When we continue to entertain thoughts of sin, we're living in disobedience to God and we'll inevitably suffer the consequences. But Jesus didn't die for us to stay captive to sin -- He gave His life so we could be set free. What happens when we surrender to Him and live in the freedom that He offers?

Scripture tells us how the Apostle Peter learned what it meant to love and accept all people -- even those society viewed as "unclean". In the same way, we have to learn to look at others through God's eyes. Sometimes it makes us uncomfortable, but we've got to be willing to say "yes" when He calls us to reach out to other people, because they might be depending on us to lead them to Christ.

Regardless of how we see ourselves, God sees us as His own sons and daughters -- people of greatness because Christ made it so. When we look in the mirror, we might not see ourselves as anything special. But when we choose to follow Jesus, we're adopted into God's family, and He instills greatness in us.

We believe God is all-knowing and all-powerful, and that He is more than capable of intervening on our behalf. But He's also invited us into the practice of intercessory prayer. There have likely been more times than we realize that we've been held up by the power of people's prayers; we have a responsibility to obey the Holy Spirit's prompting and lift others up in prayer, too.

Life comes with suffering and tragedy -- they're a package deal in our broken world. But trusting God through our trials allows Him to use them (and us) for His greater good. Let's allow Him to work through us in every circumstance, knowing He is greater than anything we face.

When people encounter Christians, they're coming so close to Christ without even knowing it. We're carriers of God's love to the world -- and that means we have to take advantage of every opportunity to spread the Gospel. Whether or not they choose to be close-minded, we have a responsibility to obey the Lord's leading to share the Good News.

We don't have to do huge things or make grand gestures in order to please God. On the contrary, it's when we sacrifice ourselves for His sake in little, everyday ways that we honor Him. The key is to start small and obey His leading, so that when He prompts us to make bigger changes down the road, we'll be available to be used by Him in amazing ways.

The true mark of a Christ follower is that we bear spiritual fruit that points to God's work in us. When we repent, He takes the "dung" in our lives - our sin - and uses it to fertilize us in a way that produces fruitful impact, which in turn glorifies Him.

When we accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior of our lives, we're born again spiritually. And when we've been born again, we need to be cared for and nurtured like...well...a newborn! When we're new believers, we've got to seek out mature Christians who can disciple us. And when we're mature Christians, we've got to seek out new believers who need help to grow spiritually.

No matter who's in charge of governments here on earth, here's the good news: God is sovereign over all. We may not always understand His reasons for putting those in authority in charge, but Scripture commands us to honor and submit to them. Not only that, but as Christians, it's our job to lift our leaders up in prayer to the Lord.