Charisma Magazine

We are creatures of desire. We move and decide on the basis of desire. Desire is our inescapable motivation.

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate the one and love the other; you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money" (NLT).

Few things mean as much to parents’ hearts as raising their kids to love God. But in this day and age, how is that accomplished? When the Israelites first entered Canaan, the pressures of a pagan world threatened constantly to lure them and their children into sin. God’s words to them for parenting and life apply just as much to us today as ever.

This question betrays a misunderstanding that could prove critical to spiritual maturity. The Holy Spirit is a person, so the real question is: "Should I be filled with the person of the Holy Spirit?" To answer that question, you first need to know who He is.

Jesus defined the person of the Holy Spirit and His work. There is no greater source of information regarding the Spirit than the Master's own words.

For anyone who truly knows God, the question of whether He heals is absurd. Circumstantial evidence, however, suggests that He does not always heal in the same way or timing. Perhaps a more relevant question might be: When and why does God not heal?

It would be presumptuous to expect to answer that question fully. However, Scripture clearly indicates at least some conditions in which God does not, even will not, heal.

The crises of man are not new. There is nothing "more secular" about the world today than there has ever been, in any age or society. The world's hostility toward God has not changed since the days of Adam.

Living out your faith in a secular world does not depend on the approval or disapproval, acceptance or persecution, or health or disease of the world. The issue at stake centers not on the depth of the world's depravity but on the depth of your personal desire for God.