All Scripture references are quoted from the Christian Standard Bible (unless otherwise noted).
January 23, 2019 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 One of the most unfortunate developments...
January 16, 2019 “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joabout with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around...
January 9, 2019 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” – 1 John 5:14-15 It has been...
January 2, 2019 “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,...
December 26, 2018 “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:21-23 Each time the year draws to a close I...
December 19, 2018 “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’” – Luke 2:10 “Merry Christmas!” – Words that we have heard so often that they have lost their significance. Many of us are...
December 12, 2018 “And Mary said ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy...
December 5, 2018 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” – Matthew 7:7-8 Around...
November 28, 2018 “Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.” – Proverbs 37:16-17 We often read passages like Proverbs 37 and come to the conclusion that poverty is righteous...
November 21, 2018 “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” – Psalm 9:1 Thanksgiving is right around the corner. And, obviously, most of us take time during this season to stop and give thanks for the good things...
November 14, 2018 “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 This passage may seem a...
October 31, 2018 “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 My bachelor’s degree is in Music. My specialty was jazz. As I headed...
October 17, 2018 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” – 1 John 3:16 I consider myself to be a loving person. I’m not just talking about the...
October 10, 2018 “For, ‘All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy,...
October 3, 2018 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared...
September 26, 2018 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” – John 16:13 I don’t know how...
September 19, 2018 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:33-34 Today was supposed to be...
September 12, 2018 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it,...
September 5, 2018 “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” – Proverbs 17:22 You don’t have to live very long to understand how your joyfulness or your broken heartedness can affect your entire body. In fact, I’ve learned through my recent injury and...
August 29, 2018 “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.” – Hebrews 13:17...
August 22, 2018 “Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ.” – Ephesians 3:8 We have a very high view of the Apostle Paul, and there is no doubt that he...
August 15, 2018 “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.” – Psalm 118:14 (HCSB) I’ve often joked with my wife about what theme song I would choose if my life were a movie. You can probably think of many good answers to that question...
August 8, 2018 “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” – Psalm 91:1 The shadow of the Almighty is a beautifully multifaceted place of existence. His shadow is a rock that hides us from the searing heat of our striving...
July 25, 2018 “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23 Today I am celebrating 20 years of marriage to my wonderful wife. Over those years I have constantly been amazed...
July 18, 2018 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16.33 The words of Jesus in John 16:33 hold a promise for us, but not the...
July 11, 2018 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 I’m convinced that there are certain...
June 27, 2018 “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep.” – Acts 7:59-60 The book of Acts is full or...
June 20, 2018 “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” – Matthew 19:14 Lately, every news channel and social media outlet is abuzz with the crisis of illegal border crossings and how children...
June 13, 2018 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This...
June 6, 2018 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45 Many churches in America have begun to operate with a secular, corporate mentality. Church leaders are tempted to...