And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
— Matthew 14:28–29


Peter is often cited as an example of what not to do and what not to say. But let's give him credit where credit is due. In Matthew 14, when Jesus sent the disciples across the Sea of Galilee and a great storm came, they began to panic and despair. Then, just as dawn was beginning to break, Jesus came to them, walking on the water. But when they saw Him, they thought He was a ghost. So Jesus said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid" (verse 27).

Then Peter said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water" (verse 28). Jesus told him to come, and then Peter got out of the boat and began walking on the water to go to Jesus. This is what we would describe as muscular faith, believing faith. Jesus told Peter to come to Him, but it took faith on Peter's part to do it. Faith is the refusal to panic. Faith has no safety net. This was Peter and Jesus, and he was going for it. These were rough seas, and Peter did the impossible. He waited for a command from Christ, and looking at Jesus, he defied the odds and walked on water. No one had done this before—or has done it since.

We are to build our faith on what the Word of God says. We don't just step out and say, "By faith, I want this. By faith, I demand that." Instead we ask, "What does the Scripture teach? What should I be praying for? What should I be asking for?" And then we pray accordingly. That is what Peter did. And as long as he had his eyes on Jesus, he was able to do the impossible.

And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
— Matthew 6:13


God is omniscient, which means that He is all-knowing. God is omnipotent, which means that He is all-powerful. And God is omnipresent, which means that He is present everywhere.

In sharp and direct contrast to this, the devil does not reflect God's divine attributes. He is not omnipotent. Although he has great power, his power is clearly limited, and he is nowhere near to being God's equal. Nor is the devil omniscient. He knows many things, but he doesn't know all things. And, he is not omnipresent. He can only be in one place at one time.

What the devil doesn't want you to know is that he can do nothing in the life of a Christian without God's permission. The devil complained that God had put a wall of protection around Job (see Job 1:10). So we see from this that even though Satan has a wicked agenda, he has to ask permission to touch the child of God. There is an impenetrable wall that God has placed around you that Satan cannot breach. That doesn't mean you can't be tempted. It doesn't mean you can't be harassed. It doesn't mean you can't be attacked. But God never will give you more than you can handle. So when the devil comes knocking at your door, I would suggest that you say, "Jesus, would You mind getting that?" I am so glad He is there, because I am no match for the devil. And neither are you.

Temptation will come into your life. Jesus even taught us to pray, "And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:13). So the next time you are facing temptation, remember that God never will give you too much. He will provide a way out.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

— 1 Peter 5:8

You have probably seen it on television at one time or another: some lions are hanging out, soaking in the rays, when along come the antelope. You can almost read the lions' thoughts as they size them up: Let's see, which one are we going to eat today? There is usually that lone antelope lagging behind all the rest by about 20 feet or so. That one looks like lion lunch. So the next thing you see is a lion covering an amazing amount of ground in a matter of seconds. And once the big cat sinks his claws into his prey and drags it down, you know it is all over for that antelope.

If you have ever watched a scene like this one, then you have an idea of how the devil operates. The Bible describes him as a "roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). This hungry beast of prey is looking for his next meal, and he is ready to pounce.

In Job, we read how the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan was among them. God directed His remarks to the devil himself and asked, "Where have you come from?" (Job 1:6). And Satan answered, "I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that's going on" (verse 7).

He is checking everything out. He is watching. He is looking for vulnerability, weakness. He is looking for his next prey to bring down. That is his basic agenda. And the devil never takes a vacation. He doesn't take a month off, a week off, a day off, or even an hour off. He never takes a moment off. He is always busy with his well-organized network of demon powers that is helping him accomplish his purposes.

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

— Deuteronomy 30:19

Hell was not made for people; hell was created for the devil and his angels (see Matthew 25:41). It was never God's intention to send a person to hell. He does everything He can to keep us out of it. But God has given us a free will. We have the ability to choose, and God will not violate that. If you want to go to heaven, then you will—if you put your faith in Christ. If you want to go to hell, then you will. It is your choice.

People will protest on that final day and say, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" (Matthew 7:22). And Jesus will sadly but firmly say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (verse 23).

Some people might say, "Wait! I went to church on Sunday!" And, "Wait! I received communion!" And, "Wait! I was baptized." But Jesus will say, in effect, "But I never knew you. It was just a thing you did. We never had a relationship. You broke My commandments left and right. It's your own choice that you are facing."

It is not enough to say you believe in God. It is not enough to acknowledge that God exists. You need to turn from your sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ, and Him alone, as Savior and Lord.

As Timothy Keller said, "Hell is simply one's freely chosen path going on forever." If that is what you want, then that is what you will get. God wants you to go to heaven, but He will not force you. He gives you a choice, and it is up to you what you do with that choice.

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

— Acts 1:8

When Alfred Nobel discovered an explosive element that was stronger than anything the world had known at the time, he asked a friend and Greek scholar for a word that conveyed the meaning of explosive power. The Greek word was dunamis, and Nobel named hisinvention "dynamite."

Dunamis is the same word that Jesus used when He told His disciples, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). In other words, "You shall receive explosive, dynamite power when the Holy Spirit has comeupon you."

Think about how this power transformed the first-century believers. Prior to Pentecost, Simon Peter couldn't stand up for his faith when strangers asked him if he was a follower of Jesus. After the power of the Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost, Peter stood up and boldly preached the gospel, resulting in 3,000 people being saved.

After Saul of Tarsus became a believer on the Damascus Road, God led Ananias to go and pray for him. He was then filled with the Holy Spirit, and from that moment on, he went out and proclaimed Christ inthe synagogues.

This power is for a purpose. It is not power to be crazy or power to do weird things. It is power to be a witness . . . power to have the courage to tell someone about Jesus Christ . . . power to tell people about what Jesus has done for you.

Do you have this power in your life? Do you feel like something is lacking in your spiritual walk? Then you, my friend, are a candidate for the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

I believe there will be three surprises when we get to heaven.
A lot of the people we thought would be there, won't be.
A lot of the people we never thought would be there, will be.
We will be there!
Now, I am joking, because if you are a believer in Jesus, you can be confident you will be in heaven one day.

But know this: wherever there is the genuine, there will be the counterfeit. Satan would love you to see a few of those counterfeits and say, "That's it, I'm not going to church anymore. There are just too many hypocrites!" My response is this: "Hey, don't let that keep you away. There's always room for one more!"

Listen, all of us have been hypocrites at times. What is the definition of the word "hypocrite," as used in Scripture? It is an actor, someone who pretends to be something they really are not.

We have all pretended to be more spiritual at times than we really are. I know I have. This is not an excuse for hypocrisy, just an explanation. We all want to pray that God helps us to be the "real thing" as we follow Christ.

It really comes down to this: Jesus was committed to the Church, and we should be too! There is just nothing this world offers that is like the Church. The Church may have many critics, but no rivals!

And I'm proud to be a Christian and a member of the body of Christ, the Church.

How 'bout you?

Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.
— Matthew 26:49


The worst kind of sin is the kind committed by someone who doesn't think he really is a sinner. It was Cicero who said, "Of all villainy, there is none more base than that of the hypocrite, who at the moment he is most false, takes care to appear most virtuous."

Think for a moment about a garden-variety sinner. Then think of someone who attends church every week. Is it possible that a person in the church pew could be in worse shape than a garden-variety sinner? It is possible. Here's how: If the person who is an unbeliever recognizes that fact, there is hope that one day he or she will come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, turn from a sinful lifestyle, and believe in Jesus. But the person who attends church every week with no intention of responding to what he or she is hearing is actually a hypocrite.

It is better to just be what you are. It is better to say, "I am not into this. I don't believe in this. I don't care about this . . . " than to pretend to be spiritual when you are not. God hates hypocrisy.

This doesn't mean that you won't be inconsistent at times. It doesn't mean that you won't fall short at times. We all have had moments of hypocrisy. But a hypocrite is someone who wears a mask, someone who pretends to be someone they really are not.

The hypocrite extraordinaire, if you will, was Judas Iscariot. When he betrayed Jesus, he did so with a kiss. He could have just pointed and said, "There is Jesus. My job is done." But he kissed Him. At the moment when he appeared to be the most virtuous, he was the most sinful. And that is lying to God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
— Ephesians 6:18


To be successful as a Christian, you must have a prayer life. Prayer, simplified, is hearing from and communicating with God. There are different kinds of prayer identified in Scripture, including public prayer, private prayer, verbal prayer, and silent prayer. Also, any position is acceptable for prayer: you can pray kneeling, standing, sitting, lying down, or even driving (but always keep your eyes open, of course).

God hears our prayers wherever we offer them. Consider some of the places that people of the Bible prayed: Jonah prayed from the stomach of a whale. Daniel prayed in a den of lions. David prayed in a cave and also in the wilderness. And Peter prayed both on the water and in it after he sank. Wherever you are, God will hear your prayer.

The key is that we should pray frequently. We should pray in the morning. We should pray in the afternoon. We should pray in the evening. The Bible says, "Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:17–18).

Prayer can be continuous. Elijah, in seeking an audience with the wicked King Ahab, said, "I swear by the Lord Almighty, in whose presence I stand, that I will present myself to Ahab this very day" (1 Kings 18:15). Elijah was aware of the fact that wherever he went, he stood in the presence of God.

You, too, are never alone. Wherever you go, God is with you. You can commune with Him and fellowship with Him and pray to Him and hear from Him. That is the idea of continuous prayer: being in fellowship and communion with God.

If you want to grow spiritually, then make prayer a vital and regular part of your life.