Luke 12:51-59"Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.  They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-i...  Read More

Mystery is to be Sought Out One of the most scandalous truths of the gospel is that our Creator longs to be encountered by his creation. God longs to meet with us. His greatest desire is for relationship with us. I can’t fathom why God in all his holiness and goodness makes himself available to us, but it is the powerful truth of Scripture. God is pursuing each of us with his relentless love, seek...  Read More

We . . . offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of his name.—Hebrews 13:15 (TLB)Jesus knew that one of the real tests of our yieldedness to God is our willingness to share with others. If we have no mercy toward others, that is one proof that we have never experienced God’s mercy. Emerson must have been reading the gauge of human mercy when he said, “What you are speak...  Read More

God Longs for Us to Know His Truth -One of the most scandalous truths of the gospel is that our Creator longs to be encountered by his creation. God longs to meet with us. His greatest desire is for relationship with us. I can’t fathom why God in all his holiness and goodness makes himself available to us, but it is the powerful truth of Scripture. God is pursuing each of us with his relentless lo...  Read More

Delightful Obedience - The Crosswalk Devotional - October 31, 2022 The Crosswalk Devotional Delightful ObedienceBy Laura Bailey“Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! It was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” Romans 7:7 NLTLike most teenagers, the last thing I wanted to do w...  Read More

The Baptism of the Holy SpiritLuke 3:15–17LUKE 3:15–17“John answered them all, saying, ‘I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire’ ” (v. 16).One well-known historian of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements has referred to the twentieth century as the “century of the ...  Read More

Right Now Truly Counts ForeverLuke 9:23LUKE 9:23“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’” (v. 23).This summer, my extended family went on vacation together for a week. The time was filled with fun activities, good conversations, and sweet memories. Three generations were together—my parents, my siblings and cousins, and ou...  Read More

Adopting Christ's AttitudeR.C. SproulPhilippians 2:5–9“Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being f...  Read More

Luke 9:57-62As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "II will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father."  But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; ...  Read More

A Passage To Ponder: Luke 9:57-62Martin Luther is reputed to have once said, “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.”Or as Tennessee preacher, Greg Nance expressed it, “We need to ask ourselves, am I just tagging along or truly following Jesus?The essence of discipleship is following Jesus. It calls for commitment. Requires dedication. Demands loyalty. ...  Read More

Seeking the LostLuke 15:1–32LUKE 15:1–32'I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (v. 7).Generally speaking, a dog owner will search high and low for his pet if he finds that his animal is missing. He might walk through his neighborhood yelling out the name of his dog in hopes that it will come running....  Read More

PragmatismLuke 14:25–33LUKE 14:25–33“Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (v. 28).While most of the philosophies that have shaped American culture are European in origin, pragmatism is at least one worldview that was born in the United States. Its assumptions lie at the heart of postmodernism, that catch-all ter...  Read More