When Jesus Challenges Us

Bonus Day | February 29, 2016
Happy Leap Day! Every four years we are receive one free bonus day to spend. This day, like all others is vitally important in the grand scheme of your life, yet few perceive it.

I remain confident of this:
  I will see the goodness of the Lord
  in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
  be strong and take heart
  and wait for the Lord.
Psalms 27:13-14, NIV

The Biggest Hindrance To Unanswered Prayer | March 2, 2016
The greatest hindrance to our prayers is unforgiveness. Even if we obtain our desires, we are missing the most important piece of life... loving each other. 

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
Mark 11:22-25, NLT

Dramatic Worship | March 3, 2016
Worship in the New Testament age is a contrast to the Old Testament. Everything the Israelites experienced came from outside of them through second hand worshippers, called priests. In the Age of Jesus, everything comes unfiltered from the inside of our lives where the Holy Spirit lives. 

Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
Leviticus 9:23-24, NASB

What It Means To Be All In | March 4, 2016
We often find ourselves being challenged to get closer or go further with Jesus. Most of our discipleship is a calling to abandon, pursue, and divest ourselves of the old life. Is it enough to simply give our lives incrementally, or should we throw ourselves fully into the hands of our Lord?

A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on."
Mark 12:42-44, NASB