Religion is like a vaccination. It will give you just enough to keep you from getting the real thing. Religion is our attempt to reach up to God. God desires relationship. Relationship is demonstrated by God coming down to us. The Creator coming down to His created ones. Though we are fallen, flawed, and fall short, […]
During my sophomore year in High School, I worked in a large grocery store. After spending a week outside fetching grocery carts, I was promoted to mopping floors on the inside. A few weeks later I catapulted to the next level, that of being a display clerk. My job was to build captivating displays at the end of each […]
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.” Eph 2:4-5 (NIV) Why would God go to such lengths to rescue us and redeem us? God’s great love and rich mercy […]
Do you remember the Polaroid cameras that produced the photo for you within a minute of you taking the picture? Now we have digital cameras that provide a picture instantly. The old Polaroid cameras were considered state of the art innovation in its time. You would take a picture and then watch it develop right […]
“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” Eph 1:16 (NIV) Is somebody praying for you? I want you to begin to calculate where you would be had it not been for the people who have prayed for you. Your name, your circumstances, and your future have been placed before […]
“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” 1 John 3:17 (NIV) When you pull up to a traffic signal and notice a man holding a cardboard sign saying, “Need food! Please help!” What kind of thoughts […]
“When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.” Gen 22:9-10 (NIV) Is […]
“So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.” Gen 12:4 (NIV) What is keeping you from obeying God? Do you fear the unknown? Are you uncomfortable making a move without having more information? Maybe God has chosen to […]
“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” Eph 1:11-12 (NIV) Has your life ever become […]
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV) While you were sleeping, God was working. He does not sleep. God is always at work. His work is continuous and consistent. Whatever you are facing today, God is […]
“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” Psalms 51:3 (NIV) How’s your memory? Can you remember your favorite vacation from your childhood? Can you remember learning how to swim or braving the high diving board for the first time? Do you remember the day you got your driver’s license? There’s power […]
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.” Psalms 51:1 (NIV) David came to the point of desperation after committing the sins of adultery and murder. God used the prophet Nathan to confront David. Nathan used a parable to personalize David’s sin and then injected the […]
“The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.” Jer 8:20 (NIV) How much time do you have left on earth? How many people will die without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ within the next twenty-four hours? What difference will your life make in light of eternity? Jesus modeled a […]
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Mt. 11:28-30 (NIV) Jesus […]
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Col 3:23-24 (NIV) What motivates you to serve? Do you serve for immediate recognition […]
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Josh 24:15 (NIV) […]
“Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said […]
“Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Acts 2:41 (NIV) As you grow you serve and as you serve you grow. In the midst of your serving, God brings others into the equation. He will bring people into your path to give you an […]
“Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder.” Zeph 3:9 (NIV) As you serve God by serving others you develop spiritual muscles. Spiritual growth produces serving and serving produces spiritual growth. God does not want you […]
“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.” Gen 32:24-25 (NIV) Have you ever wrestled with God? Who won? Wrestling is […]
“So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14:12 (NIV) God sees every moment of your life. God will hear every word you speak today. Each act of kindness will not go unnoticed. Your thoughts, your motives, and your attitude will not escape His attention. God is all knowing […]
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Cor 5:10 (NIV) Everyone will live forever somewhere. What you do with Christ during your brief stay on planet earth will determine […]
“You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless ? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” […]
“‘Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.’” John 4:23-24 (NIV) In His interaction with the woman at the […]
“Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.” Eph 3:8-9 (NIV) Have you […]
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6 (NIV) Often I have heard people insert their belief that “we are all trying to get to the same place, just taking different paths to get there.” Scripture does not affirm that belief. […]
“‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.’” John 10:11 (NIV) Your value is not determined by your portfolio. Your value is not determined by your performance. Your value is not determined by your personality. Your value is determined by what God has done on your behalf. Before […]
“Therefore Jesus said again, ‘I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.’” John 10:7 (NIV) My security in Christ is not based on my feelings. There are days when my emotional security may be threatened. There are days when I just don’t feel safe and secure. Fortunately, my security is not anchored […]
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” John 8:12 (NIV) Everything changed on March 28, 1979, when I received God’s gift of eternal life. Jesus, the light of the world, took […]
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’” John 6:35 (NIV) Jesus had fed the multitudes with a boy’s lunch consisting of two small fish and fives loaves of bread. As S.M. Lockridge used to […]