I recently had a former Special Forces Sergeant-Major come to our ministry to teach Situational Awareness & Threat Analysis. It was mainly for our leaders and key security people, but many in our church came that were interested in getting this training, which I was really happy about. It is obvious that we are living in increasingly dangerous times, and this kind of training will soon become crucial for all to have. Even more important than being able to discern and deal with threats, the more aware and focused we are in any situation can also...

         When I have taught on what Jesus said His disciples would be and do, I always have those who realize they have been believers for many years, but have never truly been a disciple. Over the years of ministering in many different parts of the body of Christ, I have come to believe that this is true of perhaps 90% of believers. If this is true of you, the good news is that it is not too late and you can become His disciple now, not just enriching your life, but beginning the greatest adventure that...

     We continue with the biblical step-by-step path to maturity in Christ. In the New Testament we have five levels of relationship to God, which are:

1. Believer
2. Disciple
3. Bond-servant
4. Friend
5. Son

     The beginning of our relationship to God is when we become a believer in the atonement of the cross for our redemption and reconciliation to God. This results in our being born again into the new creation we are called to be. When we are born into this world, we are just beginning our life. The same is true when we are...

         We continue with the biblical step-by-step path to victory, acknowledging that these are also step-by-step paths to maturity in Christ. We continue with the exhortations about this in II Peter 1:2-8:

         “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 

         “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 

         “For by these He has...

         Jesus said that “in the world you will have tribulation” (see John 16:33). So, we are going to have trials in our life, but it would be much better for us to avoid the ones that are not necessary. This week we will address the main reasons we are subject to unnecessary trials. 

         A choice we can make that will help us avoid unnecessary trials is to make every major decision by seeking the kingdom first, and put the interests of the kingdom above every other consideration. He said that if we would seek...