“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:4-6 (NIV) God […]
“God also said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from […]
“Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.” Prov 4:25 (NIV) Eyesight is an amazing feature of the human body. God’s creation throughout the earth is awesome to behold whether taking in the sight of the blue sky in the day or the star filled sky at night or observing a […]
“Avoid every kind of evil.” 1 Thess 5:22 (NIV) Have you ever done something that compromised your convictions and broke the heart of God? When you look back on the experience, you still can’t believe that you did such a thing. When you get too close to the edge, you slip down the slippery slope […]
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 (NIV) God has called us to a lifestyle of moral purity. As followers of Jesus Christ, our constant assignment is to keep […]
“Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James 1:15 (NIV) Temptation has a predictable process. James gives uses the metaphor of childbirth to capture the predictable process of temptation. In his letter to the Jews who were scattered outside of Palestine, James […]
“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” James 1:13-14 (NIV) God is holy and God is love. The nature of God will not […]
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Cor 10:13 (NIV) Temptation is an opportunity […]
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!’” Luke 15:17 (NIV) Do you have someone in your life who is currently suffering the consequences of their poor choices? Everything within you wants to shift into rescue mode. […]
“Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.” Matt 8:24 (NIV) Trials have a tendency to sneak up on us like weeds in a flowerbed. We can be living in the land of the familiar and enjoying our daily routine when […]
“As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, ‘How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.’” 1 Sam 1:12-14 (NIV) […]
“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:4 (NIV) Spiritual maturity may involve adversity. The child of God is not exempt from adversity. Often, God will allow adversity to enter our journey in order to move us toward spiritual maturity. God expects us to grow […]
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3 (NIV) Without a test, there is no testimony. God allows trials to come into our lives in order to prove the authenticity of our faith. We are like a […]
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 (NIV) View your trials from God’s perspective. Knowledge is needed to take things apart. Wisdom is needed to put things back together. When your life is coming apart, […]
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3 (NIV) Rejoice is a choice. Living in a fallen world comes at a price. The consequences of sin have rippled throughout our family tree all the way back to […]
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of […]
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.” Eph […]
“So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, ‘Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the […]
“So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them.” Josh 3:14 (NIV) Joshua came face to face with an obstacle that prevented entry into the Promised Land. He was in charge of mobilizing the children of Israel to inherit the land flowing […]
“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’” “And God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you […]
“And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am […]
“They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead–Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” 1 Thess 1:9-10 (NIV) Before you were saved, you were running to sin and running from God. Now […]
“The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia–your faith in God has become known everywhere.” 1 Thess 1:8 (NIV) One of the features of a High School football game is the cheer squad. The cheerleaders seek to engage the fans in the stands in order to motivate them to cheer […]
“And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” 1 Thess 1:7 (NIV) Are you a model to follow? Are you reproducing the life of Christ before a watching world? God has created you, redeemed you, and empowered you to continue the ministry of Jesus on the earth. After Jesus […]
“You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Thess 1:6 (NIV) Paul, Silas, and Timothy modeled Christ before the new believers in Thessalonica to the extent that they were motivated to imitate them. The new believers […]
“For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.” 1 Thess 1:4-5 (NIV) Be intentional in sharing the gospel. Paul, […]
“In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out–until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, […]
“During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was […]
“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalm 23:6 (NIV) You are not home, yet! God has a mission for you to fulfill before He calls you home. Don’t get so focused on your destination that you neglect […]
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Psalm 23:5 (NIV) God is not limited by your limitations. Your overwhelming circumstances do not overwhelm God. The challenges in your environment are not impossible for God. God can see that which you cannot […]