As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who ...
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you. (James 4:10) So much in the Kingdom is counterintuitive. To live, we must die. To ...
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. (James 3:17) ...
A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his ...
Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, ...
The whole crowd was trying to touch Him because power was coming out from Him and healing them all. Then, looking up at His disciples, ...
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) So often in life, we start a journey of relationship with someone, only ...
The clock was ticking, and we weren’t getting anything done. My son Bradley loves the pool, and this particular morning I had agreed to join ...
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not ...
After looking around at them all, [Jesus] told [the man with a paralyzed hand], “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was ...
But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for ...
Worship is not an event you attend once a week; it’s the lifestyle you practice every day. In reality, everyone, everywhere, at all times is ...
For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a ...
As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, He was standing by Lake Gennesaret. (Luke 5:1) People came for the miracles, ...
How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works ...
“For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12) Guilt is a powerful motivator. It can ...
“Why won’t this stupid thing work???” I had been so blessed when my friends gave me their old Playstation 3 video game console, even though the disc drive didn’t work. I’d heard that replacement parts were available online for cheap, and I’ve been known to do a bit of fix-up …
TOPICS: breaking, love, perspective, sanctification, struggle, trials, victory
Concrete is a bear to get through. I can hear the sound of the surf on the other side. I can smell the salt and feel the sand under my toes but my journey has been blocked. I can see the other side through a little drainage tube cut into …
TOPICS: barriers, journey, perseverance, perspective, progress, walls
“This is why I don’t do hiking.” The day was beautiful, with clear skies over the shadow-filled canyon; the perfect day for an excursion into nature. I was staying at a friend’s house in the hills of northeast Georgia, and Taluah Falls Gorge had been calling my name all week. …
TOPICS: church, heart, hiking, listening, outdoors, perspective
I really, really enjoyed raking the leaves. The air was chilly and dry, with a bright winter sun overhead as the swooshing of the rake filled the silence of the morning. Little piles of crunchy, paper-thin tree droppings started to stack up all around me, and I smiled as it …
TOPICS: attitude, leaves, perspective
Do you ever get the feeling maybe you’re not seeing yourself accurately? “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith …
TOPICS: grace, humility, Luke 8, perspective, pride, psychology, Romans 12
Do you struggle with saying “yes” too much like I do? It has been said many times, in many ways, by many people, yet it is so vital and powerful a principle that it bears repeating. The thing that will bring power and purpose to your life is not saying …
TOPICS: decisions, perspective, priorities, time management
Even in the Bible, nobody gets along all the time. However, disagreement doesn’t have to disrupt our unity and love for one another. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul shares a simple truth that leads to an effective stragety for working through conflict while keeping the …
TOPICS: conflict, disagreement, division, focus, peace, perspective, Philippians 4, thoughts, unity
What do you do when it just hurts? All throughout history the people of God have struggled with hurt, with pain and uncertainty. It’s never easy to walk through the valley of the shadow, especially because we never DO know how long it will last. And yet, it is in …
TOPICS: cross, hope, Jesus, joy, pain, perspective, suffering
Jesus is in the redemption business, even for you. I love questions! Recently a friend of mine asked one in response to my post, God Has Called You. “What if a person is where they are because of mistakes they have made; are they still where God called them?” What …
TOPICS: failure, hope, mistakes, perspective, questions, redemption, sin
It’s hard to see ourselves for who we really are. “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God …
TOPICS: grace, humility, perspective, pride, Romans 12
