“How I love Your teaching! It is my meditation all day long.” – Psalm 119:97 (HCSB) What does it mean to meditate on God’s word? It is not simply studying a passage to know the meaning better. It is not simply memorizing a Bible verse. So what is meditation? I...
October 26, 2016 “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” – 1 Timothy 4:8 In our country, there is an entire culture built around physical fitness. There are gyms of all...
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.” – Ephesians 6:14 In the book of Ephesians, Paul teaches us to be prepared for spiritual warfare by using the illustration of a Roman soldier preparing for battle. One of the aspects of that preparation is to put...
“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain...
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” – Isaiah 43:2 When we come across passages...
“You will keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependent on You, for it is trusting in You.” – Isaiah 26:3 (HCSB) I often hear talk in Christian circles about “trusting God,” but what exactly do we mean when we say that? Often, what we mean is that we...
“But You, God my Lord, deal kindly with me because of Your name; deliver me because of the goodness of Your faithful love.” – Psalm 109:21 (HCSB) Psalm 109:21 teaches us a very important lesson about prayer; notice the psalmist does not offer any reason from within himself why these...
“Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in...
“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” – Luke 6:45 Do you want to be...
“Look up to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its inhabitants will die in like manner. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never be shattered.” – Isaiah 51:6...
“All the ways of a man seem right to him, but the LORD evaluates the motives.” – Proverbs 21:2 (HCSB) We have before us today a thought that is both sobering and encouraging. It is sobering because each of us has been guilty of actions that have an appearance of...
“For we are consumed by Your anger; we are terrified by Your wrath. You have set our unjust ways before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.” – Psalm 90:7-8 (HCSB) I believe we have often seen our attempts to share the Good News of Jesus Christ...
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.” – Genesis 2:2 In Genesis 2:2 we have the perfect example of how we are called to live and work here on earth. When it comes...
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” – John 21:16 Over the years, there have been many times that I have heard the sentiment that goes something like...
“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him,...
“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” – Psalm 118:24 Psalm 118:24 is probably one of the most misused scriptures of our day. We often use this verse to say, “Today is a day that God has created, so we should...
“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” – Acts 4:13 One of the things that can often keep us from sharing Jesus with others is our...
“Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf! He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot– come, let us rejoice in him.” – Psalm 66:5-6 The Psalms are rich with examples of the beauty, scope, and power of...
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” – Ephesians 6:12 It is no secret that we all fight battles each and every day....
“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” – Psalm 4:8 I don’t know about you, but I often experience days where I am not at peace. We are easily susceptible to worries, fears, discontentment, anger, and a whole host...
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Don’t consider yourself to be wise; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. This will be healing...
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 This verse has been used and misused to preach a lot of different kinds of “freedom.” However, when we look at it in context, we see that it is...
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” – Isaiah 40:28 All of us struggle with a lack of faith at times....
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23 Galatians chapter 5 explains in detail the contrast between living in our sinful nature and living in the Spirit of God. Essentially, it...
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” – Psalm 27:4 If you could make...
“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” – Galatians 5:13 It is true that life is often unfair. Bad things happen to good people, and many Godly men and women suffer unjustly....
“Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life– a ransom for many” – Matthew 20:27-28 In God’s system, the greatest person is the one with the biggest...
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” – James 3:13 The idea of wisdom contains action. Wisdom is not simply knowledge about something or the ability to understand. Wisdom is not truly...
“A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.” – John 10:10 People are often hesitant about giving their life to Christ because they worry that He will take away so much of what...
“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some...