When the world is trying with all its might to convince you to turn to the world for comfort, it's a test of sorts to see if you’ll give up trusting God in that moment. Today, Pastor Ricky will demonstrate how the good kings of Judah, especially Hezekiah, turned immediately to the Lord in crisis. Instead of being swept away with fear and doubt, he sought the Lord. This is a call to you today. Don't pull away from God in scary moments. Instead, moment by moment, turn to Him. Remember His works and who He is.
Behold - Lean In, Part 1
In a moment of crisis, where will you turn? The world will try to convince you to give up on God and to join them. The world is against God and pressures you as a believer to turn away from trusting God, the only thing to trust is the tangible invisible things, not God or His promises. Yet today, Pastor Ricky will challenge you to recognize the lies you hear in the world and remember that God is the only solid thing that can hold you together. He is the only source of hope and strength and the only one worthy of trust.
Behold - We Have a Strong City, Part 2
Everything you experience in this world has the power to cause despair and hopelessness if you allow it to. However, there is a better way to experience life's big and little circumstances. If you can, bit by bit, daily learn to trust the Lord. He will prove himself faithful and trustworthy. Pastor Ricky will encourage you today with many reasons why God is worthy of your trust in all circumstances. If you remember that He's never been defeated by the enemy and is for your good, you can continue to grow in trust of Him.
Behold - We Have a Strong City, Part 1
When you face attack, or pain, or desperation, where do you turn for peace and security? Often people think that inward peace and safety from the outside will come from money, friends, or knowledge but you can't find it with some desired results or a certain feeling. Pastor Ricky will explain today that you can only find peace and security in the strong city, dwelling with God through faith in Jesus where the walls are your salvation and Jesus is your righteousness to enter. Don't turn to anyone or anything else.
Behold - The Death of Death, Part 2
Life is hard. Death is tragic. Because in the garden man chose to sin, death entered creation yet thankfully that's not the end of the story. Today, Pastor Ricky will encourage you with the hope available to those that have put their faith in Jesus. He, as God, paid the penalty for sin and death is no longer victorious. Because He rose from the dead, He conquered death and took away its power. Because of His resurrection, you can have hope in the eternity to come. All pain will be gone. Every tear will be wiped away.
Behold - The Death of Death, Part 1
People react to the reality of death in different ways. Some may avoid the topic altogether, some try to numb themselves against it, and some fight. Death is a reality that God never intended for humanity. Pastor Ricky reminds you today that death reigns in the world because of sin. Humans chose to rebel and the consequence of sin is death, individual physical death and spiritual death apart from God. His justice demands it. However, because of the sacrifice of Jesus, death is swallowed up forever in the end.
Behold - The Valley of Vision, Part 2
Admitting you're wrong and confessing sin is a difficult thing to do but as God disciplines you and you recognize areas of sin in your life causing this discipline, you may desire to repent. However, as Pastor Ricky will point out today, trying hard to change, working to be better, will not work. It's not good enough and you're not strong enough to change on your own. The true way to salvation, forgiveness, and change is through Jesus. He alone can do what you can't. Through the Holy Spirit, He will transform you.
Behold - The Valley of Vision, Part 1
When you find your way by visual landmarks it's difficult to navigate when the things that you rely on are hidden. You become completely lost. God’s people oriented their life around God for a time but began to lose sight of Him because of turning away and choosing sin. As Pastor Ricky will point out today, they no longer had God as their guide spot and reference point in how to live their lives and they became quite lost. Don't lose sight of your Savior. Frequently, continually orient your life around Jesus.
Behold - Twist Ending, Part 2
There's no source of power on this earth that can ever compare to God and His infinite power, wisdom, and goodness. Pastor Ricky will explain today how God can and will strike down the things that people put their trust and hope in, in this world. But He is harsh for a good purpose. He tears down false security so that you'll turn to Him for security. He strikes down earthly wisdom so that you’ll trust Him entirely. He can take away everything in your life that draws you away in order for you to recognize that He is all you need.
Behold - Twist Ending, Part 1
Political power, national strength, or a good economy can cause a country or an individual to feel invincible. These things give a false sense of security, strength, and comfort. But today, Pastor Ricky will challenge you to examine what you put your trust and hope in. Does your joy and stability ebb and flow based on the state of your environment? None of these things have any power and none can save you. God may strike down these false sources of power in your life in order to draw you back to Himself.
Behold - The Kingdom of Self, Part 2
If you live your life seeking your own honor, glory, comfort, and desires you’re building up a kingdom of self, instead of building the kingdom of God. It's satisfying and impressive for a moment but God promises that it will not last. Today, Pastor Ricky will instead encourage you to seek to live your life building up the kingdom of God and glorifying His name instead of your own. God's kingdom is worthy. It alone will last into eternity. So take up your cross, live a sacrificial and humble life to bring honor to Him.
Behold - The Kingdom of Self, Part 1
If God were only just and not loving, all of humanity would be doomed to be eternally separated from Him. The great news however is that Jesus came to earth and took the punishment of humanity’s sin to satisfy God's holy justice. Today, Pastor Ricky will challenge you to now take this good news and make known His deeds and proclaim His glory. Share what He's done in your life and how He's transformed you. This is news that the world needs to hear. It's what God can and will use to bring others to Himself.
Behold - Good News Changes Everything, Part 2
If God were only just and not loving, all of humanity would be doomed to be eternally separated from Him. The great news however is that Jesus came to earth and took the punishment of humanity’s sin to satisfy God's holy justice. Today, Pastor Ricky will challenge you to now take this good news and make known His deeds and proclaim His glory. Share what He's done in your life and how He's transformed you. This is news that the world needs to hear. It's what God can and will use to bring others to Himself.
Behold - Good News Changes Everything, Part 1
There's a spectrum of good news. There can be sort of good news and then there can be really, really good news. The better the news, the more that it changes your life. The news of the cross and resurrection of Jesus is so very good that it'll change your entire life and eternity. Today Pastor Ricky will explain the good news that God's anger has turned away from the sin and rebellion in humanity because of the sacrifice of Jesus. This news has the power to change you from the inside out and transform your life.
Behold - The Once and Future King, Part 2
There is so much brokenness and pain in the world today. Since the first sin in the garden, creation has caused terrible destruction. Yet humans deeply long for a king or power to come in and make things right. Today, Pastor Ricky will explain how Jesus is the king that everyone longs for because He alone is good, powerful, and wise enough to change anything in creation. He’ll judge justly, help the powerless, and destroy all evil and He'll bring true everlasting peace to all of creation.
Behold - The Once and Future King, Part 1
God has created mankind to worship. In true unbroken creation, you were made to worship Him. However, in our broken sinful world, it's easy to long for and worship everything but God. Today Pastor Ricky will challenge you to examine who or what you put as king and priority in your life. The worldly things you trust to secure you, the people you hope will rescue you from pain, and the values you trust to guide you, will all betray you. Only God is worth giving your whole life to. He is good, faithful, and worthy of your devotion.
Behold - Good and Angry, Part 3
When you see the evil and injustice in the world, do you get angry? Anger can be right and appropriate. God doesn't oppose all anger but as Pastor Ricky will warn you today, you must be careful. Humans are sinful and what begins as righteous anger that reflects God’s justice can quickly turn to sin. Even the unrighteous anger in your heart is the same as murder, according to Jesus. As you see evil yes, be angry because it goes against God but keep it in check and don't allow it to fester into sin.
Behold - Good and Angry, Part 2
God created the world good and perfect as a reflection of Himself. He's holy and full of love for His creation. Yet humanity chose to turn away from God to do evil. This spread wickedness to all of creation. Today, Pastor Ricky will explain how it's because of God's holiness and deep love that He responds in anger towards evil. If He didn't respond to sin with anger, He wouldn't be good, He wouldn’t be holy. It’s impossible for Him to be unmoved by sin. He can't do nothing. He must get rid of sin forever.
Behold - Good and Angry, Part 1
Accepting the anger of God presented in the Bible can be a barrier to the unbelieving world. Actually, God’s anger and wrath can even keep believers away from passages explaining this aspect of Him. However as Pastor Ricky will point out today, God will use His anger towards sin to wake up His people and to cause them to return to Him. Because all creation has sinned, His response is anger towards that evil. This anger towards sin proves that He's good. He will not let that which ruins His Creation to forever continue.
Behold - Keep Calm and Carry On, Part 3
All people will eventually have to stand before the Lord and face Him. He will either be your sanctuary or the rock on which you’re smashed. Today Pastor Ricky will explain that if you fear the Lord and trust Him as your Savior, He’ll be your safe sanctuary both now and forever. You have nothing to fear in this world. Put your hope in God, not in the enticing things of the world. He reigns and is in control of all things. Go to the Lord first. Go to the Lord often. Seek Him when your world feels out of control.