Philippians

Don’t Forget to Pray

July 28, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

Don’t forget to pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world who are suffering for the cause of Christ. Isn’t it a little crazy and even a little to our shame that we need to be reminded to do something so basic yet powerful? Why is prayer so neglected in the lives of most Christians? Having an open channel to the throne of God would seem to be enough to keep us forever on our proverbial knees (Hebrews 4:16).

prayer,persecution,commitment,focus,priorities,selfishness,persecuteddon't forget to pray

Where else will we learn so much about our Creator? What other activity is so nourishing to our minds and souls? And yet prayer is often only remembered when we find ourselves in need. James writes, “The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful” (James 5:16). Why are we so reluctant to tap into such power?

[Read more…] about Don’t Forget to Pray

God’s Call to Holiness

July 24, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

God’s call to holiness is not optional for any believer. Holiness is the standard God set for us in the beginning and continues to expect from us (Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15–16). When we love the Father, we will desire to do what pleases Him because we all want to be counted like Paul when we die (2 Timothy 4:7).

commitment,discipleship,discipline,focus,holiness,lordship,sanctification,surrender,holy

We all want to run the race well and hear Jesus speak the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant; enter into my rest” (Matthew 25:21). We dare not approach Heaven with stained garments uncleansed by the sacrificial blood of Christ (Hebrews 10:10). Sanctification always follows true repentance, so if we aren’t concerned with holiness, it is hard to conceive of our repentance as genuine.

He Is Able to Fill All Our Needs

July 3, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

The gospels of Matthew and Mark both record two separate instances of Jesus feeding multitudes of people. Some skeptics like to argue these were retellings of the same miracle, but the setting and details of each are so different that their argument is without merit and not worthy of further discussion. It is no surprise Jesus performed a similar miracle more than once, because He often repeated miracles such as restoring sight to the blind (Matthew 9:27-30; Mark 8:22-25),

faith,salvation,provision,bread of life,He is able to fill all our needs

cleansing lepers (Luke 17:12-14; Matthew 8:2-3), healing the paralyzed (Matthew 9:1-7; John 5:5-9), and even raising the dead (Luke 7:11-15; John 11:43-44). We are confident in God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16), and thus we can be confident that Jesus fed vast multitudes at least twice during His ministry. Then, as now, Jesus wants us to see that no matter how impossible the challenge, He is able to fill all our needs.

Following Jesus Is Hard

June 30, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

Let me state the obvious: following Jesus is hard. If you think following Jesus is easy, my bet is you aren’t following Him in the manner His Word prescribes. It’s easy to say you follow Jesus. It’s even easy to place your faith in Him. None of that requires anything on your part, and you can take it back whenever that decision becomes inconvenient.

following Jesus is hard,commitment,discipleship,discipline,salvation,surrender,works

The difficult work comes in living for Christ every waking moment of your life. As people born into sin, we all have an innate and outsized portion of selfishness that dominates our motives and desires (Romans 7:18). Keeping that alone in check often takes what feels like a Herculean effort. There’s nothing easy about living a holy life, so there’s nothing easy about following Jesus.

What Keeps You from Being an Effective Christian?

June 16, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

What keeps you from being an effective Christian? It’s a question we all ask ourselves at some point in our walk. We want to be more consistent, more bold, and more useful to God in His Kingdom. No one surrenders to the Lordship of Christ and then endeavors to live out their days in mediocrity.

commitment,discipleship,priorities,focus,what keeps you from becoming an effective Christian

But mediocrity is where so many believers, once full of fire and zeal for the gospel, live their lives. Why is that? What gets in the way of living a life worthy of our calling as disciples of Jesus (Ephesians 4:1)? If we can identify the problems, it can help us be alert to the tactics of the enemy and not fall for His tricks over and over again (2 Corinthians 2:11).