God’s Dwelling
When King Solomon had completed construction on the most magnificent, costly and beautiful edifice Israel had ever seen, he admitted during his dedicatory prayer that their new and expansive house of worship was far too…
Devotionals
Mike Fabarez consistently promotes a biblical worldview in a culture bombarding us with a “whatever-makes-you-happy” philosophy. Pastor Mike’s weekly devotionals direct our attention to Christ so we can make Him the “focal point” of our week.
Perfection
It has been observed that our insatiable appetite for what is perfect should be a clue that this world is not our home. Who can argue with the fact that we all spend plenty of time and effort imagining and pursuing flawless realities that…
Biblical Tension
It has been rightly said that we should never use biblical truths in unbiblical ways. We make this costly error at times without knowing it. We may be hailing some aspect of God’s word with a resolute focus while unwittingly beginning to utilize that affirmation to deny some other forthright teaching of Scripture. Take for instance our confidence in the sovereignty of God, which is of course a…
Self Examination
The Bible often reminds us to not forget. It tells us to hang on to what we’ve learned and to build on the gains that we’ve made in the Christian life. The goal is not to be nostalgic, but to be sure to “live up to what we have already attained” (Phil.3:16) “remembering what we’ve received and heard” so that we can “obey it” (Rev.3:3). This requires purposeful…
Money
Most of us at, one point or another, have said in frustration “I hate money!” While that may sound better than the alternative which is prohibited in Scripture (1Tim.6:10), it is obviously not how God would have us live. God knows we will have to…
Bible Reading
When God is at the center of our theology and Christ is at the head of our lives we begin to understand the Bible as it was intended to be understood. Approaching Scripture as God’s self-disclosure instead of our tool for self-improvement will undoubtedly open up an entirely new experience of Bible study. It is not hard to see the extreme difference
Christmas Forgiveness
In this season of giving and receiving gifts, let us never lose our focus on the incomparable grace that was bestowed on us when God decided to give us everything that was needed to free us from the consequences of our sins through the life and death of Jesus Christ. It would seem only right…
Christmas Plan
Christmas was required in God’s plan because the righteous life he requires was not attained by Adam or any of his fallen descendants. God, prompted by grace, chose to fulfill the holy human standard himself. The incarnate Deity chose to live the life we should have lived – the perfect childhood, the spotless…
Christmas Giving
The relationship of Christmas with gift-giving may be bemoaned by many, but the connection is a biblical one. I am not referring to the crazed run through the mall in late December or the White Elephant gift exchange at the office party, but the concept of generously…
Pagan Christmas?
There are several modern-day Gnostics who, in the name of Christ, seek to dissuade us from celebrating the birth of Jesus each December. They go to great lengths to enlighten us regarding the pagan associations of the winter solstice, the worship of Druid gods, and idolatry…
Joyful Thanksgiving
Psalm 96 calls us to “Sing to the Lord” (Ps.96:1a). Regardless of our present pains or disappointments, the Bible assumes that if we are recipients of his grace and mercy, we have a lot to sing about. And the focus should not only be historical (i.e. what God did for us in years past), but our attention should also be on…
Grace
God’s grace is the theme of the New Testament and yet with all this scriptural emphasis it seems we are still slow to rightly understand it. We either tend to think that it is some kind of extra credit that adds to our goodness, thus making us acceptable to God. Or we secretly tend to believe it is a “get out of jail free” card that allows us to dabble in sin without consequences. Both are obviously a…
Worship Always
The suffering of Job was intense. To bury all of your children after a catastrophic storm is doubtless a devastating pain that would cause many to shake their fist at God. Instead, as you know, Job did not. He did take on the ancient near-Eastern sign of a person in…
Truth
Truth is not always popular. Depending on the environment, statements that reflect absolute truth can be downright offensive to many. That is one reason the Bible instructs us to make sure our hearts are centered on pleasing God even before we open our mouths. We need to keep in mind the ultimate goal of our conversation so we don’t get entangled in personal…
Privileged Access
The priests of the Old Testament held a special and privileged position among their contemporaries. They lived as those who were granted an exceptional depth of access to God’s presence and God’s blessings. As such, they were held to a higher standard as compared…
Passing It On
The Bible has much to say about our responsibility to pass on our spiritual gains to those who will be here when we are gone. This is more than a parent’s responsibility to teach their kids the Bible. It is much broader and much deeper than simply communicating biblical data to children. In Scripture, the call…
Real Beauty
If only we were as concerned with our spiritual beauty, as people in our culture are with their external attractiveness. Unfortunately, like the world, we often fail to value what God finds attractive. The kudos received for losing a few pounds or getting a hair cut are seemingly more gratifying than the benefits of a heart strengthened by grace or a character fortified with patience. But you can be sure…
Fear of Man
Proverbs 29:25 says that the “fear of man will prove to be a snare.” Unfortunately, this is a trap that catches us often. While it may be hard to resist, the Bible tells us that a life constrained by the fear…
God’s Involvement
Some say that those of us who do not believe that God continues to regularly suspend natural law in our presence the way he did through the apostles and prophets in Scripture, somehow “put God in a box” or seek to diminish his work in the world. But if you think it through…
Rejection
Rejection hurts. And unfortunately our Christianity increases the likelihood that we will encounter it more often. Part of the cost of “taking up our cross” and “following Jesus” is the harsh reality of “bearing the disgrace he bore” (Heb.13:13). As Jesus himself said: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (Jn.15:18). It is a vain hope…
Prayer and Peace
Prayer and peace – they go hand in hand. If we want to retain the peace that “transcends all understanding” then we need to pray. God’s instructions are profoundly simple: if we want to be anxious for nothing, we must…
Courage
It takes increasing amounts of courage these days to stand up for what is true and right. Mocking Christianity and God’s commands is mainstream in the media, modern art and popular literature. This should not come as a surprise. God’s word foretold the escalating darkness and mounting…
The Pursuit of Holiness
“The pursuit of happiness” is certainly our heart’s default position. Every day we, by nature, want to experience feelings of pleasure, gladness and enjoyment. Unfortunately, at the present time, we live in a corrupted world, encased in corrupted bodies, pitted against a very powerful corrupted enemy who is bent on
Injustice
Unfortunately, this side of heaven we will all experience a lot of injustice – much of it personal. In this fallen world we can count on being falsely accused, mistreated, misquoted and maligned. Fortunately, none of it escapes…
Life Perspective
Do you long to see Christ face to face (1Cor.13:12)? Do you truly feel your citizenship is in another world (Phil.3:20)? Have you laid up sufficient treasure in heaven so that your hope is really set on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (Mt.6:20; 1Pt.1:13b)? If so…
Death
It is a popular platitude for people to say that “death is simply a part of life.” But in reality nothing could be more antithetical to life than death. From a biblical perspective, death is an intrusive and disruptive enemy
Historic Truth
Some chide us for “checking our brains in at the door” when we come to a place of trusting in Christ for forgiveness and new life. But that is not how Christianity is presented to us in Scripture. The New Testament evangelists never asked anyone to stop thinking, stop inquiring or stop analyzing the claims of Christ and the Apostles. No one was asked to just…
God’s Forgiveness
Our theology regarding justification is often revealed by how we embrace God’s forgiveness when we sin. On the one hand, we may say that we heartily affirm the orthodox doctrine of justification by faith (i.e. that we are accepted as perfectly righteous before God by our trust in Christ, without the aid of good works), but on the other hand…
Being Thankful
Being thankful to God is the essence of worship. To be specific and thoughtful about our gratitude is not only well-received by the Godhead, it is expected (Lk.17:17). We owe him nothing less than to catalog our blessings and prompt our own hearts to…
Biblical Preaching
A consistent intake of challenging biblical preaching is essential for your spiritual growth. The Bible tells us that we cannot be the maturing and discerning Christians God wants us to be unless we are ingesting thoughtful biblical exposition when we gather. Peter equated biblical preaching to…