"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, 'Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?'  And they said, 'Some say that you are John the Baptist: some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.'  He said unto them, 'But whom say you that I am?'  And Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'  And Jesus answered and said unto him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in Heaven.  And I say unto you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."  (Matthew 16:13-19) What an amazing passage which is worthy of our most focused atte

Last weekend my church had a men's retreat, a camping trip.  After my first night ever in a tent, a long, cold night, I woke up early and considered my options.  It was really too early to get going so I thought about life and my relationship with God.  In many ways life has been very good lately.  On the outside people might think everything is perfect in my life and relationship with God.  But on this morning I could sense something wasn't quite right.  I acknowledged this feeling, admitted I needed to figure it out, and God then spoke to me. God led me straight to 1 Samuel, a book I've read many times.  He showed me something awesome, and I believe this is a master key for any of us looking to progress in our walk with God. In 1 Samuel chapter four we quickly see that Israel is in "Ebenezer" (meaning "Rock of Hope") and having problems with the Philistines.  They are defeated in battle by the second verse.  They consider their situation, and they deci

Lately I have been studying Godly leadership.  Other than in my home, I'm really not in any position of leadership at this time.  But I try to hear God about my Bible study.  That's really a great practice that you should consider.  It's good to follow Bible reading plans or other set schedules at times, but other times you need to let the Spirit of Truth guide you into all Truth.  Remember that Jesus said God's Word is Truth.  So in reality, Christians have the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of the Word of God, to guide them through the Word of God. At first when you try to follow God's Spirit in your Bible study you can feel lost and maybe even silly.  You're trying to hear with your spiritual ears a voice that usually only speaks in the spiritual realm, and you want it to tell you what page to read in a book.  But don't worry about that.  Focus instead on God's promise that the Spirit of Truth is inside of you and that He will guide you into all Tru

If you go to church then you have probably heard people talk about the presence of God.  People talk about God being in the church (especially when the music is good) or God being in various places at various times.  They might say things like, "the presence of God was so strong" or "you can feel the presence of God here" or something like that.  While there is no question that God does show up physically in various places (especially in the Old Testament) this can become a fuzzy, goofy question for the flesh that ends up removing the actual benefits and possibilities of God's presence. Let's try to get rid of some of the mystery about God's presence and learn how we can be constantly in God's presence with its resulting benefits.  That's right, you aren't just in God's presence when you feel goose bumps during a good worship song, as a Christian you can (and do) live in God's presence.  When we understand the reality of God's pre

"I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:13) A few years ago I witnessed to a close friend about Jesus Christ.  He liked the ideas of salvation and a relationship with God, but I could tell he didn't like the idea of being a "born again Christian."  He had heard the stereotypes.  He had watched Ned Flanders on The Simpsons, and he couldn't imagine himself being a nerdy, no-fun religious zealot that was mocked openly in the popular culture he had adopted.  It was hard to tell him that it wasn't like that.  "Can I still party?"  "No."  "Can I still get with girls?" "No."  "What can I do."  "You can go to church and read the Bible."  I didn't know what a Christian was supposed to look like.  I was a Christian, but I was worse than Ned Flanders.  They make him out to be a nice guy.  I was the jerk version.  I couldn't see what God had for

Some time ago I was listening to Christian radio and the speaker talked about Caleb in Joshua Chapter 14.  You'll remember that Caleb and Joshua were the two spies of the Promised Land who brought back a good report of the land.  They were the only two men from that generation who lived to see the land.  After some time, Caleb came to Joshua to claim his portion of the land and this is what he said: "Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heard in that day how the Anakims (giants) were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said."  (Joshua 14:12) The speaker paraphrased Caleb's statement this way, "give me the mountain, where the giants dwell."  Caleb was ready to claim what God had promised him some forty years before.  Caleb was full of faith and Caleb knew that if God was for him then no man could stand against him.