Staff/Lifeway Christian Resources

Why must we suffer? The suffering Messiah was a scandal to the early Church. That is not the kind of Lord the Church wanted, and it did not like to have the law of suffering imposed upon it by its Lord.

History is replete with people who followed others to destruction and death. Leaders like Jim Jones of the Jonestown massacre, cult leader Charles Manson and others led many to disaster. Whom are you following?

Love is the primary attribute of God. He is the source of love. We didn’t create love. God did. We didn’t initiate love. God did. God is love, and His love animates the universe.

A well-known adage for survivalists is “Be prepared.” Preparation is key for emergency situations or simply for things we hope to accomplish. No one knows that better than God Himself who, throughout the Bible, prepared His people for the future.

Using our spiritual gifts has to be undertaken with the right spirit. One of the temptations in the church is to use our gifts in a way that glorifies ourselves. But this is the opposite approach to service in the body of Christ.

We love freedom. Seldom do we like it when someone tells us what to do, and often we chafe against rules that limit our freedom. While most people in an orderly society follow the rules willingly, we occasionally hear of situations that demand a rule or regulation be set aside.

My daughter, who loves to bake, told me how she makes her old-fashioned chocolate cake: “Flour, cocoa, butter, buttermilk, sugar, etc. Oh, and one-eighth teaspoon of salt.” Why use salt in sweet cake? Turns out, salt is necessary for the cake to taste how it should.

When our lives or our environments are in disarray, we want restoration. We like things that are complete and at peace. Thankfully, God wants that for us as well, and He is the only One who can provide it.

Before we identify our spiritual gifts and exercise them to build up the body of Christ, we should understand where spiritual gifts come from. The equipping of the saints for ministry fulfills a promise given by God in the Old Testament through the prophet Joel, who declared that one day the Spirit of God would be poured out on His people.

God cares for and values every person regardless of age, nationality, ethnicity or social status. Should followers of Jesus do the same? And if so, how should that care and sentiment look in action?