Trust in the Lord and do good; Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness. (Psalms 37:3 NASB) Christians love mountaintop experiences, but faithfulness grows in the valley. In the early 1970s, I came to faith in Christ. Speakers came through our Church to share their mountaintop experiences. It appeared they were jumping from one peak […]
01
Nov
Nov
I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. (Psalms 119:15-16 NKJV) We note October 31 as Halloween, but on the last day of October, Protestants celebrate what is known as Reformation Day. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed […]
25
Oct
Oct
I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” (Daniel 3:15 NLT) […]
16
Oct
Oct
Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s Cross. In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the […]
23
Sep
Sep
While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel, one of David’s counselors who lived in Giloh. Soon many others also joined Absalom, and the conspiracy gained momentum. (2 Samuel 15:12 NLT) Ahithophel’s betrayal of David was rooted in David’s sin. David was reaping what he had sown. An insidious web spun […]
Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. (Psalms 90:12 NLT) The brevity of life is a reality, but we often view it as a fantasy. Most deal with the brevity of life by just ignoring it. I had an epiphany a few years back: Gravity wins. You […]
07
Sep
Sep
So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” (2 […]
The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. Jonah 1:1-3a NLT Even God’s discipline […]
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. (Psalms 56: 8 NLT) In times of our greatest need, God can appear to be distant. But he is always there. He is taking note of our sufferings, collecting our tears in […]
19
Aug
Aug
So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech. Ruth 2:3 NLT If Ruth had not found herself in Boaz’s field, as it happened, the whole story of Ruth would not have happened. […]