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.

Entertaining temptation is like playing with fire: no one gets out without getting burned. The Bible gives us specific instructions on resisting the temptation of sexual sin. The devil will always try to lure us with tempting thoughts in order to distract us, and in those moments it's as important as ever that we go to God in repentance and receive His forgiveness.

Have you ever looked at the Bible and thought it was like reading a foreign language?! That's why discipleship is such an important part of our spiritual development. We all need people along the way who can help us to connect the dots of Scriptural truth -- and in turn, we need to be those people for new believers in faith.

Jesus was the ultimate example of what it means to put love into action. He humbled Himself to be a servant in the most significant ways, including doing the job of washing dirty feet and serving someone who He knew would betray Him. If we want to follow Christ, then it means serving regardless of who we're called to serve or how messy the job might be.

Whether it's our job, our house, or even the situations we face on a regular basis, it's so easy for us to become discontent with our circumstances. But we're not where we are by random chance -- we're there by God's design. Instead of focusing on our location all the time, let's ask Him how He wants to use us in the very places where He's put us.

Scripture tells us that one day, all of our thoughts and our actions will be judged and rewarded accordingly in eternity. We're saved through faith in Jesus Christ, but that doesn't lessen our responsibility to live obedient lives that glorify God in the process.

There are people around the world who have been persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Some may suffer the loss of a job or a reputation -- others suffer the loss of their own lives. But following Jesus means being prepared to do whatever it takes to proclaim His love, because He was willing to die for us first.