FocalPoint

How often do you hear Christian words and just assume you know what they mean? More than ever, the church needs to go back to the Bible for clear definitions. Visit askpastormike.live to hear Pastor Mike's full answer.

Patience is indeed a core Christian virtue, but unfortunately there are no quick-and-easy steps to acquiring it. Where is God growing your patience right now?

What happens to people born into the Millennial Kingdom? Will they have glorified bodies too? Visit askpastormike.live to hear Pastor Mike's full answer.

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Isaiah 1:18 You go through the portal of honesty and shame and come out the other side the most treasured, fully-forgiven person in the room. That's not pride. That's grace.

‘Member’ in the New Testament means a limb, an actual part of a body. To be a church member is to be a living, working part of that body. That is biblical. But is formal membership biblical? Visit askpastormike.live to hear Pastor Mike's full answer.

If you sense you are growing in Christ, but can’t shake that blue sense of dissatisfaction about your present experience and the state of the world, rest assured your spiritual growth is right on track.

Being filled with the Spirit means doing what you never would on your own. Giving thanks, submitting, serving: none of it is natural. His presence moves you to live the opposite of your flesh. Visit askpastormike.live to hear Pastor Mike's full answer.

God told his exiles to build, plant, and pray for the very city holding them captive. We were never here to build a permanent home. We're waiting for the King whose kingdom will never be overthrown. Until he comes, we seek this city's good and we don't lose heart.

You can't make your child believe. That work belongs to God. Your job is to keep putting the gospel before them, persuade them, and trust God to draw their heart. So stay hopeful and keep praying. Visit askpastormike.live to hear Pastor Mike's full answer.

Praying with others allows us to share one another’s burdens and prompts us to express requests and concerns to God that would have never otherwise crossed our minds. Who is someone you could pray with this week?

When God forgives, He moves you out of the orphanage and into His family. That’s permanent. But inside that secure relationship, there’s still confession to make and fellowship to restore. You don’t get kicked back to the orphanage; you come back to the Father.

Some think they’re being spiritual by feeling terrible after confessing. But David — guilty of the worst — asked God to “restore the joy” (Psalm 51:12). The payment’s made. Real faith isn’t proven by how bad you feel. It’s a forgiven sinner who can actually be glad.

Won’t heaven get boring eventually? Never. We’ll live on a new earth in glorified bodies, energetic and beautiful, with wonderful challenges and real chances to serve God and love each other. No sin, no sickness, nothing goes wrong. Forever won’t get old.

Don’t yawn at the nativity. Ten words: “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Not a spark of the divine — the whole fullness of God, with fingernails and kneecaps, among us. A God you could fully figure out wouldn’t be worth worshiping.

Should you sit in silence to hear from God? Silence has its place, but not so you can hear God. Wanting to hear new things from God lets your impressions and emotions crowd out the one thing you actually need in front of you: the truth of His Word.

The Bible is one of three things: the writings of sincere but deluded men, a deliberate hoax, or the revelation of God. If it’s not God’s word, throw it away and run. If it is, read it, study it, meditate on it. What first convinced you Scripture was more than a human book?

Will you be friends with your husband in heaven? Pastor Mike’s answer is a warm yes. You’ll recognize each other and probably matter more to each other than almost anyone else. The years you shared won’t be lost, and after centuries together, who knows what you’ll build.

“Nobody’s perfect” is how we let ourselves off the hook. But David prayed, “I know my transgressions” (Psalm 51:3) — specific, not vague. That’s the difference between real confession and a shrug. You can’t embrace a forgiveness you’ve never admitted you need.

Should you talk about God every time you see your unsaved brother? If you’ve invested in those conversations, you’re still light and salt. The one reason to back off? When they ask you to stop. Even then, “the welcome mat’s always out.”

There are no quick-and-easy steps to patience. It’s forged through the furnace of extended trials and deprivation. When your joy is deferred, your muscles of endurance are being strengthened and enlarged. Where have you seen God grow something in you through waiting?