Nehemiah 9:1-3Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them.  The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.  While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and f...  Read More

Nehemiah 9:1-3Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them.  The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.  While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and f...  Read More

Today’s Devotional:Do you have traction in your relationship with God and your life? Traction is what keeps us on course and moving in the right direction. Yet too many of us live with too much dis-traction, and our attention is diverted to what’s less important. When we get sidetracked, the distractions in life rob us of gaining traction in our relationship with God and the plans He has for us.Ac...  Read More

Today’s Devotional:Today is the first day of a great adventure—the adventure of turning down the noise of the world to more clearly hear the voice of God. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” The next 21 days of prayer and fasting is all about you seeking God with all your heart so you will find Him!We begin our time in the book of Nehemiah. In ...  Read More

The Believer’s Gift GiverNot only does the Holy Spirit empower individual believers to grow and mature in Christ, but he also imparts to each believer as he chooses different spiritual gifts to serve others. Eighteen different spiritual gifts are enumerated in four New Testament epistles (Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, 37-31; 1 Peter 4:10-11). These are not exhaustive lis...  Read More

The Believer’s GuideJesus promised that the Holy Spirit would guide all believers saying: “He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). Repeating this promise two more times, Jesus said that the Spirit would “bear witness about me” (John 15:26) and “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). This explains how the apostles were able to recall al...  Read More

1 Timothy 1:17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen....  Read More

The Believer’s GrowthThough the Bible teaches that conversion includes the forgiveness of sins and being declared righteous and holy before God, Christians need to keep on growing in Christlikeness. This is a progressive, lifelong process, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit from beginning to end. Another name for this process is sanctification.Sanctification is both instantaneous and a process....  Read More

The Believer’s FruitGenuine believers produce fruit in their lives. They give evidence of their new life in Christ and reflect the glory of God their Father. Included is the fruit of the Spirit which primarily consists of social virtues. All kinds of sin erupt when human beings interact with each other—enmity, jealousy, rivalry, strife, lust, and fits of anger. But Christians who live by the Spiri...  Read More

The Believer’s HelperThe disciples were grieved during their last meal as Christ spoke of leaving them and began to give them final instructions. In the midst of their sorrow, he encouraged them with a remarkable promise: “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7, emphasis mine). Jesus was leav...  Read More

So what can be done? How can we battle the killer of our purpose and fight distraction with everything we’ve got?This is a big, important topic and I can’t give you every strategy I’ve learned over the years. But I will provide you with three that have most helped me conquer my distractions and fast-track my pursuit of purpose.  1. Engage Your Decision PowerTime is fear’s favorite food. If you wan...  Read More

Nehemiah 8:12-17Then on the second day the heads of fathers' households of all the people, the priests and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe that they might gain insight into the words of the law.  They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel should live in booths during the feast of the seventh month.  So they proclaimed and circulated...  Read More