The term "coup de grace" in French means to deal a deathly blow for the purpose of ending suffering. The ultimate coup de grace took place when God chose to wipe out all of our sin in a single blow -- and in doing so, bridged the gap for us to have a new life in Him. When Jesus died on the cross, He offered a death blow to our sinful nature forever. All we have to do is accept His gift.

Scripture is filled with examples of God keeping His promises, time after time. Yet we so often doubt that He'll keep His promises to us. When God makes a promise, it's up to us to walk in faith and expectation that He'll fulfill it -- not live in disobedience and doubt.

Scripture teaches us that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ; He's gone before us to prepare our forever home, and the way we live here is revealed there. If we spend our time on earth focused on the treasures of this world, then our treasure dies with us. But if we live focused on eternity, worldly riches cease to matter in light of living surrendered fully to Him.

Old Testament law declares that when you harvest a field, anything left over once the harvesting process is finished should be left in the field for the orphans, the widows, and the poor. So why do we tend to hoard what God has given to us? We've been blessed with so much, but with that comes a responsibility and an opportunity for us to turn around and bless others who are in need.

Have you ever heard the saying, "When one sin is defended, it becomes two sins"? Just because our culture deems sinful behavior to be acceptable, doesn't change the fact that it's still sin. The Bible is clear about what it defines as sin, and as followers of Christ, it's up to us to take a stand and speak biblical truth in love -- no matter how hard it might be.

We live in a culture that's not only made sex outside marriage acceptable -- it's made sex outside marriage the norm. The world tells us that the purpose of sex is for mere enjoyment without boundaries, but God tells us He created it for a special purpose, to be experienced within the covenant of marriage. Scripture's always been clear and consistent about God's design, and our response to His Word should be the same -- unwavering and unchanging, no matter what other people say or think.

As Christians, it's our responsibility to take a stand against sin in our nation. The world is getting increasingly comfortable with things that go against God -- and too many are staying quiet. Yes, we need to get involved in choosing our leaders, but it has to go beyond that; now's the time for us to speak out boldly and stand up for what’s right.

The way we spend our money shows who -- or what -- we worship. It's easy to be selfish when it comes to our finances, but our perspective changes when we recognize that everything we have comes from God first. And when we live like money was never ours to begin with, we wind up spending it differently -- as a tool to bless others and to glorify Him.

We want God to use us to accomplish His work -- we just don't want to experience the trials that He uses to prepare us for that work. If we spend our lives running from tough times, we'll never be strengthened and refined to do great things, but we can choose instead to arm ourselves with Scripture and to face the trials head-on when they inevitably come our way.

Before God can use us to impact others, we first need to go to Him for wisdom in using what He's given us. Part of being a follower of Christ is allowing Him to call the shots in every area of our lives -- including our money. When we seek His will first in our finances, He not only blesses us, but He blesses others through us.