Did you know Jesus has secured a place in heaven just for you? He has, and all it takes is a prayer to accept this salvation for you. If you want to accept Jesus as your Savior right now, pray this simple, yet life transforming prayer: Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I repent of those sins and look to you Lord. I believe you came to this earth, died and rose again. Come into my heart Jesus, as I give my life to you and accept you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.
If you truly meant that in your heart, welcome to the family! 
May I suggest, if you do not have a church home, pray and the Holy Spirit will guide you to the right church.
If you aren’t sure what Bible you need (because there’s many “imposters” out there), Msg me and I’ll send you one. Good doctrine is vitally important in learning Gods Word, correctly.
Read the Word and pray everyday.
The more you read Gods Word, the more you will fall in love with it’s Author. This is undoubtedly the most important decision you will ever make this side of heaven.
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Gift cards are popular items for the Christmas season, yet a lot of people have unused gift cards lying around. In fact, a 2021 study revealed that the average person in the United States has about $116 in unspent gift cards.
The Bible says that God has “given to us exceedingly great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4 NKJV). Yet God’s promises are a little like Christmas gift cards. All too often, they go unclaimed.
God keeps His promises. There are more than 500 passages in the Old Testament pointing to the arrival of the Messiah. These passages prophesied how He would be born and where He would be born. They speak of His crucifixion, His resurrection, and more.
Just as surely as there are hundreds of promises in the Old Testament pertaining to the birth of Jesus, there are also many promises in the Bible pertaining to the return of Jesus. Jesus said that He would come again.
So don’t hesitate to hang on to God’s promises. That’s what Mary did after the angel Gabriel appeared to her and said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35 NKJV).
Gabriel was telling Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah. Her life was about to change in one of the most amazing ways imaginable. And she was responsive to what God wanted to do through her.
When Mary asked the legitimate question of how God’s plan in her life was going to happen, Gabriel responded, “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37 NKJV).
Maybe you’re currently facing what appears to be an insurmountable obstacle. You have a problem that’s so big you don’t know how it can ever be resolved. God is bigger than your problem. With God, nothing’s impossible.
- Greg Laurie
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Parents have named more daughters after Mary, the mother of Jesus, than after any other woman who has ever lived. Mary was such a special woman for so many reasons. She was the only person who was present at both the birth and death of Jesus Christ.
Jesus entered the world as Mary’s Son and left the world as her Savior. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb and then came into her heart.
Mary was living in Nazareth when the angel Gabriel arrived with a message for her. Now, Nazareth was renowned for its wickedness. Cities have a reputation for certain things. For example, we sometimes refer to Rome as the eternal city. We know Paris as the city of lights. New York is the city that never sleeps. And people call Las Vegas sin city.
In Mary’s day, they could have used the same nickname for Nazareth. Roman soldiers stopped in Nazareth on their way to somewhere else. And because they spent a lot of time there, more than one young woman in Nazareth found herself pregnant.
In fact, when Philip told Nathanael that Jesus was from Nazareth, Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46 NLT).
So, there in that godless place, Mary was a godly girl living a godly life. Her example serves as a reminder that it’s possible for us to resist sin. The Bible tells us, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT).
Maybe you find yourself surrounded by nonbelievers, and you’re wondering how you can live a godly life amidst them. You can do it with God’s power, just as Mary did.
- Greg Laurie
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When I go Christmas shopping for my wife, I don’t do it out of a sense of obligation. I enjoy it. I don’t do it because I’m afraid of how she will respond if I don’t get her a gift. I’m not motivated by fear; I’m motivated by love.
When you love someone, you naturally want to do things that you know will please them. The same is true of our relationship with Christ. True friends of Jesus obey Him because they want to, because they love Him.
The apostle Paul wrote, “Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life” (2 Corinthians 5:14 NLT).
When we love the Lord, it is our delight, our privilege, to do what He commands.
People are bound to disappoint us, to let us down. But we have a friend to whom we can tell our secrets because He will never betray our confidence. We have a friend who will also share His secrets with us. We have the ultimate friend in Jesus Christ.
Not only does Jesus want to be our Savior and Lord, but He also wants to be our friend.
If you are not the friend of God, then you are His enemy. The Bible says that if you love the ways of the world, then you’re God’s enemy. In fact, Jesus said, “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me” (Matthew 12:30 NLT).
Maybe you’ve never known how it’s like to have a living, daily, continuous relationship—even friendship—with Jesus Christ. Maybe you hadn’t realized that such a thing was even possible.
Jesus is a friend who will stand by you no matter what. And He’s willing to come into your life, forgive your sins, and extend His friendship to you. But you must respond.
- Greg Laurie
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Salvation is in the name of Jesus alone: “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11–12; see also John 14:6; 20:31; Acts 2:21; Joel 2:32; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 1 John 2:12).
Forgiveness of sins is received through the name of Jesus.
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A while ago, I read a story about a teenager from England who kept a Great Black Emperor scorpion as a pet. The teen had a habit of giving the scorpion, whom he named Twiggy, a goodnight kiss.
But one night, much to the teenager’s surprise, Twiggy stung his owner on the lip. Then Twiggy jumped into his mouth and stung him again. As a result, he was hospitalized.
Clearly, he underestimated the nature of that creature.
We can be like that when it comes to sin in our lives. Most people fall into sin by entertaining what they see as small sins. But those so-called small sins snowball into big ones.
We might say, “It’s a little thing. It really won’t do any harm.” So we will commit a little sin in our estimation, something that doesn’t seem significant. And then we’re shocked when it turns around and bites us, when it hurts us. We can’t believe that it happened.
But what were we expecting?
If the Bible tells us to stay away from a certain thing, even if we don’t think it’s significant, then we obey, because God is looking out for us. If He tells us not to do something, that means it will hurt us if we do it. And if He tells us to do a certain thing, that means it will help us if we do it. We need to learn to trust Him.
It’s not for us to second-guess God or edit His Word. Who are we to do that?
Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14 NKJV). He didn’t say, “You are My friends if you do whatever you’re personally comfortable with or find easy.”
Thus, we must obey God in all things, big or little, because the little compromises in life lead to big compromises.
- Greg Laurie
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“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.”
- Matthew 9:9
Can you think of someone you could never imagine converting to Christianity, being at the church, singing a worship song, reading the Bible, and following the Lord? The Bible tells the story of a man no one ever expected to later become a Christian. His name was Matthew, and he had an unexpected and instantaneous conversion. In a moment, he left his world as he knew it.
Why was there such an immediate change in Matthew? As we look at his life, we don’t find any record of Jesus having any conversations with him before calling him. We don’t know of any time when Matthew would have seen a miracle performed by the Lord Himself.
Yet Matthew responded to two words that forever changed his life: “Follow me.” And Matthew did just that.
Matthew was in a profession that very few liked. He was a tax collector, a man who was working for Rome and had betrayed his own people. But Matthew understood the significance of Jesus’ words. And when Jesus told Matthew to follow Him, Matthew was prepared to do just that.
In the original Bible language, “Follow me” means “Walk the same road with me.” It’s also in the present tense, commanding the beginning of an action and its habitual continuation. Putting it all together, Jesus was saying, “I am asking you, even commanding you, to follow me each and every day.”
Jesus is saying the same to us right now. Let’s walk the same road together. Let’s take this journey through life together. Let’s finish what we’ve started. So many begin following Christ with great excitement, only to give up later. Yet, the apostle Paul talked about finishing his race with joy (see Acts 20:24 NKJV). That should be the objective of every follower of Jesus.
- Greg Laurie
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Have you ever seen something so incredible that you couldn’t believe your eyes? That’s how the disciples felt when they saw Jesus after His resurrection. They thought they would never see or talk to Him again. But He was alive, and He appeared to them, still carrying on His body the marks of His crucifixion. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, outside the tomb. After that, He appeared to Simon Peter. Then He appeared to Thomas, who, up to that point, had been doubtful that Jesus was alive.
Jesus also appeared to two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. Then He appeared again to Simon Peter by the Sea of Galilee. On another occasion, He appeared to 500 people at one time. For 40 days, Jesus was showing up here and there. He would turn up with words of encouragement for the disciples.
John wrote, “We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life” (1 John 1:1 NLT).
Before the disciples could change the world, Jesus needed to change them. The same is true for us. Before we can change the world, Jesus must change us.
If you want someone to follow Jesus, you must be a follower of Jesus yourself so you can show him or her what a living, breathing Christian looks like. Would you take voice lessons from someone who sings off key, or would you hire a fitness trainer who’s out of shape?
A Christian is a walking epistle written by God and read by people. The apostle Paul wrote, “Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example” (Philippians 3:17 NLT).
As I’ve often said, you’re the only Bible that some people will ever read. Be a good example.
- Greg Laurie
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Alice Cooper was at one time the most famous and successful rock star in the world. His given name was Vincent Furnier, but as a young man, he joined a rock band and changed his name to Alice Cooper.
At his concerts, Alice Cooper was known for spectacle and for being a dark figure. In reality, though, much of it was only an act. Over time, however, Vincent Furnier turned into the character Alice Cooper. He became an alcoholic and then a drug addict.
The amazing thing was that Alice Cooper was the son of a pastor, and he was running away from God. He ran so far away from God that people thought he had reached the point of no return. But God wasn’t done with him. One day, when he was overdosing on cocaine, he looked into a mirror and thought he saw blood coming out of his eyes. He was hallucinating.
Alice Cooper cried out to God. He then took the softball-sized rock of cocaine that he had and flushed it down the toilet. God heard his prayer and turned him around. Since then, he has been walking with the Lord. He has been clean and sober for many years. Today, he seems to be addicted only to golf. He loves to get out on the course. But his faith in Jesus Christ reminds us that no one is beyond God’s reach.
Maybe you’ve made some bad decisions in your life. Maybe because of some things you’ve done, you’re thinking, “It’s too late for me.” But it’s never too late for you. God can turn your life around, just as He turned Alice Cooper’s life around. God can forgive your sin. God can refresh you, replenish you, and revive you. But you must turn to Him.
- Greg Laurie
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The problem with the two disciples on the Emmaus Road was they were trying to get away from the cross. The Crucifixion was not a beautiful sight; it was a horrific one.
Jesus’s body was so traumatized that you wouldn’t have been able to tell He was a man. In other words, Jesus was unrecognizable. The two disciples on their way to Emmaus afterward never thought they would see Jesus alive again. So, they wanted to get away from that bloody cross.
But every step away from the cross is a step in the wrong direction. We don’t want to run away from the cross; we need to run to it.
That simply means come to God. Realize that Jesus died on the cross for a reason. He died there for our sin. And as I’ve often said, it wasn’t nails that held Him to the cross; it was His love for you and me.
That’s because there was no other way to satisfy the righteous demands of the holy God whom we all have offended. But Jesus was uniquely qualified to bridge this gap. So with one hand He took hold of sinful humanity, and with the other hand He took hold of a holy God. They drove nails through those hands, and He died in our place.
Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV). God the Father not only sent His Son to the cross, but His Son willingly went.
Jesus went because He knew this was the only way for us to be forgiven of our sin, for us to know that we’ll go to Heaven when we die. That’s why He made such a great sacrifice.
- Greg Laurie
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In the gospel of Luke there’s a story about two disciples who were leaving Jerusalem. They were devastated because Jesus had been crucified, and in their minds that was the end of the story. Then suddenly the resurrected Jesus joined them on the road to Emmaus, but they didn’t know it was Jesus.
He basically turned to them and said, “Hey, guys, why the long faces? What’s going on?”
One of them replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days” (Luke 24:18 NLT).
Jesus asked them to tell Him about it, so they began telling Jesus about Jesus. Then as they were walking along, Jesus rebuked them and said, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” (verses 25–26 NLT).
So Jesus told them about all the Old Testament passages that pointed to His death.
I would love to have been around for that conversation. As they reached the end of their journey, Jesus acted as though He would keep going, so the two disciples invited Him to stay. It was only when they sat down to eat and Jesus blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to them that they realized it was Him. And then He disappeared.
Afterward they said, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” (verse 32 NLT).
Maybe today you’re disappointed with God. You feel as though He has let you down, that He has failed you. But disappointment is His appointment. God wants to restore your faith today, and He can use His Word to bring you back to spiritual life again.
- Greg Laurie
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Though we often change, God never does.
The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Exodus 34:6
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People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
Show love today, live contrary to this cold world. Have a heart like Jesus.
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"Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it."
—Proverbs 22:6
As parents, we have a direct influence on our children. Our children are watching us. They listen to what we say, but more importantly, they watch what we do.
Let’s say, for instance, that you drink in front of your children. Then one day your children have a problem with alcohol, and you wonder why. Or perhaps you fight with your spouse in front of your children and maybe even ask them to take sides in the argument (which is always a horrible idea). Then you’re shocked when your adult children have the same issues in their marriages.
When the Bible talks about the sins of the parents being visited on the children, it isn’t describing a mystical curse that is passed on from generation to generation. Rather, it’s simply talking about the repeated behavior of sin that can be passed on.
For example, if parents are divorced, chances are far greater that their children will end up divorced. However, if both parents attend church regularly, chances are far greater that their children will attend regularly as well.
So, not only can we pass sins on to our children, but we can pass blessings on to them as well. And it’s a lot easier to build a child than to repair an adult. Be the godly example. Be the godly leader. Read the Bible to your children before they go to bed at night. Pray with them. As you do that, you’re modeling what it is to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Live a life with Christ that will make your children desire the same relationship with Him.
- Greg Laurie
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Moses was fed up. And he was in no mood to speak to some rock.
In the past, God had directed Moses to go to a rock and strike it with his staff, and then water gushed out. But this time the God didn’t tell him to do that. He told Moses to just speak to the rock, and water would flow out to satisfy the thirst of the people and the livestock.
Moses, however, wanted to hit something. Therefore, he didn’t speak to the rock. He didn’t even whack it once like he had before. No, he said to the people, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10 NKJV). Then he lifted his staff, struck the rock twice, and water came pouring out of it.
There are a number of things that went wrong here, but clearly Moses hadn’t done what the Lord called him to do. As a result, God said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them” (verse 12 NKJV).
In the same way, we can’t select the things in the Bible that we want to follow and then ignore the rest. Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14 NKJV).
Someone might say, “Well, I like this part of the Bible and that other part of the Bible, but this one passage of Scripture? I don’t know if I agree with that.”
However, Jesus didn’t say, “You are My friends if you do whatever you find easy or personally agree with.” By the way, who are we to offer an opinion on the Bible? It is absolute truth. The Bible is right, and we need to align our thoughts with what the Scripture teaches.
-Greg Laurie
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