10 Most Shared Articles of 2017
1. Seven Biblical Reasons Why Singing Matters (Tom Olson)
Our singing is more than a warm-up for the sermon or a filler in the service. Colossians 3:16 is clearly laying out for us that: Singing stands alongside of preaching as one of the two great ways that God has ordained for his Word to dwell richly in each one of us!
2. To Defeat Your Sin, Look at Jesus (Joel Stucki)
As new creations, we’re not to manage our sin, but to cease from it: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14). We don’t focus on our sin as if we can defeat it through the right strategic approach. Instead, we focus on the One who has already done all that is necessary for its defeat and our redemption.
3. Seven Symptoms of a Prideful Heart (Jaquelle Crowe)
It’s because of Jesus’ humility that we can be forgiven of our pride. That’s both the sting and joy of the gospel. It deals with our pride by destroying it, reminding us that life is not about us, and that we deserve only the wrath of God for our sin. Jesus Christ also deals with our pride by taking the just punishment for it upon himself at the cross, that we might be renewed in the image of our Creator (Colossians 3:10) and made humble like our Savior.
4. A Three-Step Strategy for Fighting Sin (Colin Smith)
Stalking sin is how you move from knowing your sin to killing your sin. It means getting to a position where you can see sin’s movement so you can take action against it. If you have become aware of a particular area of sin in your life and you do not move in on it, then it will grow. Sin is a power. It has life and vigor in it. You have to track it down and deal with it, or it will destroy you.
5. Give Thanks, For the Lord is Good (Colin Smith)
God has chosen to open up—for every person in this world—the possibility of an authentic relationship with Him that begins now and will go on beyond death for all eternity. To bring this about, he sent his Son into the world. When Jesus came into the world he did good. But evil men hated him and nailed him to a cross. So why did God not wind up human history the day Jesus was crucified? Because God is good.
6. Four Truths for the Infertile Married Couple (Meredith Hodge)
We see that when we try to handle our own desires, rather than trusting in the Lord, we sin and produce death—even more pain and suffering. So we watch our desires carefully and are aware of any seed of doubt, confessing it to the Lord lest it grow into greater sin that affects other areas of our walk with him or our spouse.
7. Hope for Loved Ones Who Have Resisted the Gospel (Colin Smith)
The good news is that God can wield the plough long after the seed has been sown. God can break up the hardest ground, dig out the largest stones, and pull out the most stubborn weeds, and when he does, the living seed that was planted long ago will spring to life and bear wonderful fruit.
8. Pray for Your Enemies (Denise K. Loock)
Our attitudes toward those who offend us won’t change overnight. Sometimes the adjustment takes months, years, or maybe even decades. But God will be faithful to change our perspective as we come to him in prayer. Praying for those who have hurt us is not only obedience to God’s Word, but also opportunity for him to work in our hearts and within other people. He will help us move beyond our sinful attitudes about others and toward his love for them.
9. God Will Give You More Than You Can Handle (Sophie McDonald)
When we’re crying into our coffee and feeling burdened beyond our strength, we recognize we need a Savior, from sin andfrom all the human weaknesses that accompany it. That’s when we feel what’s true all the time: We are helpless on our own. We need a strength beyond our own to rescue us… I don’t need someone offering a warm platitude to help my strength grow. I need someone reminding me this debilitating weakness is intentionally purposed to lead my weak soul to the One who raised the dead.
10. Deserving or Delighting in God’s Generosity? (Jennifer Brogdon)
God may give others more than we think they deserve, and he may give us less than we think we deserve. But praise God that he has not given those of us in Christ what we actually deserve! Every gift God gives comes by grace—from our salvation to the reward of our work (Romans 2:6).
