The Importance of Doctrine
Many people do not associate doctrine with their everyday thinking and decision-making. The article discusses the importance of doctrine for our lives.
How to Pray When You're Fighting with Your Spouse
Do you find yourself struggling to pray when you are fighting with your spouse? The article offers some helpful reminders of the importance of prayer for the married, in order to live their marriage for the glory of God.
Five Myths about Marriage
Has your marriage met all the expectations you were promised it would? Many engaged couples are given misleading expectations about marriage. This article provides us with five myths about marriage that can help you reconsider your marriage expectations.
Think Biblically about Worry
This article provides solid, biblical insight into worry, and concrete advice to fight against it in faith.
What Genesis 1:1 Teaches Us about Our Sexuality
Six Truths about Parenting That Reorient Everything
Psalm 51 gives six truths that are essential for your parenting. This article shows how the psalm reveals the deepest needs of children.
How Is the Love of Money a Root of Evil
From 1 Timothy 6:6-10 this article explains how the love of money reveals our problem with contentment and our search for identity.
How to React to Conflicts with Your Boss Without Ruining the Relationship
Do you have conflict with your employer? How can you maintain a relationship with your boss and address the conflict? This article gives eight things to consider for conflict resolution.
Ministers of Grace in Need of Grace
What is the need of pastors in their pastoral work? The thing that pastor's need most is grace. This article identifies five reasons why grace is the essential need of every pastor.
In Need of Help
Why is it hard to admit that we need help? As this article explains, we tend to buy into two great lies, that we are autonomous and self-sufficient. The author explains what makes these lies so wrong, and how to pray for the Lord's help.
The Problem of Shifting Treasure
When faced with challenges in ministry, pastors have a tendency to allow the kingdom of the self encroach upon them. This article describes this problem as one of shifting treasure, and explains how this happens in terms of our identity, maturity, reputation, essentiality, and confidence.
Working Your Way Up
What is the solution to our struggle to be content? This article explains that the key to contentment is the worship of the one in whom there is full satisfaction to be found.
Parenting: The Joyful Impossibility
Can parenting be joyful? Joyful parenting happens when you are aware of these two things: you cannot change your children, and you need grace.
Relationships – Gaining Ground
Do you know of disappointment in any of your relationships? How can you make your relationship better? Here are four things you can do to improve your relationship.
Relationships – Mercy in the Mess
Is your relationship in the midst of a mess? This article gives three reasons which will point you to God's mercy in your relationship struggle.
Why Would God Ever Answer Me?
Does God answer prayer? There are five reasons explaining why God would respond to your prayers.
Relationships: Why Can They Be So Scary?
Are you disappointed in your relationship? Why is the disappointment so painful? This article gives four reasons for this.
The Idol of Success
The struggle of parenting is not always on account of children. This article explains that a struggle for parents is the idol of success, where parents become angry and worried about their own reputation when their children fail to live up to their expectations.
The Idol of Appreciation
The struggle of parenting is not always on account of children. This article explains that a struggle for parents is the idol of appreciation, where parents want recognition from their children for all they have ever done for them.
The Idol of Control
This article explains that a struggle for parents is the idol of control, where parents want to prevent their children from gaining in independence.
He Sat Down
What are the things that blind us to the fact that we are needy? This article offers two issues, namely, self-justification and following the lies of Satan. These become hindrances to seeking God's forgiveness. But since Christ's sacrifice is complete, we can rest in and celebrate his grace for needy people.
Expect Trouble
When you have unrealistic expectations in the ministry, you can expect trouble in the ministry. This article explains the issue, ending with a call to being realistic.
No Longer Amazed by Grace
What is one cause of losing excitement in ministry work? This article suggests that familiarity with the things of God can cause you to lose your awe and amazement at the grace of God.
Happy Child = Easy Life
Why is parental discipline important? With consideration given to 1 Kings 1:6, this article explains that parents in their exercise of authority are called to reflect the authority of God, and therefore parenting needs to include the disciplining of the child.
Your Ministry Is Not Your Identity
What are temptations for the pastor? One would be to find your identity in your ministry.
Defining Maturity
For pastors it can be easy to confuse their theological knowledge for their maturity. This article explains this issue, and what biblical maturity really looks like.
Success and Endorsements
For pastors it can be easy to confuse success in ministry with God's endorsement of his life. This article explains the difference, and offers questions to help the pastor reflect on how he views himself and his ministry.
Your Final Destination
Could it be that the struggles you face in daily life are connected to overlooking your final destination? This article identifies seven effects of neglecting to think about eternal life.
If God Wasn't Angry
How should you think about the anger of God? This article explains that God can be angry and remain holy. The author also shows that God's anger is gracious anger, seen most prominently in the cross of Christ.
Ten Steps for Change
How do you work towards personal change? Sanctification is a process, so here are ten steps to help you participate in the change God is working in you.
Why Pastors Need the Body of Christ
The spiritual growth of the pastor is linked to his need of the church. With the help of Hebrews 3:12-13 this article explains why the pastor needs the church for his growth.
Blind to Our Blindness
Hebrews 3:12-13 warns against the danger of the hardening of heart. How does one come to such a state? This article explains the process of heart heardening.
The Recipe for a Successful Pastor
What will make you a successful pastor? The recipe for success in ministry rests in the condition of your heart—your love for and worship of Christ.
The X Factor
When calling a pastor, a church should not confuse knowledge and skills, with spiritual maturity. This article explains, with biblical examples, that crucial to the calling of a pastor is the man's heart.
Setting a Parental Agenda
Reasons to Be Passive (Part 3)
Reasons to Be Passive (Part 2)
What are reasons we give for being passive? This article discusses two reasons we give for passivity, namely, the magnitude argument ("The problem is too big") and the separation argument ("It is not my problem"). It is only by embracing the proper theology of God that passivity no longer appeals or makes sense.
Reasons to Be Passive (Part 1)
Grace for Our Grieving
How do you deal with grief in ministry? This article draws six lessons from 1 Samuel 15:34-16:1 on how to face grief in ministry.
Forgiveness: The Key to Ministry Unity
Forgiveness is essential to bringing unity in the ministry. There are three things forgiveness does to resolve conflicts and bring unity.
Fighting for Anger
When it comes to our anger, the problem is generally not that we are angry, but that our anger is misdirected. This article considers how to fight for a righteous anger.
Four Things to Know about Your World
What does the term "fallen world" actually mean? This article outlines four inescapable realities about this world, ones we will all face somehow.
Four Things to Know about You
The article explains four things that are important for us to know in order to attain to a true self-knowledge.
The Cart before the Horse?
Wouldn't it be much better if we entered marriage at the end of the sanctification process? This article considers this question, the attraction to its concern, and the design of God that marriage reach its beauty through a painful process.
You're Not A Superhero
The thought of being independent is a threat to accepting your limitations. There are eight areas that show you are not a superhero. This article explains them and calls you to live in peace knowing that you are not in control but God is.
The Secret Will of God
Where are you looking for the will of God? This article explains that seeking God's guidance from his secret will is going to lead to confusion. Instead, resting on his revealed will is what leads you to his loving guidance.
Location, Location, Location
How does location impact the way you follow Christ? This article explains four ways in which it matters.
Open Doors (Part 3)
Do you have teenagers? While there are challenges in parenting teenagers, this article explains that these years do provide opportunities to access central issues in your child's heart. The author shows how parents can discuss biblical themes in the midst of their child's desire to discover.
Open Doors (Part 2)
Do you have teenagers? While there are challenges in parenting teenagers, this article explains that these years do provide opportunities to access central issues in your child's heart. The author shows how parents can discuss biblical themes in the midst of their child's rebellion.
Open Doors (Part 1)
Do you have teenagers? While there are challenges in parenting teenagers, this article explains that these years do provide opportunities to access central issues in your child's heart. The author shows how parents can discuss biblical themes in the midst of their child's insecurities.
Spiritual Schizophrenia
Does your faith shape your daily life, or is your Christian life separated from your daily life? This article points to five signs that reveal whether or not your faith is shaping your daily life.
Who Knows You?
What is true fellowship? Such fellowship, this article explains, is rooted in a true knowledge of one another. This is what will help shape your life in the way of honesty and humility.
Exercise Influence
Why is that God decides to keep you in this life? Philippians 2:15 gives the answer: you are called to exercise influence. This article points out three areas of influence.
The Love of God
The love of God is a jealous love. Because of this, God will always discipline his children, in order to show them his love. The article shows this from Judges 6:1-6.
The Message of God
God is always faithful. Because of his faithfulness, he will always bring us back from our unfaithfulness. This is gleaned from Judges 6:7-10.
The Hero Of God
The Army of God
Self-reliance is the greatest enemy you are facing as a Christian. The Christian life is a life of dependence upon God. From the story of Gideon in Judges 7:1-8, the article explains how this is so.
The Battle Plan of God
Tired of Waiting (Part 2)
Tired of Waiting (Part 1)
Why is it that waiting is a struggle for us? This article explainsthree heart issues that make waiting a struggle, and lists some examples from Scripture as to the benefit of waiting.
Six Types of Grace
What are words that explain the grace of God? This article mentions and considers six types of grace: forgiveness, acceptance, presence, enablement, freedom, and completion.
Don't Limit Your Ministry
As a Christian, you are an ambassador of God. Therefore, God calls you to minister. Sometimes it happens that you might limit your ministry. This article discusses four ways in which that happens.
Restoring Shalom
God's people are called to take part in restoring shalom. From Revelation 21 this article gives five things needed for taking part in restoring peace in everyday life.
Fallen Is Babylon
When culture seeks self-glory, then it is destined to go bad. Revelation 18 shows that this was the downfall of Babylon.
Stuck in Relationships
How do you know if you are stuck in a relationship? There are ten signs you can use to check your relationship, and six steps you can take to fix your relationship.
Hunger and Thirst
How do you achieve contentment and satisfaction in life? From Isaiah 55:1-7 this article gives four principles to consider.
The Bible Has Power
Why should you bother reading the Bible? From Isaiah 55:8-13, this article gives the answer: the Bible has revealing, exposing, and transforming power.
Grumbling and Disputing
This article considers Philippians 2:14, which says that grumbling and disputing should not be Christian attitudes.
Three Treasure Principles
Darkness Is My Closest Friend
Sleepless Nights
The Exclusivity of Treasure Pursuit
You are a treasure hunter. However, your treasure hunting is exclusive: either you seek the kingdom of God or your kingdom. How do you know? Matthew 6:24 explains.
Earth-Bound Parenting
Your parenting reveals where your heart is. Which treasure does your parenting reveal, earthly treasure or heavenly treasure?
Defining Your Needs
Need and Desire
Three Gospels for Anxiety
Four Principles about Death
This article identifies four fundamental things that help believers to have an appropriate perspective on death.
Eight Actions in Death
Five Important Things
How do you set right priorities? Based on Revelation 19:6-8 this article points to five things that are celebrated in heaven and how this should help you to evaluate your priorities.
Value Clarification
How do you go about establishing proper value systems? Revelation 19:6-8 points you in the right direction, for it provides heavenly values over against those things not to be celebrated.
Worship Reclamation
This article explains what worship reclamation is. We are worshippers by way of identity, yet our worship needs to be recovered and redirected. The author points out nine dangerous places to find our identity, apart from God.
Dreams Have Direction
You May Say I'm a Dreamer
The Doctrine of Hell
The doctrine of hell and eternal judgment has become a rare species in the church today. Based on Matthew 25:31-46, this article explains why teaching about hell should be central to the church. It offers five application that the doctrine of hell should produce in the people of God today.
Nine Questions for Ministry Leaders
Understanding the lifestyle and habits of the people you are ministering to is important for bringing God's Word to them. Here are nine questions to help you in understanding the people you are ministering to.
Glory Junkies (Part 1)
Do you parade your righteousness, talk too much, and have a sense of self-importance? Then you know you are a glory seeker. This article explain how these three are signs of glory seekers.
Glory Junkies (Part 2)
Are you a glory seeker? This article, the second in a two-part series, provides five more signs that we are addicted to our own glory.
More Highly Than You Ought
What are some common factors that seem to contribute to a distorted view of self? This article lists four factors that distort how you see yourself and lead you to seek self-glory.
What Makes a Man
Wretched
How do you break away from the power of sin? This article explains from Romans 7 that sin has three qualities, and there are three reasons to be hopeful over against the power of sin.
Talk Is Cheap
Is talk cheap? Talk is never cheap because your tongue can kill or give life. There are four things that should make you take your communication serious.
Every Ministry Morning
How do you face every new day in the ministry, even those days where you awaken with discouragement or even dread? This article offers five reasons why you can experience comfort every morning of your ministry.
Life-Changing Sermons
The Basics of Christianity
This article considers Acts 17:22-31 with a view to discussing six elements of biblical faith.
Ambassadors for Christ
As Christians, you are called to be ambassadors for Christ. What does it mean to be an ambassador? It means your whole life is a life of ministry.
Love One Another
Christian love is a must among believers. From 1 Peter 1:22 this article explains four characteristics of love that must be displayed among believers.
Just Like Toddlers
This article explains three behaviours produced by sin that reveal we are like toddlers in many ways: rebellion, foolishness, and paralysis.
The Christian Job Description
Words in Scripture that identify the Christian are "alien," "soldier," and "ambassador." Do these words describe you?
Don't Wait Until Next Easter
The resurrection of Christ should be central to the Christian life. This article points out six reasons why we celebrate Easter Sunday, and three implications of the resurrection for the believer.