“And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.” Matthew 8:24 (ESV) 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 […]
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5 (ESV) 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, you need God’s […]
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3 (ESV) 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 tube of […]
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27 (ESV) The Holy Spirit lives in you to accentuate the experience of God’s peace. Happiness is based on happenstance. If the […]
“At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, ‘As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between […]
“And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, ‘O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, […]
“And Elisha said to her, ‘What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?’ And she said, ‘Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.’” 2 Kings 4:2 (ESV) I want you to think about how far you have come during your life on the earth. […]
“But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.’ Then the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.’” Numbers 13:30-31 (ESV) […]
“And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, ‘God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.’ To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name […]
“At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, ‘As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between […]
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34 (ESV) Aren’t you thankful that there are 365 days in a year, 24 hours in a day, sixty minutes in an hour, and sixty seconds in each minute? Jesus does not […]
“And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, ‘O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer […]
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (ESV) How does faith work? Faith works for you. God is always at work to bring us to the point of recognizing our need […]
“Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.” James 2:20-22 (ESV) Your […]
“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” James 2:19 (ESV) Believing in God will not get you to heaven. God has revealed Himself generally through nature and specifically through the incarnate Word, Jesus. To say that you believe in God is not sufficient for salvation. James asserts that […]
“If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:15-17 […]
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” James 2:14 (ESV) You can profess Christ and not possess Christ. What does it take for a person to be saved? Is it possible to have saving faith without deeds? Will my faith be […]
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 (ESV) You cannot live the Christian life. Keep […]
“Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” […]
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV) What kind of impact will you make with the time, […]
“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” Romans 12:3 (ESV) Do you have a skewed view of yourself? When you […]
“And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’” Luke 5:4 (ESV) Jesus had been teaching the crowd from Simon’s boat. The water’s surface propelled the teachings of Jesus with clarity to the hearers. Simon was in the boat with Jesus […]
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, […]
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Psalm 20:7 (ESV) This verse became dear to my heart when I was pastoring my seminary church in 1992. My wife, Tonya, and I went through the Experiencing God study along with our deacons and their wives. […]
“Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, […]
“And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’” Luke 5:4 (ESV) Jesus had been teaching the crowd from Simon’s boat. The water’s surface propelled the teachings of Jesus with clarity to the hearers. Simon was in the boat with Jesus […]
“If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:15-17 (ESV) […]
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” James 2:14 (ESV) What does it take for a person to be saved? Is it possible to have saving faith without deeds? Will my faith be demonstrated by my deeds? So many have […]
“For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 3:7-8 (ESV) God allows trials to come into your life to reveal your faith. Whatever is on the inside of you will come out during trials. […]
“For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.” 1 Thessalonians 3:5 (ESV) Paul cared about the status of the faith of the church of the Thessalonians. He sent Timothy to encourage them in their faith […]