Recent Articles
Each of these articles were featured in Christian Insights at one time, and are archived here under the appropriate topic category. Click the topic you're interested in and then click the title of the article you wish to read.
Life - A spiritual look at everyday situations and issues common to many of us.
Family - Kids, parenting, marriage, family relationships, and issues faced by families today.
Walking With God - Our personal relationship with God, the process of spiritual growth and maturity, and discipleship.
Prayer - The awesome vehicle for communicating and conversing with God.
Worship - The outward expression, response to, and result of what God has done, is doing, and will do within us.
Work and Career - God in the workplace and the relevance of spiritual truths in today's business environments.
Life
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Like Jesus by Ed Young
Jesus knows what daily living is like. He's been there; he knows what we go through day in and day out. He had a job - for most of his life he was a carpenter. He had the same relationships that you and I have today - mother, father, brothers, sister, friends, and enemies. He even faced the same temptations that you and I face. He knows because he's been there himself. -
Living Differently for Christ by Sue Kline, Discipleship Journal
Most of us--certainly those of us in the United States--are used to being "at home" in our culture. But the desire to fit comfortably in the culture can propel us beyond "being in the world" to where--often unknowingly--we become "of the world." -
God Walks with You through the Valleys by Whitney Hopler, Contributing Writer
Life is good on the mountaintops of celebration. But no matter how much we'd like to spend our lives up there, we need to walk through the valleys of challenges, too. Life is tough in the valleys. Still, there are valuable lessons we can learn in the valleys that we could never learn if we stayed on the mountaintops. -
Can I Achieve Success Without Being Greedy? by Stephen K. Scott
There's nothing wrong or immoral about wanting to achieve success. It becomes immoral only when that desire is colored by greed. True success is a natural by-product of Solomon's wisdom on diligence, communication, partnering, and the other subjects I've covered in ,my book. The key is keeping your efforts to succeed in the right perspective. Be on the alert for warning symptoms of greed; seek the counsel of others who care about you and your family. Doing so will enable you to keep greed from gaining a foothold in your heart and in your life -
We Are Under Construction by Greg Laurie
God has created you as His work of art for good works. He has a work for you to do. He has a plan for your life. Are you finding it? Are you moving in that direction? Or, are you wandering through life saying, "I have salvation, so that takes care of that. Now on with what I want to do"? -
Giving Thanks Always by by the late Adrian Rogers
"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20. I truly believe that this commandment, to thank God at all times for all things, is perhaps the hardest in all of the Bible to practice. But it is the secret to a happy and productive life. -
How You Can Overcome the Pain of Loneliness by Warren R. Olson
There is a silent wave of despair called loneliness crashing into the lives of many senior adults in America today. And while our society freely talks about topics such as sex, drugs, and alcohol, the subject of loneliness is rarely addressed...even though the pain loneliness causes is very real. -
Crush Persistent Problems in Your Life by Whitney Hopler
Some problems loom so large over the landscape of your life that they seem insurmountable. But, just as David defeated Goliath in Bible times, you can defeat modern giants like persistent sins, overwhelming fears, and powerful addictions. -
Hungry for Love by Chip Ingram
We all want to be a "somebody" in the eyes of someone who loves us. -
Don't Let Your Weaknesses Keep You from God by Whitney Hopler
You don't have to be a spiritual giant like a theologian, Bible scholar, or prayer warrior to get close to God. He's willing to meet you wherever are. - A Selfish Symphony by Max Lucado
Only through submission, sacrifice, and serving can the concerto of life and relationship be sweet. - Is Your Clock on God's Time? by Charles Stanley
Charles Stanley considers our tendency to get caught up in traditions that tell us when certain things should be accomplished. In following guidelines that our culture sets before us, we tend to rush into life-changing decisions without considering what God wants for us. -
Money and Motives By Pastor Greg Laurie
The Bible offers more than 2,000 verses on money. It is the main subject of nearly half of the parables Jesus told. Why such an emphasis on money and possessions? Our view and handling of money has a spiritual connection. -
Freedom from the Prison of Perfectionism By Dr. Adrian Rogers
Perfectionism is judging yourself by your achievements. You measure your worth in terms of productivity and accomplishment, and you're always striving for unattainable goals, never reaching them, and, therefore, never, ever being fulfilled. Are you a perfectionist? This is not one of God’s callings. - How to Find Peace and Power Through
a Prioritized Life By Chip Ingram
Is your life out of balance? Take the test and see if your priorities are correct!
Family
- Feed My Sheep by Dan Seaborn Today it might be that you needed to pause and think of the places of plenty you have enjoyed with your family. Think of the times the Lord has built a shield of protection around your home. As a family, take time to pray together for God to continue to protect you from Satan's attacks.
- Hope for the Separated Man by Stephen Burns, Contributing Writer Is your wife the No. 1 priority in your life next to God? A lot of men say how important their wives are. I know I did, but somehow my words did not come anywhere near equaling my actions. Until you accept responsibility for the state of your marriage, nothing of significance will change.
- Beyond Thanksgiving: The Surprising Power of Family Meals by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley There's a lot more to family dinners than meets the eye. They have "the power of ritual," giving parents and kids the chance to connect, adding a sense of security to the daily routine. They're an opportunity for parents to teach about family history and traditions, so that they give kids a sense of identity. Even dysfunctional families seem to work just a little bit better when they make time to eat dinner together.
- Unlock Your Kids' Learning Potential by Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer No matter what type of school your children attend - public, private, or home - you are their best teacher. As their parent, you can do more than anyone else to unlock their learning potential. Your influence can help them achieve more at school, and even more importantly, become lifelong learners.
- Dads, God Has Equipped You to be Spiritual Leaders by Ken Canfield, Founder of the National Center for Fathering Dad, maybe you feel like you're not a good enough Christian to be an effective spiritual equipper. It is a big responsibility, but our Heavenly Father doesn’t give us a task and then not equip us to complete that task. We can overcome feeling inadequate in our role as spiritual equippers of our children. You have father power. Use that power for the future of your family.
- Avoid The Mulligan Mentality by Dan Seaborn Parents, if you're anything like me, you have the tendency to overcompensate for what was missing in your childhood. Take a moment and check yourself. Or ask a friend to evaluate your parenting tactics. Do you have your kids' best interests in mind, or are you just trying to make up for something?
- Fantasy vs. Reality in Marriage by Sandra P. Aldrich, Bold Words, Inc. Everyone can be perfect -- for about two seconds a day. The problems come when folks catch each other in those two seconds and think they are always like that. No one can sprint a marathon, which is what a good marriage is. So take a deep breath and stop expecting perfection.
- Choosing the Right School for Your Child by Tim Kimmel, Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer The key to choosing the right school for your child has far more to do with your child than it does the school. The more you play your role effectively, the more any of these educational options become a positive part of your children’s academic success.
- Kids and Jobs: A Good Idea? by Steve Diggs, No Debt No Sweat! Financial Seminar Ministry Wise parents should look for ways to help their kids earn at least part of their money.
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Grandparents Can Indeed Be Grand for Their Grandkids by Tammy Darling
The grandparent-grandchild bond is second in emotional importance only to the bond between parents and children. - Learn from Your Kids By Whitney Hopler
By letting go of the pressure to make sure your kids succeed and focusing on learning from them, you can become a better parent—and a better person. - Raise Your Children Well in a Dangerous World By Whitney Hopler
Here are some ways you can raise your children to venture boldly into our perilous world, secure in the knowledge that God will go with them and enable them to make wise decisions. - Who left up the lid? By Dan Seaborn
Respectful children come from respectful parents, and respectful parents are great parents.
Walking With God
- The Agonizing Problem of the Assurance of Salvation by John Piper The most agonizing problem about the assurance of salvation is not the problem of whether the objective facts of Christianity are true (God exists, Christ is God, Christ died for sinners, Christ rose from the dead, Christ saves forever all who believe, etc.). Those facts are the utterly crucial bedrock of our faith. But the really agonizing problem of assurance is whether I personally am saved by those facts.
- It's Not About You by Chuck Swindoll Life is not about your being comfortable and happy and successful and pain free. It's about becoming the man or woman God has called you to be. Unfortunately, we will rarely hear that message proclaimed today.
- Espresso Yourself - Appreciation by Ed Young An attitude of gratitude is an earmark of spiritual maturity. Those who have been gripped by grace spend time daily thanking God in private as well as regularly thanking God and others in the public domain.
- How to be Like Jesus by the Late Dr. Adrian Rogers Many people try ways that may sound good, but will not help you become more like Jesus. You're not going to become like Jesus by elimination. You can't simply take things out of your life. Some folks want to be like Jesus, so they make a list of sins and try to eliminate them from their lives. They become proud of what they don't do, but they're not one bit more like Jesus. A telephone pole doesn't smoke, drink, or tell lies; but it's not like Jesus. Elimination doesn't deal with the root just like pruning a tree doesn't change its nature.
- Two Things That Steal Your Confidence by Charles Stanley Have you ever awakened on a Sunday morning not feeling "good enough" to face your fellow Christian brothers and sisters in church? If this lie sounds familiar, then you can also relate to the deceptive thought process that accompanies it.
- What One Can Do by Chip Ingram By living a godly life, one man, Moses, helped keep two-and-a-half million people from idolatry. How about you? Would you be willing to do what you can where you are with the influence that God has given you?
- Ashamed of Jesus by Ray Comfort If "fear of shame, ridicule, or disapproval" makes us unwilling to testify of the words of Jesus to this lost and sinful world, then we are ashamed of Jesus and His words. That means, despite the fish, the music, the T-shirts, the trips to church and the movies, those who fit into the "ashamed" category may end up hearing Jesus denying that He even knew them (Matthew 7:21-23).
- How God's Word Can Change You...for Good by Dr. Michael Youssef There is no way on God's earth that two hours of church one day a week are going to neutralize the impact our postmodern culture has upon you.
- Learning about Pain from Luther, Bunyan & the Bible by John Piper One of God's gifts to us in suffering is that we are granted to see and experience depths of his Word that a life of ease would never yield.
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Step in the Footsteps of Famous Disciples by Whitney Hopler
Studying the lives of those in the Bible can help you step in their footprints on the road to following Jesus. - Autumn by David Jeremiah
The fall season offers meaningful perspectives on the seasons of life and the Creator of all seasons. - Contentment That Starts Today and Lasts Forever by Pastor Chip Ingram
The secret of contentment has to do with how we view and respond to God’s provision. - Do All Religions Lead to God? By Hank Hanegraaff
Today's society seems to equate religious tolerance with religious truth. Many assume that all religions are basically the same and that all beliefs are equally valid. They picture each religion as having identical faces hidden behind different masks. Hank Hanegrtaaf examines why all religions cannot be the truth. - Questions to Consider
Pastor Paul provides his insight on The Passion of the Christ. - Passion of the
Christ Commentaries
There is no shortage of reviews, responses, commentaries, and observations surrounding Mel Gibson’s popular and much publicized film, The Passion of The Christ.
Prayer
- Hear the Silent Message in Unanswered Prayer by Whitney Hopler, Contributing Writer You’ve prayed repeatedly for God to intervene in a situation close to your heart – but all your requests have been met with silence. You’ve prayed with great passion and faith – yet still, God doesn’t answer. Do unanswered prayers mean that God doesn’t care, or worse, that He’s not even there? When you’re heartbroken over His silence, it can seem that way. But God has a message to send you through the silence. Here’s how you can hear Him, even when He doesn’t answer your prayers.
- Change the World: Pray for Preachers by Dr. Paul Dean It is absolutely necessary that we develop the habit of praying for God-called preachers. If we are faithful to pray, we will see fewer men of God fall, get off track, or simply lose heart. And yet, as always, the issue is deeper than that. Other reasons exist as to why we must pray in this regard.
- Four Steps to Peace in a World Out of Control by Tony Beam Thankful prayer brings release from fear and worry because it affirms God's sovereign control over every circumstance that is generated by an activating event. Paul says we should be "anxious for nothing," but rather we should "pray about everything." Unfortunately, too many believers reverse this process being anxious for everything and praying for nothing.
- Becoming a Godly Wife: Cultivate a Life of Prayer by Judy Carden, Author As you read this, you may not even be sure how to pray for your husband. Perhaps you are stumbling through the dark night of your relationship. You may feel angry, fearful, and emotionally exhausted because your husband is not living up to his end of the bargain. You may even feel spiritually inept. I have felt, at one time or another, all of the above. But I have learned that uncertainty, sorrow, anger, and exhaustion do little to improve a situation.
- Endurance by Ed Young When we talk about the character quality of discipline, often what comes to mind is eating right, exercising, maintaining a good work ethic, and just generally developing good habits. And all that is fine and good, but there is more to having a disciplined lifestyle than meets the eye.
- Walk through your Community in Prayer by Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer Understand the benefits of prayerwalking. Realize that the exercise of walking helps keep you alert and focused. Know that if you're actually moving through your community, you'll encounter many sights, smells, and sounds that will give you ideas for specific ways to pray. Understand that being in the presence of people for whom you're praying (such as neighbors outside in their yards) helps make you more compassionate toward them and motivates you to pray more fervently.
- How to Have Meaningful Quiet Time by Adrian Rogers Christianity is not a legal relationship, it is a love relationship. Ten thousand "don'ts" will never make you one iota more like the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Himself Who makes you like Him. But you need to spend time with Him.
- Earnest Prayer by Chip Ingram When you pray passionately, corporately, and specifically, knowing Who God really is, you'll see results. The early church did, and so will we.
- Celebrate Prayer by Shawn McEvoy, Editor, Christianity.com It isn't so much that your perceived needs get met through prayer as it is that you get to know and be known by your Creator.
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How to Pray with Confidence Before God by Chip Ingram
Ask God specifically according to His promises, and God comes through for you. - What is Prayer? by Thelma Wells
Prayer is communicating with God, sharing with God your dreams and desires, listening to God for answers to your prayers, calling on God when you are in distress, and thanking God for His goodness to you. - Brief Insights Into Prayer by Dr. Adrian Rogers
"If you struggle with prayer, I've got just the guy for you. Don't worry; he's not a monastic saint. He's not a calloused-kneed apostle." says Dr. Adrian Rogers - P.U.S.H. By Unknown Author
It’s easy to give up when you don’t get the results you want from prayer. This story illustrates that God wants our obedience. - Prerequisites for Effective Prayer By Bob Russell
Rather than teaching the reader how to pray, Russell shares stories to motivate the reader to try prayer in his/her own life. He points to the character of God to reveal how, like a loving father, God is moved by the requests of his children. This is an excerpt from his book When God Answers Prayer. - Does It Seem Like Your Prayers Aren't Answered? By Ken Hemphill
Prayer is valuable, even if your requests aren't fulfilled. Having our requests granted is not the primary goal of prayer. Before concluding that prayer doesn't "work," you need to ask yourself how you've been trying to use it. - Our Prayers Do Make a
Difference By Max Lucado
Prayers that get answered need not be eloquent, just honest.
Worship
- Knowing God Intimately by the late, Dr. Adrian Roger One of the great problems in today's churches is that we have many who know about God but few who know God intimately. How sad it will be in the resurrection to meet a God face to face that we have not known heart to heart.
- Finding Genuine Hope by Dr. Michael Youssef, Leading the Way No matter how hopeless your situation might seem, the Lord is there. He knows and understands. And when you take your eyes off your problems and place them on the risen Christ you will find genuine hope.
- Giving Out What God Has Given You by Greg Laurie We see the gifts God's Holy Spirit places in the lives of certain people, and we become envious. As a result, we are not thankful for the gifts that God has given us. But we need to realize the gifts God has placed in our lives are always the best ones for us.
- God Lite: The Idolatry of Reduction by Charles Stanley There is something in the human heart that wants to reduce God, to shrink Him and make Him manageable. We want to get Him on our terms where we can control Him. So we come up with some system of religion where we envision God, because if we can see Him or systematize Him, we can predict Him or even manipulate Him. And if we can predict or manipulate Him, we can get Him to fulfill our agenda.
- Why Do You Worship God? by Chip Ingram Why is your God better than all the other gods in the world? I was asked that question on an international flight by a Chinese woman who had grown up under communism. For the first 20 or so years of her life, she had been taught there was no God, but for the last 10 years, she had been reading about various religions and beliefs, and she honestly wanted to know why I worshipped God.
- Worship and the Word by Craig Cabaniss God provides His creation as revelation to all men everywhere. The beauty of the world has always provoked men to consider a transcendent Maker. But the revelation of nature isn't enough. An unbeliever can watch a sunset and discover a Supreme Being of beauty, power, and creativity, but nature doesn't reveal man's need for a savior or Christ's sacrifice for sin. That kind of revelation comes only through Scripture.
- The Key to Spiritual Growth by Greg Laurie You probably know someone who has received Christ and has gone on to serve the Lord with great effect. You may also know someone who has been a failure in the Christian life. Why is it that some succeed spiritually, while others fail? Answer: because they choose to.
- The Value of God's Word by Greg Laurie As you study, as you memorize, and as you read and obey the Word of God, your life will be transformed, and you will be a successful Christian.
- Worship 101 by Charles Stanley All too often, we consume ourselves with the "hows" of worship, rather than focusing on God's concern-the "whys."
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Wanting God More Than Anything More Than Stuff by Bob Kauflin
May we realize that the person who possesses God plus a thousand marvelous created things owns no more than the person who possesses God alone. - Wired to Worship by Greg Laurie
The fundamental difference between humanity and animals is that animals don't worship, but people do. God has essentially wired us this way. - Sing with All Your Heart by Bob Kauflin
Singing with emotion in our worship is not only acceptable—it pleases God. - Rediscovering the Jewel of Worship By Chuck Swindoll
Christian author Chuck Swindoll asks three questions about your worship style and shows how a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ attitude about worship can be changed. - The Key to Drawing Near to God By Chip Ingram
Genuine worship isn't just singing songs and getting a good feeling in your heart. Genuine worship is seeing God for who He really is—His power, His greatness, His holiness, His sovereignty, His love, and His compassion—and then giving Him the best of your time, your talents, your thoughts, your words, and your deeds. - It’s the Heart that Counts By Glenn Moriyama
God listens to your heart to hear the sound of worship. The Scriptures confirm that He hears and sees our hearts first, foremost and always. The melodies and lyrics that fall from our lips are meaningless unless they are connected to our hearts. - Watch Where You're Going By David Jeremiah
If we don't know which way to go, we simply need to ask God.
Work and Career
- God's Grace in the Workplace By Dr. Adrian Rogers
You may think there's nothing exciting about you or your job, but God takes ordinary people and He gives them extraordinary power to do extraordinary things for His glory!