The Four Spiritual Laws.

Evangelism Explosion.

The Romans Road.

The Three Circles.

These are all examples of evangelistic tools that you can use to share the good news of Jesus Christ with another person. Each of them have their own merits, and each of them probably have their own drawbacks. There are people in your church, right now, who have likely been led to faith in Christ using each one of them. So clearly, they are an effective means of communicating the truth of the gospel. 

But which one is the right one?

The answer is none of them. And all of them. And here’s a little account from the gospels to show both are true.

The first chapter of the book of John takes us from the eternal nature of Jesus Christ down to a specific riverbank in Israel. John the Baptist was a popular teacher at the time, though not everyone enjoyed his messages as they were particularly biting towards the religious establishment. John had gathered quite a following, but he understood that his sole purpose was not to accumulate his own followers, but rather to point them to Jesus. And that’s what we find him doing starting in verse 35. Here are the next several verses:

The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

“Come and you’ll see,” he replied. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed him. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated “the Christ”), and he brought Simon to Jesus.

When Jesus saw him, he said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated “Peter”).

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and told him, “Follow me.”

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him.

“Come and see,” Philip answered (John 1:35-46).

It’s a pretty remarkable chain of events. And in that chain of events, we see the news about Jesus spread in a number of different ways. First, we have a proclamation from a preacher in John the Baptist. Then we see someone offer a theological explanation (albeit brief) about who Jesus is from Andrew. Then we find a direct call from Jesus Himself to Philip. And then we see Philip not quite know what to say to Nathanael, so he just invited him to come to an event.

And all of those things are right. None of them are wrong. Each one of them is an expression of a different way to share the good news. And each one is reflective of the person doing the sharing. 

That’s an encouraging thought, isn’t it? It means that if you struggle to find the “right” way to share the gospel, then struggle no more. Because there isn’t necessarily a right way - there is only sharing. Speaking. Inviting. Testifying. You share the good news to whoever you can, however you can. 

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

When I was younger, I had the privilege to get to know the great evangelist, Billy Graham. And when he asked me to help him with illustrations in his sermons, I felt like I’d been enrolled in the finest evangelistic university on Earth. No one did it better than Billy. And he didn’t just do it publicly; I saw him do it privately. 

We were at a restaurant once, just talking, and our table happened to be by a walkway. He was so gracious and took the time to meet everyone who recognized him. It was a beautiful quality to see. When you would sit down with Billy, it wouldn’t be long until he would say something like, “Well, tell me about yourself.” He didn’t like to talk about himself. I think he always had that heart. 

Being around him inspired me because he kept it simple. He once said in an interview with David Frost that he studied to be simple. 

I think one of the secrets to his success was delivering the gospel in an understandable way. It was always clear. And he preached for a decision.

Billy once said to me, “I don’t think I’m a very good preacher. But I believe God has given me the gift of giving the invitation.” It was one of the rare times I had to disagree with him. He was both a very good preacher and given that gift by God.

Every Christian Is Called to Evangelize

There is a God-given gift of an evangelist, and Billy had it. But, though some are gifted to be an evangelist, and some may not be called to be an evangelist per se, every Christian is called to evangelize.

As Paul said to Timothy, “Do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5 NKJV). We’re all called to preach the gospel.

We’ve been entrusted with the Great Commission—to go into all the world, preach the gospel, and make disciples of all nations, teaching them all things that Christ has commanded us. 

By the way, evangelism and discipleship are really inseparable. Our mission from Christ is to proclaim Jesus, lead people to Him, and then get them grounded in their faith. New believers need older believers to stabilize them, but older believers need new believers to energize them, right? 

That’s why I always encourage older people to get some younger people in their lives, because younger people need older folks, older folks need younger folks.

How Not to Evangelize

Maybe there’s someone reading right now who has someone they want to share the gospel with but feels nervous or even scared to offend. Let me give you an example of what not to do.

One day, I was in a hamburger restaurant, and a lady recognized me. She said, “Are you Greg Laurie?” I said, “Yeah, I am.” She said, “Well, nice to meet you.” And then she gestures toward her husband, “This is my husband; he’s a heathen. Can you say something to him to help him believe in Jesus?” And the poor guy was just getting ready to take a bite when this happened. He just froze and looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights. I felt so bad for the guy. I said, “Hey man, enjoy your burger. Okay, God bless you.” 

So, that’s how you don’t do it. Don’t embarrass a person. Don’t create unnecessary friction. When it comes to evangelism—if you have the luxury of some time—you want to build a bridge, not burn one.

How to Evangelize Effectively

Jesus was not only the Messiah, the Savior of the world, and the Creator of the universe, but He also happened to be the greatest evangelist of all time. And look at the way He interacted with people. Look at Jesus in John 3 with Nicodemus. Look at Jesus in John 4 with the woman at the well. Nicodemus is religious and moral. The other is immoral, living with a man, married and divorced many times. Yet Jesus built bridges with both of them. 

Stepping Stone, Not Stumbling Block

Our objective is to be a stepping stone, not a stumbling block. If you want to win some, you need to be winsome. So talk to a person. Everyone’s favorite subject is themselves. Say to someone, “Tell me about yourself. . . What do you think about this? What do you think about that?” 

I was in a cab once in Hawaii and the driver was named Tom. We’re driving along and I prayed, “Lord, if you want, open a door for me to share the gospel with Tom.”

We ended up coming across what’s called a ghost bike. It’s a bicycle painted white on the road with flowers in front of it. It was put there as a memorial to someone who died in a road biking accident. So they called them ghost bikes. 

I said, “Tom, what are those bikes and why are they painted white?” He said, “Those are ghost bikes.” And he explained it to me. I said, “That’s so sad. Tom, what do you think happens when you die?” It took him about five minutes to give me his philosophy. He thought you died and came back as a higher or lower life form. Basically reincarnation.

I listened to him, didn’t interrupt him, and didn’t say “You’re wrong.” When he was all done, he said, “Well, what do you think about the afterlife?” Then, I shared the gospel. After I was done, he said, “I like your version of the afterlife better than my version.” I said, “Well, Tom, it’s not my version. This is what Jesus said.” 

Give and Take

See, it’s give and take. When you’re a preacher, it’s a monologue. But when you’re in conversation with people, it’s a dialogue. So be a good listener. Find out about the person you’re talking to so you can then appropriately bring the message of the gospel. 

When it’s all said and done, it’s about sharing the message of the death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. 

The Power of the Gospel

Coming back to Billy Graham. I once asked him, “If an older Billy could speak to a younger Billy, what would you say to yourself? What would you tell yourself to preach more on?” And he said, “I would say preach on the cross of Christ and the blood because that’s where the power is.”

I think what’s true of preaching is also true of one-on-one evangelism. The power of the gospel is when you get to the message of the death of Jesus for them and why they need their sin forgiven.

I’ll leave you with this last bit of encouragement. . . I have a friend who is a pastor and he’ll just say to someone, “Let me ask you a question. Has anyone ever told you there’s a God in Heaven who loves you?” Sometimes they say no, and they move on. Other times they’ll say no, and they’ll be moved by it. I’ve seen it open the door for really interesting conversations.

You might be surprised by where a simple sentence like that gets you. The hardest part about evangelism is getting started. It’s breaking the ice. But sometimes, you just have to take that little step of awkwardness. And I tell you what, if that person responds, that will be a life-changing moment for both of you.

The Harvest Crusade is a great conversation starter and the perfect place to bring a nonbeliever to hear the gospel. And it’s coming up this July. Share this event with someone!

The above article was originally published on Greg’s Blog at Harvest.org.

Greg Laurie is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship with campuses in California and Hawaii. He began his pastoral ministry at the age of 19 by leading a Bible study of 30 people…

…In 2020 and in partnership with Kingdom Story Company, Laurie premiered his first-ever cinematic crusade, A Rush of Hope, viewed by over 2 million people in its opening weekend…

…In February 2023, Kingdom Story Company and Lionsgate released Jesus Revolution, which is the story of Greg and Cathe’s life and the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and ’70s. It stars Kelsey Grammer and Jonathan Roumie and is based on Greg’s book of the same title…

Read Laurie’s complete bio on the Harvest website here: About Greg Laurie (harvest.org)

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]]>Michael KelleyMon, 01 Jun 2026 10:30:12 +0000https://thinke.org/blog/true-knowledge-leads-to-worthy-walking601093fd30ef2d697a10ecba:604ba30282e07a69dcd84661:6a10c79ae7c0b210aeb8b4c1By Michael Kelley

Throughout the ages, philosophers have considered knowledge to be valuable and important, but they have disagreed on the purpose of knowledge. Socrates said that knowledge was the only true good. To him, virtue IS knowledge, and the purpose of knowledge was moral education and the pursuit of a virtuous life. Plato thought that knowledge was the key to finding meaning and ordering the soul. Through knowledge, a person could transcend the physical world of shadows to reach the stable, universal truths of the universe. Aristotle stated that “all men by nature desire to know.” He categorized knowledge into three purposes: some knowledge is theoretical, and its purpose is for its own sake. Some knowledge is practical, and you gained it for the sake of action and ethical living. Some knowledge is productive, and you gain it for the purpose of making or creating things. 

Though they all had slightly different variations, they all agreed on this - that knowledge DOES have a purpose, even if they didn’t agree on what that purpose precisely was. Paul the apostle would also agree. He wasn’t against the pursuit of knowledge or a well-informed faith. In fact, that’s one of the things he prayed for the Colossian believers:

For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him… (Col. 1:9-10).

The knowledge Paul prayed for wasn’t the kind of general knowledge the philosophers above might have been thinking about. Rather, it was the specific knowledge of God’s will. But that knowledge of God’s will had a purpose. Paul wants the Colossians - and us - to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will that we will live our lives in such a way that we are worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him. 

Put another way, true knowledge leads to worthy walking.

This is a helpful reminder for us, as Christians, today. We live in a day and time in which knowledge has never been more accessible. With just a few keystrokes, we can hear sermons, study words, dig into context, and examine the Bible to a greater degree and depth than anyone has gone before. But in light of the wealth of information and knowledge at our disposal, we would do well to ask: To what end?

To what end are we learning?

To what end are we dissecting?

To what end are we accumulating all this knowledge?

It is certainly not to purely have it. Rather, we are filled with knowledge that we might live lives worthy of the Lord.

But let’s be careful here, too, lest we misunderstand the meaning of “worthy.” We might be tempted to think that living “worthy” means garnering enough merit to deserve respect. And we know there are at least two problems with that. First of all, we know that we will never be worthy of the Lord, no matter how hard we try. But secondly, we know that as Christians, we shouldn’t even try! That’s because our worthiness comes not from the way we live, but instead because of the merit of Christ. So what do we do with that?

We recognize that the word translated as “worthy” does not carry a sense of merit with it; instead, it carries a sense of consistency. It means that we must live in a manner consistent with the fact that we carry a name with us. Because we do.

It’s a name that we’ve been given, not because we earned it, but because we were adopted into a family. It’s a name that defines who we are. And it’s a name we already have, not one we are trying to earn. It’s the name that is above every name, and the name at which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. We are Christians. And we must live in a manner consistent with that name.

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

Recently, I heard from a college student who had been granted a summer internship. It was an important opportunity for him, one that could set him up well after graduation. The problem was that the internship was in-person, and so he quickly had to locate housing for the summer.

He did the right thing in response - he took his need as a matter of prayer to the weekly prayer meeting at his church. He presented the request, the congregation prayed, and before he left the church that night, no fewer than five families had offered him a place to say for the summer.

Now you could easily look at that situation cynically and say that this student knew that would likely happen. In fact, you could even argue that he manipulated the prayer meeting for his own ends in order to publicly present his need. And if that’s your view, then you could see his prayer request as less of a prayer request and more of an announcement.

Then again, you could view it with less cynicism. In that view, here was a young man who had a need. He believes God answers prayer, and so he asked other people to pray with and for him. And you had a group of people willing to do something that we should all be doing. That is:

We should act in accordance with our prayers.

Consider a couple of more examples:

In Matthew 9, Jesus was busy traveling throughout the region, teaching, preaching, and healing everyone who came to Him. Understandably, crowds followed Him everywhere, and “when he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36).

That’s when Jesus gave a prayer instruction to His disciples: “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38).

Did Jesus intend that none of the disciples actually go out into the harvest to do the work of ministry? That they should ONLY pray for the Lord to send out workers, other than them? Certainly not. Jesus would later send these very disciples out to do His work. So even as the disciples were praying for workers to be sent, they should also be acting in accordance with those prayers.

Here’s another example:

Jesus gave His disciples an example of how they should pray in what we now call The Lord’s Prayer. One of the lines of that prayer goes like this:

“And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13). Followers of Jesus should pray that they would not be led into temptation, but does that mean they have no responsibility? Of course not.

Inasmuch as we are praying not to be led into temptation, we should also recognize that we are very susceptible to temptation. As a recognition of our own weakness and frailty, we should actively avoid situations in which we know temptation will present itself. Once again, we are to act in accordance with our prayers.

To go a step further, we might say that one of the ways we express our confidence in God’s ability and willingness to answer our prayers is through our actions in accordance with those prayers.

We pray for God to change someone’s heart, and so we share the gospel with that person. We pray for God to provide our daily bread, and so we actively search for a job. We pray God would turn our children towards Him and we actively treat them with Christlike love and compassion.

Time and time again, we act in accordance with our prayers.

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

Paul the apostle wrote the letter we now know as the book of Colossians. But to get the story behind the letter, we really shouldn’t start with Paul - we should start with a man named Epaphrus.

Epaphras was from the city of Colossae, an agricultural town in Asia Minor, not as prominent as its two neighboring cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis. Some time around AD 52, Epaphrus left Colossae and traveled the 100 or so miles to Ephesus. Now Ephesus was a major city at the time - it was a thriving hub for trade, commerce, and religion. We don’t know why Epaphrus went there - it might have been for business, or it might have been for personal reasons - but the important thing was that he happened to visit Ephesus at the same time when Paul was spending three years in ministry there.

And Epaphrus heard the gospel from Paul. Not only did he hear it, he believed it. And not only did he believe it, but Paul became his mentor. In fact, Paul refers to him as a "dear fellow servant" and a "faithful minister of Christ" who served "on our behalf" (Colossians 1:7). Epaphrus was "commissioned" to carry the gospel back to his hometown region of the Lycus Valley. He took it back with him to Colossae and shared it with his family and neighbors there. And not just there, but also in Laodicea and Hierapolis. And the church was born.

Fast forward ten years, and Paul has found himself under house arrest in Rome, and this time Epaphras traveled over 1,000 miles from Colossae to visit him and bring a report from the church. That’s when Paul wrote the letter we have in our Bibles today.

Now why does that backstory matter? For a number of reasons, but at least one of them is this:

The best place to serve God is where God put you.

Paul never visited Colossae. But he was faithfully serving where God had put him - in the prominent city of Ephesus. Epaphrus didn’t move to Ephesus to be with Paul; instead he chose to faithfully serve where God put him - in the lackluster and declining town of Colossae. Both of them didn’t wish away the opportunities right in front of them; instead, they serve right where they were.

That is a powerful lesson for us because we spend much of our lives wishing and hoping and longing to be somewhere else than we currently are. If we are Christians, we might even be doing so because of what we think are noble reasons. We want to be in a larger church. Or we might want a position of greater influence. Or we might hope to attain a greater level of notoriety. All of this in a different place than the one in which God has put us right now.

And who knows? Perhaps we will someday be in a different place than the place we are now. And when we get to that different place, we will have another opportunity to serve in a place where God has put us. But as for now?

Now we are here. Among these people. Whether we are in Ephesus or Colossae. And right here is an opportunity for faithfulness. Indeed, our willingness to serve right where God put us is not just a reflection of our faithfulness to God; it’s a reflection of our belief in His intentionality and sovereignty. Here’s how Paul put that belief:

The God who made the world and everything in it—he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring’ (Acts 17:24-28).

God has put you where you are. What’s more, He’s put the people around you where they are. And why has He done that? According to Paul, it’s so that all of them might seek after Him. So, Christian, get engaged today. Don’t waste time wishing for another place and time; instead, serve Him where you are, whether you’re in Ephesus or in Colossae.

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

Many modern psychologists consider hope not just a luxury, but actually a deep human need. I’m quoting here from an article from the American Psychological Association: 

Beginning in the 1980s, the work of the late psychologist C. Rick Snyder, PhD, set the stage for much of today’s research about hope. Snyder defined hope as “the perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals, and motivate oneself via agency thinking to use those pathways” Snyder also published work on positive psychology, or the study of how people and communities can thrive. Unlike optimism, which is simply the expectation of a better future, hope is action-oriented and a skill that can be learned. “We often use the word ‘hope’ in place of wishing, like you hope it rains today or you hope someone’s well,” said Chan Hellman, PhD, a professor of psychology and founding director of the Hope Research Center at the University of Oklahoma. “But wishing is passive toward a goal, and hope is about taking action toward it.”

Humanity has certainly taken action in hope. We have put our hope in progress and technology, believing that science and innovation will eventually solve our biggest problems, and yet advancements in technology have brought along with them advancements in things like weapons and an increasing disconnection with other human beings. Technology, with its improvements, has made us more desensitized, more anxious, and more lonely.

We need a better hope than that.

We have put our hope in self-actualization, believing that if we can “find our own truth,” express ourselves fully, and be true to ourselves above anything else, we can finally achieve personal happiness. And yet today we no longer know what to believe. We don’t know what’s real and what’s not. We are grasping and clinging to anything that might be true because we don’t know what is.

We need a better hope than that.

We have put our hope in material prosperity and security. Our hope has been tied to economic stability, believing that if we can acquire enough wealth and comfort, we can not only be fulfilled, but actually be safe in an unpredictable world. But the world is unpredictable. Just check the balance on your 401K and you’ll see.

We need a better hope than that.

We have put our hope in social and political activism, believing that if we can come together, we can finally bring about better laws and social justice. We can create a heaven on earth. And yet all our political activism has led not to peace but to more and more violence as we find a deeper and deeper hatred for one another.

We need a better hope than that. 

We have put our hope in education and reason. We have tied our hope to the future in our ability to become smart enough and sophisticated enough to eliminate suffering and injustice. We certainly have never been more educated. We have never been more informed. And yet all our education has left us cold and unfeeling, using our education as a means to look down upon those who haven’t yet achieved our intellectual level. 

We need a better hope than that.

The world wants to hope… but it doesn’t know how. We don’t need to hope in any of these things because we do have a better hope. A living hope:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:3-4). 

This is our hope. It’s in a resurrected Christ, and because of His resurrection, He invites us into resurrection as well. That’s why we can affirm with Paul, at the end of 1 Corinthians 15:

Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Where, death, is your victory?

Where, death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:55-58).

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

The type of lens makes all the difference. The most common type of lens is single-vision. It has the same prescription over the whole surface. But a person might also need bifocals. These lenses are divided into two sections - usually distance correction on top and reading correction on the bottom. There are also trifocals, which function like bifocals but with three zones for distance, intermediate, and near vision. The kind of lens you need depends on the kind of eyes you have, and the right lens makes all the difference. 

While the wrong lens brings haze, the right lens brings clarity. That’s true with glasses; it’s also true when we look back at our past. 

As Christians, we know God is faithful. The Bible tells us so:

• He who calls you is faithful; he will do it (1 Thes. 5:24).

• But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one (2 Thes. 3:3). 

• Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands (Deut. 7:9).

Despite that, we often look back over the course of our lives and wonder. We wonder about pain we’ve experienced. We wonder about opportunities we didn’t get. And we wonder about what “should have been.” We wonder about all those things, and we might be tempted to wonder about God’s faithfulness.

But perhaps we are looking backward with the wrong lens. 

When we look backward, we often do so wondering whether or not God has been faithful. When we feel that sense of loss, we begin to question whether or not He has actually faithfully provided. Or sustained. Or guarded. Or strengthened. 

But what if we changed our lenses? What if instead of looking backward wondering about God’s faithfulness, we looked backward assuming His faithfulness? That is to say, what if we believed the Bible when it tells us that God is faithful?

When we change our lenses to that starting point, we already know God has been faithful; we are just looking for the evidence of that faithfulness.

When we change our lenses like that, we are able to appreciate the faithfulness of God to a greater degree. Changing those lenses helps break us out of our presumptuous pride that assumes we know the best and most right way for God to provide. Or strengthen. Or guard. Or sustain. We find our hearts increasingly open to the surprising and unexpected ways in which He has done all those things. We find ourselves appreciating more and more God’s sovereign care for us even when we didn’t recognize it at the time.

Truth is, we will never know just how faithful God has been to us because His faithfulness extends even to the realm of our unawareness. We will never know all that He has kept us from.

Friend, God has been faithful to you, even if you don’t know the full extent of that faithfulness. Why not trust His Word and assume He has been faithful, and then let your soul rejoice as you start to spot all the ways how?

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

The most chilling thing about Revelation 13 is how normal it is starting to feel.

Somewhere, on the last morning of this world, a man will pour coffee and check the weather, and a mother will buckle a child into a car seat. The markets will open. Phones will glow. Schedules will fill.

Then the sky will tear open.

That is how Jesus taught us to think about His return. The end will not feel like the end until it arrives. “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be,” He said. “They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage… and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away” (Matthew 24:37–39).

Normal life will be the wrapping paper around judgment.

The return of Christ is not a strange little doctrine hidden in the attic of the Bible. By some counts, nearly one out of every thirty verses in the New Testament points toward His coming again. The emphasis of Christ’s return cannot be debated. Scripture keeps ringing the bell. Christ came once in humility and He will come again in glory.

The dead in Christ will not be forgotten when He comes. They will come with Him. Their souls will accompany the King, their bodies will rise from the dust and the church will be gathered as one whole company.

“The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Creation will hear the command. The voice that summoned Lazarus will shake cemeteries across the earth. Marble stones, country graves, battlefield soil, ocean depths and forgotten bones will answer the King.

Then the living saints will rise with them.

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Together is the mercy word. Together with those we buried…with every saint who endured. Together before the face of Christ.

“So shall we ever be with the Lord.”

That is the summit. Fear looks for timetables, but faith looks for His face.

Paul gave these words to comfort the church, yet he also gave them to wake the church. The next question is always the same.

When?

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you” (1 Thessalonians 5:1).

The day comes like a thief in the night. A thief does not schedule his arrival. He comes while the house sleeps.

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Peace and safety. Those words sound modern. Think secure systems and managed risk. Centralized identity. Perhaps, digital access. A world learning to trade liberty for convenience and conscience for permission.

“He causeth all… to receive a mark… that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark” (Revelation 13:16–17).

For centuries, Christians read those words and believed them because God said them. Today, they feel less like mystery because the machinery already exists. Commerce can be tied to identity. Access can be controlled, revoked or denied. A person can be driven to the margins of society through systems that look efficient and civilized.

The final persecution may not begin with a prison cell. It may begin with a declined transaction.

That does not mean every digital system is the mark of the Beast. Scripture does not call us to name every politician, platform, database or policy as the Antichrist. Yet the Bible does train our eyes. It tells us a world is coming where identity and commerce become tangled together until buying bread becomes an act of allegiance.

The Antichrist will not need to burn every Bible if he can make obedience unaffordable.

Daniel saw the long shadow of this kingdom. “It shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down” (Daniel 7:23). Paul saw the man of sin, the lawless one, who exalts himself and deceives those who are perishing. “Let no man deceive you by any means,” he wrote, “for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

Deception will not arrive wearing a monster’s face. It will speak the language of progress, safety, unity and peace. It will offer a calmer world at the price of a captive soul.

Another sign glows with mercy.

Israel.

Paul wrote, “Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:25–26). Zechariah saw the same future with tears in it: “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him” (Zechariah 12:10).

A day is coming when the Jewish people will look upon Jesus and see their Messiah. Hearts will break open. The Spirit will be poured out! Joel heard that promise too: “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh… before the great and terrible day of the Lord come” (Joel 2:28, 31).

Judgment is coming, yet His mercy is still moving.

That is why the Christian must stay awake.“Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Light sees what darkness misses. The world will buy, sell, build, marry and plan as though tomorrow belongs to man. Believers live with another horizon in view.

Readiness is a prophecy chart or a theory about the beast. Readiness is being washed in the blood of the Lamb by bowing now before the King every eye will see later. Repentance and faith before the trumpet sounds.

The greatest danger in the last days is not a digital ID, a global economy or a tyrant with a throne. The greatest danger is meeting Jesus unforgiven. Christ died for sinners. He rose from the dead. He offers mercy to rebels, pardon to the guilty, cleansing to the stained and life to the dead. The door is open now. The Savior calls.

One morning will be the last.

The coffee will cool on the counter. The contract will remain unsigned. The wedding music will stop. The phone will fall silent in someone’s hand.

The shout will sound. The trumpet will ring. The graves will open. The King will come.

And every life will stand before Him.

“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Comfort the grieving. Warn the sleeping. Strengthen the saints. Preach Christ while there is daylight.

The world is not wandering. The King is coming.

Be ready in Him.

Faith. Family. Rural Ministry. A Gospel Story Still Being Written.

Welcome, friend. I’m Pastor Rich Bitterman — a rural Missouri pastor with a heart for Jesus, small churches, and the people who make them feel like home. This page is a glimpse into my journey—from business owner to small-town preacher—and how the Lord’s grace has led me every step of the way.

More: My Bible Thoughts with Pastor Rich

The first eleven chapters of Genesis are sometimes called chapters of “primeval history” - that’s because they are the earliest history of the world, and because they are, they deal in matters common to all humanity rather than local history. And throughout those chapters, we have seen three occasions of God’s judgment for sin: we saw humans banished from the garden, humankind largely destroyed by the flood, and then human beings divided by diverse languages. In addition to those three judgments, we have seen five different curses: the serpent was cursed, the ground was cursed, Cain was condemned to wander the earth, Canaan was cursed to servitude, and the peoples were cursed with confused languages. 

When you look at it like that, there hasn’t been a lot of particularly uplifting news. But Genesis 12 presents us with a new affirmation of God’s commitment to humankind.

The Lord said to Abram: “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). 

Abram, along with his family, was in Haran, and God called him to leave. So there was a literal, physical leaving that needed to happen as part of God’s call. But that’s not all.

In 1938, Abraham Maslow spent time with the Siksika Nation in Alberta, Canada. He found a culture focused on generosity and communal success rather than individual scarcity. This experience, combined with his desire to study healthy, high-achieving humans instead of psychological illness, led to his 1943 theory of human motivation, which eventually became what we know as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. 

It functions like a pyramid, with the most basic needs of human beings at the bottom and escalating to the top. Here is what he described, starting at the bottom - the most basic level: First are the physiological needs. These are things we need for basic survival—food, water, sleep, and warmth. The next level is the needs of personal safety - not from the elements, but in an existential sense. So things like security, stability, and freedom from fear. Then come the needs of love and belonging, like friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance. Then come esteem needs - these are things like self-worth, accomplishment and respect from others. And finally at the top of the pyramid rests the need for self-actualization - that is, the need to achieve your full potential. 

God calls Abram to go, but in going, He is also calling Abram to abandon many, if not all, of these basic human needs.

He is abandoning the survival needs in that he is going on a 500-mile journey into uncharted territory. He is abandoning the personal safety needs in that he will no longer have the stability and security of a home. He is abandoning the love and belonging of his family and community. Not only that, but in Abram’s day and time, deities were associated with land or people groups - the gods were territorial deities. So when Abram is called to put his land and family behind him, it implies walking away from any territorial gods. This is the call of God - there is a definite and painful leaving.

That is what the call of God means. And it still does. Hear the words of Jesus:

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:37-39). 

Abram felt the pain of leaving. And perhaps you have felt it, too. Maybe becoming a Christian for you was not a casual decision, but instead was made with great care and consternation because you knew that following Jesus comes with leaving. Leaving a family. Leaving a dream. Leaving a relationship. And if you haven’t felt the weight of that, then allow me to gently suggest… that you should. And perhaps the reason why you haven’t is that you’re trying to follow Jesus and drag your old life behind you. 

God is calling you, again today, to leave behind who you once were:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Pet. 2:9).

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

Most people are familiar with John Newton, even if they don’t know they are. The reason they know him is because he penned one of the most sung and most treasured songs of all time: “Amazing Grace.” Even though you’re likely singing the lyrics in your head right now, here’s a refresher:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now I’m found

Was blind, but now I see.

Born in 1725, Newton’s God-fearing mother died when he was six. Without her influence, Newton turned to a life of debauchery and became a sailor. Many of his ships participated in the English slave trade. It was on one such trip that a great storm came upon the ship, and for the first time in many years, Newton cried out to God for mercy. God answered his prayer, and yet Newton persisted in his work as a sailor, even becoming the captain of his own slave-trading vessel, and yet God was at work in his heart. 

It was not until several years later that Newton was converted to Christ, rejected his former profession, and became a minister in the Church of England. He also became a staunch abolitionist and his work in that area greatly influenced William Wilberforce who played a mighty role in bringing slavery to a halt. 

Yes, this slave-trader turned preacher wrote the hymn Amazing Grace. And though that song is probably Newton’s most remembered contribution, there is another set of words he wrote that is also worth remembering. In summarising his own testimony, Newton said:

“Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was. By the grace of God I am what I am.”

Equally simple. Equally beautiful. And those two sentences should matter to us today for at least two reasons.

First of all, they remind us that each one of us is in process. If you are a Christian, you are a child of God, and yet God is forming you into something new. Something different. Something that resembles the character of Christ. He has made you new, and He is making you new. This is encouraging for us because it can feel like that progress towards Christlikeness is painfully slow.

Why do we still struggle with sin? Why do we still have to fight for joy in the right places? Why can we not let go of our old tendencies and struggles? We know what we ought to want, to feel, and to do - and yet so often we don’t want or feel or do the right thing. But Newton reminds us that even if the progress is slow, we are, by God’s grace, headed in the right direction.

We aren’t there yet, but we are a long way from where we started.

Secondly, Newton’s words remind us that there is not a single person alive that is beyond the reach of God’s grace. Who, in his captain days, would have looked at John Newton and said, “Now there is a likely candidate for Christian service.” Not one person. And yet God is not put off by our sin. He is not intimidated by our seeming objections. His grace is more than powerful enough to turn the heart of stone to flesh.

He did it with Newton. And He can do it with that person in your life right now that seems most unlikely to believe. So take heart today, Christian. Be encouraged. Be encouraged not only for your own progress toward Jesus, but that anyone else is a moment away from knowing what it means to believe the gospel.

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

Before there was an American Revolution, there was a spiritual revolution.

That is the forgotten truth at the heart of A Great Awakening, a powerful new film that tells the story of America’s first great spiritual awakening— a pivotal event in the establishment of the United States of America long before it even declared independence. While history books often highlight political figures and military victories, this film draws attention to the spiritual movement that preceded them.

The first great awakening began around 1739 and lasted roughly 30 years. This was not a momentary surge of religious enthusiasm, but a deep cultural and moral transformation. People learned self-governance not through laws, but through changed hearts. In our interview together, director Joshua Enck described it as “ a complete cultural overhaul” led men like Reverend George Whitfield, who partnered with Benjamin Franklin. It is quite a story, brought to life in this new film released in early April. 

George Whitefield and Ben Franklin in Their Time

At the center of this awakening was a man most Americans have never heard of today: George Whitefield.

Jonathan Blair, who plays George Whitefield, also joined me for this interview. He described Whitefield as “The first known celebrity throughout the entire colonies. He was the first unifying force throughout the colonies.” 

George Whitefield was the most famous person in the American colonies—arguably more well known than Benjamin Franklin. He was an English preacher with a powerful voice and a passion for Christ. He delivered the gospel with urgency and compassion.

Whitefield preached to slaves and treated them as equals before God. He founded orphanages. And he even rebuked colonies for their cruelty toward slaves and for keeping the gospel from them. 

Jonathan said, “I feel like Whitfield represents a man who was searching for truth and then found it in the person of Jesus Christ. And Ben Franklin represents the other side, which is: I’m searching for truth, but I don’t know if that really is it.”

An Unlikely Friendship

A Great Awakening explores the remarkable relationship between George Whitefield, a powerful evangelist, and Benjamin Franklin, a  prolific communicator. 

Though very different men, they shared a deep and lasting friendship. Franklin printed Whitefield’s sermons and defended him publicly—even while remaining cautious about fully embracing his own faith.

Revival Before Revolution

One of the most striking insights highlighted in this film is this: America did not wake up on July 4, 1776, suddenly ready for self-rule. The groundwork had been laid over decades of spiritual renewal.

This revival unified the colonies in a way nothing else had before. George Whitefield was heard by the majority of colonists, creating the first truly shared experience across regions that had previously operated independently.

Why ‘A Great Awaking’ Matters 

 One movie that really moved me profoundly when I was a kid was Ben-Hur. I had no church background but, looking back, that film set things in motion for my response to the gospel. 

 I saw cinematic Jesus and wished I could know that Jesus. But I thought “He’s just a figure in a film.” I soon came to realize: People have a relationship with this same Jesus in real life. And I wondered if that was really possible.

That is the power of film. Imagine the power of this one, which has sermon material in it. Who knows what God could do with it?

Joshua talked about the power of art, “ I think there’s an anointing and a power happening right now with the storytellers. . . Let’s get out there with films and banners and songs and anthems that change the world because of the message of the love of Christ.”

It is a powerful combination to have a beautiful, watchable production with the gospel in it. And I think A Great Awakening accomplishes this.

I pray God blesses this film. Let’s see what the Lord will do with it, because the fame of revival often spreads the flame of revival.

Get the rest of my interview with Jonathan Blair and Joshua Enck!

Originally published on Greg’s Blog.

Greg Laurie is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship with campuses in California and Hawaii. He began his pastoral ministry at the age of 19 by leading a Bible study of 30 people…

…In 2020 and in partnership with Kingdom Story Company, Laurie premiered his first-ever cinematic crusade, A Rush of Hope, viewed by over 2 million people in its opening weekend…

…In February 2023, Kingdom Story Company and Lionsgate released Jesus Revolution, which is the story of Greg and Cathe’s life and the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and ’70s. It stars Kelsey Grammer and Jonathan Roumie and is based on Greg’s book of the same title…

Read Laurie’s complete bio on the Harvest website here: About Greg Laurie (harvest.org)

Genesis 8:1 contains only three words, but they are three words that should bring us great encouragement:

God remembered Noah.

Let’s not miss what has happened up to this point. God had found Noah to be righteous in the midst of a generation of wickedness. So wicked, in fact, that God decided to judge the earth through a cataclysmic flood. Noah and his family, however, would be saved through the building of a great ark.

So Noah took God at His word and went to work. He built and shaped and fashioned and after the ark was completed, God told Noah to get on board because in seven days the rain would start. Once again Noah obeyed. They boarded the vessel and there they stayed. For quite a while.

The Bible does not tell us exactly how long Noah and his family were on the ark. But it does get us close, so let’s do a little math here. Genesis 7:6 says that Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters began. The flood waters receded enough for the ark to run aground on Mt. Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month (Genesis 8:3-4), and the mountain tops became visible above the water on first day of the tenth month (Genesis 8:5). After that, Noah waited forty days and then began to send out birds to see if the earth could sustain life. That process took another three weeks (Genesis 8:7-12).

Genesis 8:13 tells us that Noah had turned 601 years old by the time the earth was dry. After observing dry ground, he exited the ark the next month. So, Noah entered the ark on Month 2, Day 17, of one year and exited the ark on Month 2, Day 27 of the next year. So it’s reasonable to think that Noah was on that ark for about a calendar year as we know it.

A year.

And what was that year like? What was it like to not go outside? What it like to not have the sunshine? What was it like to smell the smell of the animals every day, and to only be around the same people in the same confined space during that time?

Was it possible, during that time, that Noah felt forgotten?

Do you? It’s a terrible thing to feel that way. I had a conversation last week with who is facing major health concerns. And this is not a new thing - it’s been a chronic issue that has had daily effects not just for months, but actually for years. He has handled most of those effects privately, but these symptoms have recently gotten worse, and he is now reckoning with the fact that they will not likely ever get better. And when I talked to him, he was at work. Interacting with people. People who have their own issues. And people who are completely oblivious to what he has been walking through for so long. And it seemed to me that he just felt… forgotten.

We can drift in and out of periods of sadness; we can walk through seasons of anger; we can experience the pain of regret; but there is something unique about feeling forgotten. See, as bad as those other emotions and experiences might be, you can still feel validated as a person inside of them. But to feel forgotten? That’s a bit different because when you feel forgotten, your self worth is called into question. To be forgotten means, at least in the mind of the one forgotten, that you are not worth remembering. It’s worse in some ways than feeling sad; it’s as if you don’t exist. Because you don’t really matter.

But God remembered Noah. Now that phrase - “God remembered…” in Scripture does not mean that God forgot and then suddenly recalled. To remember, in the biblical sense, means God turned His attention toward someone in faithful action—to intervene, deliver, bless, or fulfill a promise.

• God remembered Abraham and rescued his nephew Lot from Sodom.

• God remembered Rachel and opened her womb to conceive Joseph.

• God remembered Israel and raised up Moses to deliver them from their bondage.

• God remembered Hannah and gave her the gift of a son, Samuel.

• And here, God remembered Noah.

Noah was not forgotten, even though he might have felt like he was. And neither are you.

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

God keeps His promises. True enough, He may not keep them in the manner or the timing that’s most convenient or comfortable to us, but He keeps them nevertheless:

“Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands” (Deut. 7:9).

When it feels like He’s silent, He’s still keeping His promises.

When it feels like He’s absent, He’s still keeping His promises.

When it feels like He’s forgotten, He’s still keeping His promises.

Very often, though, we don’t really see the evidence of His faithfulness until it’s already happened. God keeps His promises even when we don’t know He’s doing it. Here’s one example:

Let’s say you are walking through a prolonged and difficult season. Perhaps it’s the illness of a loved one or a long time of being without work. Every day you wake up and you pray for some kind of movement - some alteration in your circumstances, and every day seems like the day before. Life becomes a slog, and it takes everything you have just to get up in the morning and process through the same thing you walked through yesterday.

Day after day, week after week, and even month after month the pattern continues. Wake up, feel the pain of the situation, pray, go to sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. Over and over again. But eventually that period comes to an end. It likely doesn’t come to an end with an exclamation point - not some resounding climactic moment, but rather it just… ends. And life goes on.

Then some years later, you look back on that period. And you realize, in retrospect, just how much the Lord was doing in that time when He felt so unmoved and absent. He was keeping His promises, though He was doing so slowly. Gradually. Sometimes silently.

He has promised, for example, that “all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). You remember during that season when you were so uncomfortable that you couldn’t see how He was keeping this promise. But in retrospect you realize the difference between “comfort” and “good.” God promised to work all things for the latter, but never for the former.

And now you can see - you can see how that painful season did work for the good. It formed you. Shaped you. Made your heart tender and receptive. It made you more like Jesus. He kept His promise, even though you didn’t know He was doing so.

Christian, you can be confident today even if your circumstances don’t change. Even if tomorrow is pretty much exactly how today is. Even if you are in a season of slogging your way through life. God is still keeping His promises… but you may only how He’s doing so when you look backwards.

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

The most powerful moment in history, when Jesus arose from the dead, is celebrated by those who call upon His name not just on Easter Sunday but during 365 days a year and into eternity.

God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 

– Romans 1:2-4

By God’s grace, we are able to enter into a personal relationship with Him through His son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and through our decision to follow Him. The celebration begins when we, too, know that we have been transformed and have the same power of His resurrection inside of us.

That kind of relationship with God is cause for celebration every day. 

Several years ago, I was reminded of this fact by my pastor’s wife before a Good Friday service at church when I handed her a story to look at from a well-known news organization with the headline: For Churches Hit By Disaster, Easter Brings Promise of Hope.

Whether churches are hit by a disaster or not, able to celebrate Easter or not, I pray that they always preach and resonate with the truth that it is God who sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, to rise on the third day, and therefore give us the hope that cannot be found anywhere else.

Yes, He is risen. He is risen indeed. Then, now, and forever!

Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. 

– 2 Timothy 2:8

Before I accepted Jesus into my life, I was always about fun. I was a pleasure junkie. So, if there was a celebration anywhere, I wanted to know about it.

The good news for those with that same kind of malady, who are addicted to “good times,”  is that although being a Christian is not a guarantee that all your days will be filled with fun thrills and happiness, you’ll never want to trade a day with Him for a day without Him.

My life has never been the same since I accepted Jesus. I have had experiences that I could never have imagined. Those times go far beyond “fun.” Some of the things I’ve seen and been a part of in my life as a follower of Jesus can only be described as miraculous or God instances. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

– 2 Corinthians 5:17

The calendar Easter holiday is great. I love the celebrations, especially the ones at churches that teach from the Bible. I love the opportunity to fellowship with other believers and share the gospel with those who don’t know Him yet.

If you are looking for a real celebration, get to know the Host of hosts. Remember, Jesus brings hope!

May you find Him now!

Above content originally published at Think Eternity.

Free eBook: ‘5 Spiritual Keys to Find Fulfillment in God’

Alex Murashko is a Christ follower, husband, journalist and writing team leader for Think Eternity, a site for powerful faith content to help you live the fulfilled life in Jesus. Murashko is also founder of Media on Mission.

Connect on X: @AlexMurashko.

Asaph, the writer of Psalm 73, had a near fall:

Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;

I had nearly lost my foothold (Psalm 73:1-2).

Of course, the fall here was metaphorical. He was on the edge of despair. The edge of anxiety. The edge of unbelief. And the thing that pushed him to the edge was an issue of allocation. Asaph was not struggling with the age old question of why do bad things happen to good people; he was struggling with the question of why good things seem to happen to bad people. But more so, he was struggling with the issue of entitlement:

For I envied the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked (Psalm 73:3).

It wasn’t just a hypothetical question of why the wicked seem to prosper; rather, it was the sense that he, in his righteous and clean living, wasn’t getting what others were. And surely we can relate to that.

Surely we, too, look around at times and start to play the comparison. Surely we also wonder why someone who is less holy, less righteous, less upstanding than we are seem to be getting the blessings that we feel are rightfully ours. We know what it feels like to be entitled. But do we know the true destructive nature of entitlement? Perhaps not.

Here, then, are four reasons why entitlement is so destructive:

1. Entitlement is a denial of the truth.

At a base level, we don’t actually want what we deserve. And if we claim to want what we deserve, what we are really betraying about ourselves is that we have failed to fully grasp the true nature of sin and the human heart. Because what we really deserve – each and everyone of us – is hell. This is the payment we deserve for our sin – for our offenses against a holy God. Thank God that we don’t get what we deserve! Living with a sense of entitlement, then, is living outside of the light of this truth.

And once we begin to deny that truth – once we begin to convince ourselves that we were not actually dead in our sins and transgressions, that we were actually not alienated and separated from God, that we were actually not helpless and in need of rescue, then a multitude of other false ways of thinking follow.

2. Entitlement is destructive is that it robs us of gratitude.

Gratitude ought to be a way of life for us as a Christian. We are not the people who occasionally say “thank you,” but we are the people who rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice! When you live in a posture of gratitude, you are also living in a posture of humility because gratitude is a recognition that we are constantly on the receiving end. This is, in fact, one of the ways we can actually and actively pursue humility – it’s through the choice to be grateful because we are forcing ourselves to remember the opposite of what entitlement tells us – that we are receiving something because of the grace and generosity of someone else.

When we live with a sense of entitlement, it is impossible for us to also live with a sense of gratitude because we are always expecting more.

3. Entitlement destroys our relationships.

Paul would later write a list of commands in Romans 12, one of which reads like this: Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. But for a person of entitlement, those are two very hard things to do. It’s very hard to rejoice with someone when you are comparing what you have to what they have because inevitably you will drift into the belief that you ought to have what they do.

Similarly, one can’t weep alongside others when they are filled with entitlement because the entitled person sits in judgment over those who suffer, judging them because of the choices they think led the person to the situation they are in.

4. Entitlement is destructive because it ultimately puts us in the place of God.

When we look at the way portions are being dealt out and sit in judgment over it, what we are really doing – although it might be subtle – is calling into question the wisdom of God. We are saying, with our attitudes, that we know much better how these portions should be allocated. We are, in other words, more wise, more fair, and more equitable than God Himself.

In light of those things, no wonder Asaph the psalmist said his foot had almost slipped. No wonder he saw the precipice opening up before him. And yet, by God’s grace, he was able to move back from the edge. So what was the solution to this issue?

It was not that he made more money. Or got nicer things. Or even that he saw the wicked around him robbed of all the health and prosperity that he had. The solution only came when the psalmist entered God’s sanctuary. And what did he find as he drew near to God? He found a God bigger than himself. A God bigger than his understanding. He found eternity. Eternity was the way he was able to reckon with the seemingly unjust blessing and prosperity of the wicked, for eternity waits for us all and judgment with it.

When you accept eternity as a reality, you begin to place lesser and lesser importance on what is happening in the actual here and now. So in light of eternity, he saw that there is indeed a reckoning for the wicked.

But he also found something else, and the something else is what truly banished his sense of entitlement – and ours. He found that the Lord is our portion:

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever (Psalm 73:25-26).

Entitlement is banished when the Lord is your portion. Consider, for a moment, just how exhausting it is to live with that sense of entitlement. You are constantly evaluating others. You are always dissatisfied with who and what you have. You long, incessantly, for more. Your relationships are strained to the point of breaking. Indeed, it is nearly impossible for you to enjoy any part of life because you are on the treadmill of chasing the ever elusive “else.” Until, that is, you realize what Christ has bought for you at the cross.

Has he bought for you money? Power? Material blessings? No – none of that – none of those things that moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. He has bought for us something better – He has bought for us God Himself as our portion. And with that, with God as our portion, we can rest. Not because we have learned to settle for what little we have, but because in light of eternity, we realize there is nothing else.

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

What makes you really mad? I’m usually very irritable when I’m hungry. The term is hangry. . .

Here’s something that might surprise you: Sometimes it’s good to be angry. There is a good kind of anger. In fact, you can tell a lot about a person by what makes him laugh and what makes him angry. What we don’t want to have is sinful anger. The Bible tells us,

“And ‘don’t sin by letting anger control you.’ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26–27 NLT).

Even Jesus Christ was angry at times.

In John 2:13–15, we find an account of Jesus going into the temple at Jerusalem and using a whip to drive out the money changers. He also overturned the tables. This moment actually follows the Palm Sunday story, occurring on the Monday of Holy Week.

What Is Palm Sunday?

We are approaching Palm Sunday (March 29, 2026) now, which marks Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Palm Sunday story comes at the start of Holy Week and sets the stage for the final days of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

This moment fulfilled Old Testament prophecy and publicly identified Jesus as the promised Messiah. 

The Story of Palm Sunday

Jesus’ Palm Sunday arrival in Jerusalem had been an attention-getter. He was very intentional as He was on His way into the city to begin the final part of His ministry. Jesus was incredibly popular at this point. His name was on everyone’s lips. If social media had existed back then, He would have had a huge following.

The people believed Jesus would overthrow the Romans and restore their freedom. But they misunderstood His mission. Jesus’ focus was not political, but spiritual.

In many ways, this was a bittersweet day. It was sweet because people were singing His praises. But it was bitter because these same fickle people would turn on Him in a short period of time.

The people laying down palm branches before Him and crying, “Hosanna!” would soon be shouting, “Crucify Him!” Yes, He was the king for some, but only for a day—the day we celebrate as Palm Sunday.

The Meaning of Jesus Riding a Donkey 

That day, Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, which may seem rather odd to us. Why would He choose a donkey? Actually, the meaning was not lost on the Romans or the Jews. It was a perfect and intentional choice.

In Roman culture, when a hero returned from war as a victor, he would make his entrance riding a donkey, and people laid out palm branches before him. Therefore, the Romans would have understood that Jesus was effectively declaring Himself as a king.

But in Jewish culture, they understood that when Messiah came, He would be riding a donkey as well. This was because the prophet Zechariah wrote, “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt” (Zechariah 9:9 NLT).

Jesus’ arrival on a donkey was something very significant, and the people understood it. He was declaring Himself both a conqueror and the Messiah. He wasn’t riding into Jerusalem as a helpless victim but as a powerful victor, marching bravely into battle.

Jesus’ Holy Anger During Holy Week

So, what made Jesus mad? Luke’s gospel tells us, “Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. He said to them, ‘The Scriptures declare, “My Temple will be a house of prayer,” but you have turned it into a den of thieves'” (19:45–46 NLT).

Understand, this was not an explosion of anger on Jesus’ part. This was righteous indignation. It was a holy anger. Mark gives us a few more details: “When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace” (Mark 11:15–16 NLT).

It’s a pretty passionate act to overturn a table. Obviously, Jesus didn’t like what was going on there. What exactly was going on? Some people in the temple were taking advantage of those who had come to worship. They had “approved” animals the people could use for sacrifices, and they were selling them at inflated prices.

So, when worshipers arrived with their own animals, these people basically would say, “I’m sorry, that’s a blemish. You can’t offer that, but we have a great deal on our special, pre-approved, kosher animals. Why don’t you buy one of these?”

Instead of praying for the people, they were preying on the people, and they actually were keeping them from worshiping God. And God gets angry when we become barriers to people coming to Him.

This can happen in the Church as well. We can exclude people who don’t look like “one of us,” whatever that may be in our minds. But the Church should be available to everyone.

Above content originally published at Greg Laurie’s Blog.

Greg Laurie is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship with campuses in California and Hawaii. He began his pastoral ministry at the age of 19 by leading a Bible study of 30 people…

…In 2020 and in partnership with Kingdom Story Company, Laurie premiered his first-ever cinematic crusade, A Rush of Hope, viewed by over 2 million people in its opening weekend…

…In February 2023, Kingdom Story Company and Lionsgate released Jesus Revolution, which is the story of Greg and Cathe’s life and the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and ’70s. It stars Kelsey Grammer and Jonathan Roumie and is based on Greg’s book of the same title…

Read Laurie’s complete bio on the Harvest website here: About Greg Laurie (harvest.org)

We have a dog named Samwise Gamgee Kelley, and he's a golden doodle dog. And our kids have loved this dog with their whole hearts since he came to live with us as a puppy. We've been through all the typical puppy stuff, and have now moved into the more docile stage of dog ownership. As we have, the kids have been able to teach Samwise a few tricks along the way.

He knows how to sit. And he knows how to lay down. And he knows how to fetch (sort of). But the kids' favorite trick with Sam is "touch."

See, Samwise has an affinity for Cheerios. If you want to play "touch," you hold a Cheerio in your fist, and say "touch." Sam will come running, then touch your fist with his nose. You, in return, give the obedient golden doodle to promised Cheerio.

Our kids have developed several variations of this game, and their favorite one is making Sam guess which hand the Cheerio is in. Instead of holding out one fist, they hold out two. Sam does not like this game.

That's because when he guesses incorrectly, and there's no Cheerio, he knows that one of his humans is holding out on him. That we are keeping something good from him. That we promised something to him and we are not living up to our end of the bargain. It's frustrating for Sam - you can tell by the way he goes immediately into attack mode (such as it is for a golden doodle).

I resonate with that. No one likes the feeling of believing someone is withholding some good thing from them, especially if they feel entitles to it. And we feel this don't we? We feel it sometimes very acutely in our relationship with the Lord. We look at our circumstances - how many things are going wrong, and how many other things aren't going as right as we think they should, and we just feel... slighted. Like God is holding out on us.

And most of the time when we feel that way, we go into attack mode. But our attack mode looks like anger, frustration, entitlement, and bitterness to those around us we perceive are getting what we are entitled to.

What do you do when you feel that way? How do you react when you feel that God is holding out on you? I'd suggest three appropriate responses:

1. Act on what you know.

I become more and more certain in my own life that I am overeducated, and under-obedienced. That is to say that there is enough of God's revealed will in the Bible to keep us busy for a long, long time. I might have questions about what God is doing in this situation or that circumstance, this relationship or that event, but that should not stop me from continuing to do the next right thing. When I feel that God is holding out on me, I can act on what I know instead of dwelling on what I do not.

2. Recognize your lack of understanding.

Jesus once talked about fish and snakes and fathers and sons, saying that no father would give his son a snake when he asked for a fish. And no father would give his son a stone when he asked for bread. His argument was that if we, as sinful fathers, know how to give good gifts to our children, then how much more does our Father in heaven (Matt.7:9-11). In Jesus' scenario, I am the son, and God is the Father. I'm the one asking, and He's the One giving. But the problem is that, in retrospect, I have often realized that I thought I was asking my Father for a fish only to realize later that I was asking for a snake.

So when I feel that God is holding out on me, I can recognize my own lack of understanding. Maybe that which I am so convinced I need is actually a stone or a snake instead of bread or a fish.

3. Look to the cross.

When I feel like God is holding out on me, it's always because my focus has shifted to my circumstances. And when my gaze is fixed there, then it might truly seem like He is holding back. But time and time again, we are exhorted in Scripture to look to the cross - to fix our eyes there, where we see the validation of God's generosity and mercy and love and forgiveness. When I feel like God is holding out on me, the thing I need to do more than anything else is remember that He who gave up His own Son for me will also surely provide everything else for me that I ultimately need.

Is God holding out on you? Maybe He is. But if that is so, then by looking to the cross, recognizing our own lack of understanding, and acting on what we know reminds us that there's a good reason for it. And it's not that he's playing some kind of childish game with you. He is, after all, your Father who loves you.

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.

There are seasons when life feels darker and heavier than we expected.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

Most people assume the valleys of life are short interruptions. We expect to pass through them quickly and return to brighter ground.

But sometimes valleys last longer than we thought they would.

David does not describe running through the valley or escaping it. He speaks of walking through it. The pace is slow and deliberate, one step at a time.

Valleys often expose quiet fears we rarely admit. We worry that hardship means we have somehow wandered outside the Shepherd’s care.

Yet the valley does not mean the Shepherd has disappeared.

In fact, Psalm 23 grows more personal in this verse. David shifts from speaking about God to speaking directly to Him. The distance closes. The Shepherd is not somewhere ahead waiting for us to catch up. He is beside us.

Suffering often presses this truth deeper into the heart than calm days ever could.

Many believers carry the quiet discouragement that faith should remove the hardest seasons of life.

Scripture speaks differently. The presence of the Shepherd does not always remove the valley. It assures us that we will not face it alone.

Christ walked through suffering before us. He knows the terrain. He is not unfamiliar with sorrow, and He does not abandon His people inside it.

The valley is not the final landscape of the Christian life.

It is simply part of the road home.

Today: If you are in a difficult season, take a few quiet moments to acknowledge Christ’s presence rather than trying to explain the valley.

For further study and encouragement: Isaiah 43:2

If today’s devotion found you in a dark valley, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller will help you see the Shepherd’s care with fresh clarity and make this psalm feel far more real under your feet.

Faith. Family. Rural Ministry. A Gospel Story Still Being Written.

Welcome, friend. I’m Pastor Rich Bitterman — a rural Missouri pastor with a heart for Jesus, small churches, and the people who make them feel like home. This page is a glimpse into my journey—from business owner to small-town preacher—and how the Lord’s grace has led me every step of the way.

More: My Bible Thoughts with Pastor Rich

Genesis 5 isn’t usually a chapter of the Bible we pay a lot of attention to. Creation has happened, complete with God’s crown jewel of humanity, created in His image. Devastation has come upon the creation, as exemplified by the first murder of Abel by Cain. All this happens in Genesis 1-4. Then in Genesis 6, we find the story of Noah. But tucked in between is Genesis 5 - a genealogy that details the generations between Adam and Noah.

In that genealogy, we find a definite pattern. By way of example of this pattern, consider Genesis 5:3-8:

When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died. When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died (Gen. 5:3-8).

You see the pattern? It goes like this: So and so became the father of so and so junior, and after that so and so lived more years. Then so and so lived a total of years, and then so and so died. And that pattern continues all the way through hundreds and hundreds of years and several generations all the way until verse 21, and then the pattern changes. Once again, here is what we find:

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away (Gen. 5:21-24).

This is strange. This is different. And it sticks out all the more in the midst of all the other generations. And because of that difference, we can make the following very simple insight:

Everyone lives. Everyone dies. Not everyone walks.

In other words, there is a way that we can live when it comes to our relationship with God that is more than living. It is so much more than living that you wouldn’t even use the same word for it. Enoch didn’t just live; he walked with God.

How do you not just live, but walk with God? At the risk of being simplistic, the answer is at least this - you walk with God on purpose.

Walking is an intentional activity. While we might accidentally fall asleep or accidentally lounge or accidentally slouch, we don’t accidentally walk. We do it because we decide to do it. The same thing is true in our relationship with God - we relate to God to the degree we consciously decide to do so.

Now there are all kinds of choices we make on a daily basis with regard to our walk with God. We choose to engage with Him in His Word. We choose to pray. We choose to be a regular part of the gatherings of God’s people. But at the heart of all those choices is choosing a posture of active awareness of the presence of God.

CS Lewis once said that "we can ignore, but not evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him." And it indeed is. But despite the pervading presence of God in and around us, many of us are in the habit of walking around like functional atheists, all because we fail to actively recognize the presence of God in our daily lives.

Do you acknowledge His presence in the ordinary moments of life? Are you aware that God is with you every moment? Do you, as Brother Lawrence once wrote, practice the presence of God? You can. Because for the Christian, the question is not whether or not God is with you, but just how aware of His presence you are at a given moment.

Though walking with God involves many things, it starts with this - choose an active awareness of God’s presence. Right now.

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.