The coming year will be a pivotal point for Christians. The changes it will bring will include a split within the church in which people fall away from the faith and their love will grow cold. There will be plenty of slander, conflict, and offense, and people will compromise their values; however, we will recover from that. On a global level, governments will team up and become allies in preparation for the anti-Christ, whose mission it will be to destroy God’s church. On a personal level,...

In these last days, we will see unprecedented global changes, but not all of them will be good. Persecution will increase as part of Satan’s targeted attack against believers and against God’s church. The enemy will use shame, guilt, and condemnation as weapons; we are to respond by standing in our righteousness and in our identity in Christ. No matter what our past looks like or what we have done, our faith in Jesus causes God to see us as holy and pure. Believing that Jesus has already...

Believers have received the gift of righteousness and salvation from God. Just like any gift we receive, this was something we did not have to earn; it was given to us when we believed in Jesus Christ. It is permanent, and came because of our faith in what He did, not because of anything we do. In light of this, we must be careful not to be confused by any doctrine that says otherwise. We were instantly saved and made righteous when we believed; this is our standing in Christ. However, our...

As believers, it is important that we know the truth about our salvation: we were saved because of our faith in Jesus Christ. we did nothing to earn it; it was given as a gift from God. This directly contradicts religious thinking, which tells us that we must work hard for our redemption. Because of what Jesus has done and our belief in it, we have already been made the righteousness of God. This is our stance in Christ, and nothing we do can change that. However, the ongoing transformation...

Our faith in Jesus’ resurrection is the foundation of our belief as Christians, and the reason we have hope in eternal life. Christ being raised from the dead impacts our daily lives and gives us reason to celebrate. Believers can look forward to spending eternity in heaven with Him when their earthly lives here are done. Some of the benefits we enjoy include forgiveness, power, victory over death, peace, joy, unity, and a purpose in life. Because Jesus is alive, we can have new identities...

"The cross of Christ marks a major turning point for the entire world. It defines the line between the old covenant of the law and the new covenant of grace. Jesus not only died for our sins, but also to add power and force to the New Testament because the old agreement between God and man was obsolete. The Old Testament was filled with promises God made to man; Jesus’ death was necessary to bring those promises to pass. What was true under the old covenant is not true anymore under the new...

"Most people do not know how to correctly divide what they read in the Bible. Contrary to what religion tells us, the New Testament does not begin with the gospel of Matthew; it begins with the cross, and Jesus’ death and resurrection. The world still lives under the Old Testament, and knows nothing else. However, what was true before Jesus came is not necessarily true now; the cross changed everything. Because of what He did, we can now receive our inheritance of righteousness, redemption,...

"To understand the differences between the Law of Moses and the grace of Jesus Christ, we need the spiritual vision to see what God wants us to see. The cross of Christ changed much of what was true under the old covenant, including how to keep the law. We are no longer required to follow a long list of rules, because the Holy Spirit is now available to help us keep God’s moral law perfectly. Because of what Jesus did, we are now blessed and made righteous not by our actions, but by our faith...

Growing to maturity is part of life. This is true not just on the physical level, but also on the spiritual level. When we get born again, God saves us by grace; He then immediately begins working in us to grow us up from spiritual infants to fully mature adults in Christ. He does this through the Holy Spirit, who demonstrates to us God’s infinite love and undeserved favor. When we become new creations, grace cares for, nourishes and spiritually feeds the man that has been born in us. This is...

For the new Christian, knowing how to give is essential. We are no longer living under the Law of Moses but under the grace of God; therefore, our perspective on this is important. Most of us have been taught in church to give under the law’s requirements to do so; the result is giving under compulsion, not out of faith in grace. Law-based giving blocks the blessings that show up when we give because we want to; grace-based giving with the right motives unblocks those blessings and allows...

To get a clearer picture of God, we need to understand His unearned, undeserved favor toward us. His grace goes far beyond simply forgiving our sins; it is His way of dealing with those who receive Christ. Grace provides assurance, stability, and direction in the lives of believers. It is not something reserved for when we eventually get to heaven; it immediately begins working in our daily lives the instant we believe and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The beauty of grace is that it is...

God’s ways of operating are completely different than man’s ways, and much more effective in changing us for the better and causing us to want to live godly. The world uses punishment and threats to correct our behavior; by contrast, God uses mercy and forgiveness. The absence of condemnation gives us the power to overcome what once overcame us. To convince us to reject the world and its sinful ways, God continually reminds us how attractive and beautiful heaven is. He also instructs us to...

An important sign of how mature we are is the ability to control and manage our emotions. God gave us feelings; however, He never meant for them to govern our lives. An emotionally mature person has reached an understanding regarding their thoughts and behaviors, and is therefore able to decide how to best approach an otherwise challenging situation. When we reach this stage, we can find successful solutions to our problems without letting them overwhelm us. In life, we all make mistakes; the...

Maturing spiritually and becoming more like Jesus should be every Christian’s goal. He is grace; we therefore need the Holy Spirit’s help in transforming us in our spiritual growth, because we cannot do it alone. Our starting point is a personal relationship with Christ; knowing Him results in gradually increasing levels of maturity. A practical understanding of growing in grace hinges on realizing that it happens over time. We must know what it means to receive it ourselves, so that we can...

There is a difference between simply knowing about God and really knowing Him. A genuine, personal relationship with Him should impact us through and through. When we truly know God as He is, with no religious fluff added, we will find the strength to go through things we never knew we could withstand and do things we are not capable of by human means. We will never be sufficient in and of ourselves; all we need to succeed and prosper is God’s presence, and nothing more. Jesus is enough; we...

It is impossible to live in a way that pleases God without yielding to Him as instruments for Him to use; godly living is a result of submitting to and trusting Him. Although salvation is of God, it is specifically through Jesus Christ. Our own efforts to be good and to do the morally right things, independent from Jesus, will not succeed. Placing our faith in Him does not take away the problems we encounter in life, but does allow Him to deliver us and give us victory over them. We cannot...

We all want to live godly, but this is impossible through our own efforts; we keep bumping into our own sinful selves. Salvation from the penalty of sin is the work of God, alone; we cannot save ourselves. Our belief in Him, without any of our own performance, is all that is necessary for our redemption and justification. This means that we do not have to strive to achieve the kind of high moral living God expects, but simply yield to Him and let Him do His work. Living this kind of life...

If there was ever a time we needed to hear from God, it is right now. One Word from Him changes everything; this is why, as Christians, we need to be in a position to hear Him. Dreams are a powerful way God communicates with us and gives us directions; they were a frequent occurrence in the Old Testament, and He has every intention of continuing these types of interactions with us today. One of the ways God gives us insights and revelations is while we are sleeping. Our success, our...

God has given us many promises, and one of those promises is abundant supply. He is our source for everything we need. However, many people try to get their needs met through a relationship with worldly principles, instead of through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus, believers will never have to fear not having enough. Christ is committed to taking care of us, and He always keeps His promise; this is something we can trust in completely. Believing this gives us peace, no...

We all have seasons in our lives in which nothing seems to be happening. This is to be expected; when we find ourselves in a dry season, we maintain our faith as believers by trusting in and relying on God. There are plenty of things we can trust and rely on, but we succeed when we make God, and God only, our confidence and hope. His Word is the doorway to manifestations; studying and applying it is the solution to moving through whatever situation shows up. Conversely, neglecting it and...

How we see a situation depends on the lens we are looking through. The lens will filter how we perceive it; in life, our success depends on seeing every issue through the lens of God’s Word. How we respond to the circumstances determines the condition of our lives, and is a direct result of our philosophy. In light of this, using the correct lens—one based on the Word—is critical. If the way we interpret what happens to us is not biblically-based, it is wrong; therefore, our responses and...

God’s grace is the most important teacher we could ever have. His unmerited, undeserved favor instructs us in the things of God and teaches us how to be like Jesus Christ, Himself. However, grace only does this for those who have made the decision to make Jesus their Lord and Savior. Living godly lives involves depending not on ourselves, but on God and His wisdom, love, and goodness. When we decide to trust God in every area, we receive the humility and godly maturity to acknowledge that He...

As New-Testament believers, a solid understanding of the covenant under which we live gives us a true picture of God. We have all studied grace and truth; however, they are not separate, but the same. Grace is the truth, and is Jesus Christ, Himself. Grace is God’s undeserved, unmerited favor; it does not excuse sin, but instead teaches us to live godly lifestyles by changing us from the inside out. Submitting ourselves to grace allows the Holy Spirit to work in us to the point where we want...

God’s favor works in our lives on many different levels, one of which is to provide what we need every day. We do not have to be perfect or work to earn His grace; we receive it as an undeserved gift because of our born-again status. Even when we sin, God still shows us grace so abundantly that it changes our minds about our behavior; it causes us to want to stop sinning and to please God. He does this by showing us mercy for things we do not deserve. Our faith, not in what we do but in what...