it anyway. Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Right after Jesus said that to his disciples, Peter responded,...

Are you worried? I am. On Steve Brown Etc. we have interviewed a whole lot of people about the economy, the war, the environment, world poverty, politics (and the list goes on) and the general impression is that we’re all going to die! It’s bad and it’s going to get a lot worse. There is a wonderful story in 2 Kings 6. The king of Syria was at war with Israel. Israel, though, had a powerful “secret weapon” in Elisha the prophet who kept warning Israel of the troop movements of Syria. The king of Syria was ticked and sent...

Can we talk? You and I both know that so often the church is probably the last place in the world where people are really free. We talk about freedom, we preach it and offer it to those who have not found Christ. But if you take a long look around the average church you will find people who seem to be cut from the exact same mold. Most of us look, act and talk the same way.There is, of course, a cold, dead orthodoxy among us that we have called “Christian.” Paul warned Timothy to be careful about those...

“Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:1-4) Recently, I...

If you are a Christian, you are radically free. No, I don’t mean you are free with a number of ifs, ands, and buts. I mean you are really free. No disclaimer. No addendum. No qualifying points. You are free.I didn’t say it, Jesus did: “‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free….So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’” (John 8:31-32,36). Freedom is a gift from the Son of God. If he says I’m free, that ought to settle...

Do you have doubts about the faith? “No,” you say, “I’ve been a Christian for years.” You don’t understand. I didn’t ask if you were a Christian or not. I asked if you had some doubts, perhaps a nagging question in the back of your mind, “Is this stuff really true?” It’s okay to ask that question. In fact, it’s normal. For both the doubting Christian and the searching skeptic, let’s look at some prerequisites for faith as seen in the life of “doubting Thomas” (John 20:24-31). What was it about Thomas that caused Jesus to deal with his doubts?...