Kind Awakening

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11 (KJV) When spiritual battles come, especially during our weakest moments, it's easy to forget what God has already given us. We return to fear. We react emotionally. We try to fight everything in our own strength. We become offended. We begin questioning people around us. But Paul doesn't tell believers to defeat the enemy through their own strength. He begins by saying: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Ephesians 6:10 (KJV) That's where spiritual warfare begins. Not with how strong you are, but with how strong He is. Then Paul says: Put on the whole armor of God. Not part of it. The whole armor. The Belt of Truth,  What Are You Believing? “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth...” Ephesians 6:14 (KJV) Truth holds everything together. That's why lies are so dangerous. The e...

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15 (KJV) Those words from Jesus are simple, but they challenge us deeply. We can say we love Jesus. We can attend church, raise our hands during worship, read Scripture, post Bible verses, and tell others how much Jesus means to us. Those things can be beautiful expressions of faith. But Jesus takes love beyond what we say and connects it to how we live : “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Love for Christ produces a desire to follow Christ. Obedience Is a Response to Love There's an important distinction we can't miss. We don't obey Jesus so that He will love us. We obey Jesus because we love Him. And even deeper than that, our love for Him begins with His love toward us: “We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 (KJV) Christian obedience isn't supposed to be a transaction: “God, I'll behave better so You'll accept me.” That's not the Gospel. The Gospel tells us that we cou...

“What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” John 13:7 (KJV) There are seasons when one sentence seems to describe everything you're feeling: “God, I don't understand.” I don't understand why this happened. I don't understand why I've been praying and nothing seems to change. I don't understand why this door closed. I don't understand why I'm going through this. I don't understand why You allowed this. And when we don't understand what God is doing, we're sometimes tempted to conclude that God isn't doing anything. But those are two very different things. In John 13, Peter couldn't understand why Jesus, his Lord and Master, was kneeling before him and washing his feet. Jesus didn't explain everything to Peter in that moment. He simply told him: You don't understand now. You will understand afterward. Sometimes faith means trusting Jesus in the space between those two words: now and afterwar...

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up...” 1 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV) We use the word love for almost everything. “I love coffee.” “I love cake.” “I love that restaurant.” Then we use the exact same word to say: “I love my wife.” “I love my children.” “I love God.” But biblical love goes much deeper than preference, attraction, enjoyment, or emotion. Biblical love is not merely something you feel. It is something you choose to walk in. And understanding that matters because feelings change. There will be days when you don't feel particularly loving. Your spouse may get on your nerves. Someone may hurt you. Your children may frustrate you. You may be exhausted, irritated, disappointed, or simply fed up. If love depends entirely upon how we feel in those moments, we're in trouble. But Scripture gives us something stronger than emotion. It gives us a definition of love that can survive changing feel...

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind...” Romans 12:2 (KJV) There are moments when everything around you can be going well, yet something inside of you suddenly begins unraveling. An old insecurity resurfaces. Something somebody said years ago begins replaying. A fear you thought you had overcome suddenly feels real again. One thought becomes another, and before long, your mind has constructed an entire story around something that hasn't even happened. Then comes the frustrating question: “Why am I still dealing with this?” But the return of an old thought doesn't necessarily mean you've made no progress. Sometimes what comes to the surface reveals an area where God is continuing to renew, heal, and transform you. What Comes Out Reveals What Is Within Pressure has a way of exposing things. We can bury hurt, insecurity, rejection, fear, and bitterness so deeply that we convince ourselves they're gone. Then th...

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:27–28 (KJV) John 10 contains one of the most comforting promises Jesus ever gave His followers: “They shall never perish.” Yet the verses immediately surrounding that promise are equally important. Jesus describes those who belong to Him: They hear His voice. He knows them. They follow Him. This is not merely a description of a religious moment. It is a picture of a relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. “My Sheep Hear My Voice” Jesus begins: “My sheep hear my voice...” Sheep recognize the voice of their shepherd because they belong to him and have learned to trust him. Likewise, the Christian life is more than acknowledging that Jesus exists. It is a life increasingly shaped by His voice through His Word. Jesus said earlier: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples in...