Blog | Page 19 | CrossWalk Church

01.26.15

Sometimes it really helps to know that God is around. He hasn't departed. And he's not going to.

But it's important for us to notice him, isn't it? For that, we have to keep coming back to the words and promises of God. By reading our Bibles, we keep our eyes always on him. Coming back to the gospel keeps God at our right hand.

...

Ready with Hope

01.25.15

It's interesting to see our human brain's bias for the negative. And this bias comes out even in the Bible. Jesus had just shown his glory in the Transfiguration. He followed this up with...

...to this day

01.24.15

Sometimes you get amazing wisdom from children. And sometimes it comes from those who have been around the block a time or two.

Jacob had definitely been around the block a few times. He lived to be 147 years old, and shortly before his death he asked his son Joseph to bring his grandsons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to him. He wanted to give...

Prevailing Grace

01.23.15

Human opposition is part of life in this fallen world. You've faced it. And so have I.

Sometimes it originates from those closest to us. Brothers have struggled for supremacy over one another all the way back to Cain and Abel. The sinful condition of the human heart--pride, jealousy, anger, and greed--creates volatility in our...

Where Change Begins

01.22.15

January is the month when we try to make changes in our lives. New Year's resolutions!

We're going to work out more. We're going to lose weight. We're going to finally read that book. We're going to fix that relationship.

Character qualities rise to the fore. I'm going to be a more hard-working person in 2015. And more honest. I'...

Wind. Waves. A Hand Up.

01.21.15

How quickly our faith can go from flying at 70 miles an hour to a full stop.

All of Jesus' disciples were in a boat sailing across the Sea of Galilee following the feeding of the 5000. It's the middle of the night. A huge wind is pressing against the boat and buffeting it side to side.

Jesus comes to them across the lake on foot...

01.20.15

He just yearned for a brief respite, a tiny quiet space in which to grieve.

Jesus was supposed to be boarding a boat to go somewhere private where he could mourn the death of his cousin, John the Baptist.

"Cousins" was their relationship in the physical universe. But their relationship in the kingdom was even closer. John the...

All In

01.19.15

Jesus makes it clear that eternity is on the line. And when the stakes are high, most of us realize that it's time to be "all in."

We do it all the time. When deciding on our educational path. When meeting our future spouse. When selecting our career. When opening our business.

In areas of life like this, we know that whatever we...

A Man Burdened

01.18.15

E.M. Bounds (1835-1913), who authored nine books on the subject of prayer, once wrote, "Prayer is the language of a man burdened with a sense of need."

But sometimes when we go through a painful patch, we wonder where God is. Does he know what I'm going through? Is he aware?

And if I pray, will he listen to me? Will he pay...

Brother or Sister of Jesus? Outrageous.

01.17.15

Wouldn't it be great if God could be family? Jesus tells us it's not nearly as far-fetched as it might sound.

The disciples were humans just like us--just regular folks. Fishermen. A tax collector. And other no-name jobs. Nothing spectacular, it seems. No one was getting ready to be declared "Man of the Year" for Time magazine. No one...

Wrestle God Down.

01.16.15

It's so interesting when one Bible passage informs another. It might be two different books of the Bible, written by different authors, written hundreds of years apart even. But when you lay the two passages alongside one another, they show us exactly what God desires for us, and from us.

Today the lesson is this: Sometimes it's just...

Size of the God in the Fight

01.15.15

Sometimes we feel like we have super. solid. faith. It's burning bright.

But much more frequently, we struggle to trust God. Our faith feels squishy. We are bruised in our beliefs.

Or maybe we even feel like the flame has gone out, and our faith is barely alive. Just the smallest wisp remains. And we might even wonder, "...