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The Consecration of Spiritual Power " …by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. —Galatians 6:14 " If I dwell on the Cross of Christ, I do not simply become inwardly devout and solely interested in my own holiness— I become strongly focused on Jesus Christ’s interests. Our Lord was not a recluse nor a fanatical holy man practicing self-denial. He did not physically cut Himself off from society, but He was inwardly disconnected all the time. He was not aloof, but He lived in another world. In fact, He was so much...

It was a damp, cold morning in Rome. Many umbrellas and brightly colored ponchos could be seen as the popemobile circled around St. Peter's Square. Before beginning his catechesis, the Pope gave an encouraging word to the pilgrims. POPE FRANCIS "It's kind of an ugly day, huh? But you are courageous. Congratulations!” Pope Francis explained that the Church is on a path towards the Kingdom of Heaven, a seed that has been in the Earth. He also said that after death, Christians will come face to face with God. POPE FRANCIS "It is beautiful to think of this, to think...

The Focal Point of Spiritual Power " …except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ… —Galatians 6:14 " If you want to know the power of God (that is, the resurrection life of Jesus) in your human flesh, you must dwell on the tragedy of God. Break away from your personal concern over your own spiritual condition, and with a completely open spirit consider the tragedy of God. Instantly the power of God will be in you. “Look to Me…” (Isaiah 45:22). Pay attention to the external Source and the internal power will be there. We lose power...

The Secret of Spiritual Consistency " God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ… —Galatians 6:14 " When a person is newly born again, he seems inconsistent due to his unrelated emotions and the state of the external things or circumstances in his life. The apostle Paul had a strong and steady underlying consistency in his life. Consequently, he could let his external life change without internal distress because he was rooted and grounded in God. Most of us are not consistent spiritually because we are more concerned about being consistent externally....

This week, the Vatican has hosted an international colloquium called Humanum dedicated to “the complementarity of man and woman” and the importance of marriage. Not just limited to Catholics, the conference has included people from many different faiths, including a litany of the United States’ anti-LGBT conservatives. The messages of Humanum have sounded mostly like excerpts from Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, asserting various archaic gender stereotypes as evidence that men and women are uniquely designed to be together — and that no other relationship should ever be considered a marriage. For example, Russell Moore, media-savvy...

In light of what has happened last night in Ferguson, this passage of scripture came to mind: Romans 13:1-7 "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; 4 for it...

Direction of Focus " Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters…, so our eyes look to the Lord our God… —Psalm 123:2 " This verse is a description of total reliance on God. Just as the eyes of a servant are riveted on his master, our eyes should be directed to and focused on God. This is how knowledge of His countenance is gained and how God reveals Himself to us (see Isaiah 53:1). Our spiritual strength begins to be drained when we stop lifting our eyes to Him. Our stamina is sapped,...

Saddleback Church founder speaks at Vatican-hosted Humanum Colloquium.Pastor Rick Warren, Founder and Senior Pastor of Saddleback Church—an evangelical megachurch located in Lake Forest, California—was among the featured presenters at last week's Vatican-hosted Colloquium on the Complementarity of Man and Woman. Also known as the Humanum Colloquium, the conference gathered leaders and scholars from various Christian and non-Christian religions across the globe November 17-19 to examine and propose anew the beauty of the relationship between man and woman in marriage. Warren, one of the most prominent evangelical leaders in the world, is perhaps most widely known as the author of the...

The Distraction of Contempt " Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. —Psalm 123:3 " What we must beware of is not damage to our belief in God but damage to our Christian disposition or state of mind. “Take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Malachi 2:16). Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare to indulge. If we...

On the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, today is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, more commonly known as the Feast of Christ the King. The last Sunday of the liturgical year (next week is Advent!), this feast reminds us that whatever earth powers may do or ask of us, Christ is the true king that should reign in our hearts. Here are 8 things about this awesome feast you may not have known:

Shallow and Profound " Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31 " Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow. This is a sure sign of spiritual pride. We must be careful, for this is how contempt...

“It is Finished!” " I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. —John 17:4 " The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him— something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of...

The Forgiveness of God " In Him we have…the forgiveness of sins… —Ephesians 1:7 " Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through...

Princeton University law professor Robert P. George ROME — So far, Pope Francis’ most significant internal opposition has come from conservative Catholics alarmed over what they see as playing fast-and-loose with Catholic doctrine. This week, however, an all-star lineup of conservatives gathered in Rome has come to the pope’s defense. “I am a conservative politically,” said Princeton University law professor Robert P. George, considered one of America’s most prominent Catholic commentators. “But I’m a Pope Francis Catholic, which is simply to say that I’m a Catholic.” Harvard law professor and former US Ambassador to the Holy See Mary Ann...

“When He Has Come” " When He has come, He will convict the world of sin… —John 16:8 " Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned…” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If...

He is probably known among Catholics almost entirely as the man who last July gave the Holy Father a high five. I happened to meet the Evangelical evangelist James Robison recently at a gathering to discuss a common project, and was surprised when he said, to a group mixing conservative Evangelicals and Catholics (two of us converts), “I’ve met the pope. I love that man.” The high five, which left some Catholics I know muttering, he explained in the Huffington Post a few days afterward. At a three-hour meeting at the Vatican, Francis listened to several Evangelical leaders talk...

Winning into Freedom " If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. —John 8:36 " If there is even a trace of individual self-satisfaction left in us, it always says, “I can’t surrender,” or “I can’t be free.” But the spiritual part of our being never says “I can’t”; it simply soaks up everything around it. Our spirit hungers for more and more. It is the way we are built. We are designed with a great capacity for God, but sin, our own individuality, and wrong thinking keep us from getting to Him. God delivers us...

Reza Aslan—no relation to CS Lewis’ lion of the same name—has made a career out of reinterpreting and often trying to debunk Christian beliefs. Now Salon reports that Aslan has taken to attacking the New Testament, notably the historicity of the four gospels.

Christine Weick, the Christian woman who snuck into the invitation-only Islamic prayer service last Friday afternoon at the Washington National Cathedral, said that although she interrupted the service to proclaim the name of Jesus and tell worshippers inside to stay away from U.S. churches, she loves Muslims. "God has a love for them. He does, 'God so loved the world.' That includes Muslims. I have a love for them. They are a beautiful people. Most of them are very kind," Weick, 50, told The Christian Post Sunday. The service held inside the Episcopal church was meant to promote interfaith prayer...

I began my Catholic journey in a little country town in northern California in the U.S.A. The town was so small that we did not have Mass every Sunday, but a priest used to come once a month if he possibly could to hold Mass in a big public hall. I have both an older and a younger brother. My father had been trained at the University of Santa Clara. As a result, my parents thought it would be a good idea for us to attend a Catholic boarding school. The Jesuits ran the school and I was a student...