But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:8 (NLT) When Christians believe that God is angry at them, they tend to avoid Him. They don’t think He wants a relationship with them. They also can’t imagine why He would want to bless them because they think He’s too angry and disappointed. These Christians believe that when they do wrong, God makes them pay for it. If something bad happens, such as an illness or accident, they assume that God orchestrated it to punish them for something they did. Not only is this way of thinking Biblically inaccurate, but it also destroys their relationship with God. And, even worse, it causes them to judge others. You see, …

Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. 2 John 1:8 (NLT) Some Christians are afraid of adapting how they talk about their faith or how they do church because they don’t want to jeopardize their beliefs. When they hear the word “contemporary,” they think of the word “compromise.” In reality, you can easily be contemporary without compromising. Being contemporary is simply adapting yourself and your communication style to the culture that surrounds you. It’s changing the packaging on how you work with Holy Spirit and share Jesus while staying totally committed and unmoving in what you believe. It in no way requires you to compromise on your beliefs and it’s not about trying to change the Gospel. …

You see, God did not give us a cowardly spirit but a powerful, loving, and disciplined spirit. 2 Timothy 1:7 (VOICE) Many of us have what I like to call holy cows—man-made, religious beliefs that are limiting us and what God wants to do in our lives. Over the next few days, we’re going to shoot a few of these holy cows by comparing them to God’s Word to see if they hold true.   One of these misbeliefs involves a preconceived notion about what it means to be led by Holy Spirit. Some people shy away from Holy Spirit because they’ve watched TV evangelists who didn’t seem authentic or they’ve met Christians who engaged in some pretty crazy-looking behaviour they attributed to Holy Spirit’s …

For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV) We all carry beliefs that limit us—beliefs that don’t line up with what God says. These misbeliefs act like birth control pills, preventing the birth of all the wonderful new things God wants us to have in our lives. However, we can deal with these misbeliefs and begin to beautifully and naturally produce the awesome, exciting kind of life that God has for us. On this journey toward lining our beliefs up with God’s Word, we have to learn to think differently. If we want to go places we’ve never gone, we need to do things we’ve never …

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV) Fear and joy cannot coexist. Anytime you’re worried or anxious, you’ve lost the power of joy. Vice versa, when you choose to rejoice, fear has to leave. It’s interesting to note the order of today’s verse. God doesn’t say, “I’ll strengthen you and then you won’t be afraid.” He says that first you make the choice to fear not—and then His strength comes. I’ve seen this at work in my life many times. When fear pushes at me and my stomach is in knots, I make a verbal decision. I say, “No, …