How good is your vision? Can you see accurately up to 20 feet? Maybe even 50 feet? Only about 35 percent of all adults have 20/20 vision without correction, but maybe you are among the fortunate, better-than-average group. Even so, can you see into the future? What about into the hearts of your friends? Are you able to see every possible outcome of any given choice?

When we consider the limitations of our vision, no matter who we are, we come to realize what an incredible privilege is offered to us, by God himself. He promises to instruct and inform us of the correct paths to take in life, using—not our finite and limited vision—but his perfect, all-seeing, all-knowing eye as our guide. The One who knows all ends offers to lead us to the perfect destination for each of us!

Knowing that each of us faces a myriad of hair-pulling, gut-wrenching decisions at different times in our lives—and recognizing that even the smallest decisions can have big ramifications for our lives—what an amazing gift this is! And, yet, so many of us prefer to stumble blindly through the deadly obstacle course of this world, setting our own course and choosing our own turns, just so that we can say, “I did it my way.”

If you are wrestling today with difficult decisions, know that God’s perfect wisdom and vision is available to you—it is only a prayer away. When we go to God, asking his help and looking into his Word for direction, he gives us this guarantee: I will lead you where you need to go, guiding you with my eye.

Paul had a dilemma…

but not exactly of the same variety that people commonly face today. Paul wanted to die. He yearned for heaven. For God’s children death is not a final tragedy but a home going — to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord.

And yet he saw the value of living, in order that he might be used to bring the gospel to God’s people and to further the cause of the kingdom of heaven.

This message provides comfort for every believer, but particularly if you have lost a loved one in death we encourage you to listen as Lasserre Bradley, Jr. encourages us to see the whole of our existence—both life and death—the way Paul viewed his.

Purchase the series from which this message comes To Die Is Gain or call 1-800-473-4BBH to order this single message.

Everyone appreciates good works. Many people do good works. Philanthropists, volunteers, and even Hollywood stars are seen doing good works around the globe every day. But “good works” is not what God is interested in. God is supremely concerned for the glory of God.

It is for this reason that Jesus was not satisfied to simply command charitable deeds, random acts of kindness, or the many other good works that all the world hails. Rather, Jesus tells us, “Let your light so [even so, after this manner] shine” that when people see your good works, they will praise—not you, but—your Father in heaven.

When you have opportunity to help others, be courteous, show love, give of yourself—are people encouraged to give you credit, or do you point them to Christ as the source and motivation for any good that you do? It is so easy for our pride, our selfishness, and our people-pleasing nature to take even our best Christian efforts and turn them into an occasion for self-glory.

But, amazingly, Jesus himself never did that. He always pointed to his Father, gave his Father credit, directed the attention to his Father. If the Son of God himself would disdain to receive the acclaim of men for his good works, how much more should our lives be mirrors that reflect the glorious goodness and grace of our God?

We are here admonished to give thanks for all things. We know we should give thanks for our daily provisions and for the mercy of God in saving us; but sometimes we don’t take the time or make the effort to truly thank him, or to consider all the things for which we should be grateful.

The apostle Paul frequently expressed his thanks to God for the faith, love and work seen in the churches where he had labored. He acknowledged that these godly fruits were because of God’s blessings on them and therefore gave thanks to God. He constantly expressed thankfulness for his godly fellow laborers, but consistently expressed thankfulness to God for even their faithfulness (Romans 1:8; 1 Corinthians 1:4; 1Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Thessalonians 1:3).

Astonishingly, Paul also expressed appreciation for tribulations (Romans 5:3), and even acknowledged that he took pleasure in “infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake” because God’s strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:10). If God’s sufficiency is displayed in my insufficiency, Paul said, then I am thankful for each opportunity for his strength to be shown in my weakness.

And above all, the apostle gave thanks for the Savior. He wrote, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15). Words are inadequate to describe the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ, but we should continually give thanks for him and his love for us.

As Corrie Ten Boon observed, “Prayerlessness is a sin.”

Prayer is a God-ordained means of our making effective decisions, and of making any real difference in ourselves or with others — and, most importantly, it is a means of being conformed into the image of Christ by communion with him. To neglect such a precious gift, such a vital opportunity is, quite simply, sinful.

And there is no such thing as a truly “small” sin — every sin is an offense to a perfect God and has the potential to destroy our soul. In this series, Justin Huffman shows the danger of these seemingly small, subtle sins — in this message from a recent daily broadcast in particular, the seriousness of prayerlessness.

Purchase Volume 1 of this series online, or call 1-800-473-4BBH to place your order.

Do you have chapters in your life that you wish you could rewrite? Do you have regrets or sorrows or wounds from past sins?

The wonderful promise of God is that he does not only forgive the repentant sinner — he heals the repentant sinner. Although it is true that we may suffer life-long trials because of sinful choices in the past, the Lord is able to restore the years that you may feel have been eaten up by guilt, sinfulness, or immaturity.

God says, “I will restore to you the years…” How can this be? Will he reverse our life’s clock, will he turn back our calendar? No. But God is able to pack so much living, so much vitality, so much blessing into the years that you have remaining that you will be enabled to live a life-time of joys and victories and pleasures in the remaining years you have left.

Remember the thief on the cross? Here was a man who had squandered all his life on murder, thievery, and selfishness. And, yet, God arrested him in the waning moments of his life, brought him to repentance and faith in Christ, and then used the fleeting few minutes he had left to leave behind him an everlasting testimony of God’s grace to save, to pardon, to instruct, and even to resurrect.

No matter how the chapters of your life have been written thus far, know this: when you repent and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation, he is able to multiply to you the remaining years of your life and use you mightily for his kingdom. He is willing to receive the repentant, and he is able to restore the ruined.

In this interview with John Dickson of the Centre for Public Christianity, Oxford Developmental Psychologist Olivera Petrovich explains her research that suggests belief in a creator is the default position of children, in direct contradiction to fellow Oxford scholar (and well-known atheist author) Richard Dawkins:

Olivera Petrovich 01 from CPX on Vimeo.

See parts 2 and 3 of this interview here.

Although we are consistently called to thanksgiving and worship by our faithful pastors, by the Word of God, and by godly friends there is another source from which we should expect this admonition—our own soul.

David writes, preaching to himself the gospel of grace, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” We should constantly be preaching to ourselves, as David does in the Psalms. It need not be a complicated or particularly academic sermon. It can be as simple as these three words: “Bless the Lord!”

As the first point in his sermon to himself, David exhorts “forget not all his benefits.” The most powerful antidote to depression is a grateful heart. And the most effective way to develop a grateful heart is to consciously, specifically recount the Lord’s blessings and to thank Him for each one.

Are you spiritually cold or disheartened? Preach this sermon to yourself—bless the Lord, O my soul! Are you discouraged? Forget not all His benefits.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

The faith which comes from God believes in truth, and truth is consistent—not only with God’s word in the Bible—but also with the realities of life, of true science, and of objective experience.

For this reason, it is profitable to reason with the sincere inquirer as to whether Christianity is tenable and believable. This reasonable answer, which is commanded of believers in 1 Peter 3:15, is known as Christian Apologetics (from the Greek apologia, “making a defense”). Throughout the Bible we find numerous examples of reasonable answers to sincere questions about the Word of God: Jesus offered Thomas empirical evidence of his identity; God provided Pharaoh with proof that Moses was a divine messenger; God furnished proof of his Word to both Hezekiah and Gideon when they needed it; and Paul constantly reasoned with the Jews in their synagogues.

In spite of the various approaches to, and emphases of, Christian apologetics in different generations, there remains a single purpose behind the overall effort: for the sake of the genuine inquirer, to refute accusations against the Bible, while also demonstrating sufficient proof of the veracity and dependability of its claims.

There are extremes among those who respond to this endeavor of the Christian apologist: some skeptically believe it to be an impossible task, either because they think the Bible has errors or because they think faith should need no assistance; others believe it to be the answer to every problem, because they believe reason to be the means to — or at least the beginning of — all apprehension of truth and faith in it. Neither of these views is balanced or correct. The purpose and benefit of Christian apologetics is to remove barriers of misunderstanding for those reasonable individuals, including ourselves, who sometimes have their faith tested by the many attacks against the Bible.

Thus, we must trust to the Holy Spirit for direction and application, while sympathetically and charitably presenting the genuine agreement of truth and reality, of science and God’s Word.

Recommended Resources: Who is Jesus?; Why Just One Way?; Creation Weekend; Worldview Weekend

When we read this remarkable statement by the apostle Paul, two questions immediately come to mind. First—is it true? Second—is it right?

Was Paul giving an accurate description of his ministry when he said that he had spoken of nothing, while among the Corinthians, except “Jesus Christ, and him crucified”? Didn’t he mention morality, didn’t he teach other points of theology, didn’t he bring to their minds biblical (Old Testament) history? The answer, of course, is “Yes!”

And, yet, it is also true that he spoke of nothing but Christ and his cross. Because the basis and inspiration for morality is the cross of Christ. Every point of theology centers around a correct understanding of the cross. And all history, including the entire Old Testament, is only properly understood in relation to the cross.

And so we also have the answer to the second question: was it right for Paul to center all his attention, all his teaching, on the cross of Christ? Absolutely! Grace, joy, grief, sacrifice, purpose, hope, love—all of these subjects can only be properly understood, properly prioritized, and properly practiced through a correct understanding of the substitutionary death of the perfect Jesus on an eternally planned cross.

The cross was not an accident; it was not a practice run; it was not just a good example. Jesus Christ carried our sins, in his own body, on the tree so that we, being freed from sin, would live a life that exalts his name. The cross is the pivot-point of history. It is the impetus and standard for morality. And it is the center stage of theology.

Not only is it therefore right to focus all our attention on the cross of Christ, it is wrong not to. May the cross, today, be the focus of your vision and the fullness of your heart. May you know nothing among your friends, your co-workers, your family, save Jesus Christ and him crucified.