Paul looked the sorcerer in the eye. Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck …
Celebrate God in Each Other
“Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!” Philippians 4:4-5 What does it mean to celebrate God …
Lighting the Darkness
“I will go before you…” “And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness— secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. Isaiah 45:1,3 Jesus gives us night vision to see opportunities, wisdom, and paths that are humanly impossible to …
Chosen Words
The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain; the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions. Proverbs 10:11 Our words can bring life to others or tear them down. One wrong word or tone can change what someone hears or feels about what you’re saying and turn them in the right or wrong direction. We should only use …
Harmonious Team
This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:25-27 When we work …
Heart Matters
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:3 So, it comes down to the intent of the heart…pretty simple but it’s not always easy to do. On a recent 4-hour flight, a 2-year-old sat …
Sooner Than We Think
This is, all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. Romans 13:11 On March 27, 1977, two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Airport), on the Spanish island of Tenerife, …
Not Alone
But now, listen to the Lord who created you. the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1 Rejection can take bites out of a person’s core and whittle away at the very substance of who we are. It can give the …
Climb the Mountain of God
Psalm 24 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. We already belong to him. But in this life, he won’t take what’s his. He offers me the gift of his love. He wants the gift of my love from me. He won’t demand it or take it from me. …
A Mother’s Advice to Her Son Who is a King
O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows, do not waste your strength on women, on those who ruin kings. Proverbs 31:2,3 Occasionally, we see a good king who wants advice from godly counselors. However, most kings don’t take advice from anyone, except perhaps their mother. Sometimes my sons accept advice from their mother …
Why Jesus Came
Long lay the world in sin and error pining Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth Truly He taught us to love one another His law is love and His gospel is peace Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother And in His name all oppression shall cease. (From the hymn O Holy Night) …
Pointing the Way
You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them. Titus 2:15 Jesus said very few people will enter heaven. Only those who do the will of God will be there. Yet he never leaves us in the dark. God raises up men and women who have come through their own dark night, who now look to …
Add to Your Faith…
From 2 Peter 1:1-5 And keep adding, all day, every day. Some people think it’s enough that they added information to themselves when they went to school. So they stopped adding. I meet these people every day. They bring impressive resumes, seeking high-paying jobs. I ask them what they’re doing now to grow themselves. “I haven’t read a book …
More Than a Diploma
We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God… totally committed to doing good deeds. From Titus 2:12-14 Following Jesus is a conscious, daily choice. You must fully immerse yourself in study, practice, and hard work. You can’t afford to deceive yourself into thinking you’re a Christian because you were baptized, had an encounter …
A Sick Mind Never Heals Itself
Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good. Titus 1:15, 16 This one is a …
Leading Others by Following God
From Joshua 3 The wilderness was the only home they knew for forty years. Slavery in Egypt was the only home their ancestors had known for four hundred years. They had no idea what a Promised Land was, not even in their dreams. Joshua understood the wilderness, but he didn’t know how to move into a Promised Land. Joshua …
Being Tiny is Okay
The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices. Proverbs 21:3 God is more interested in what we do in life’s little spaces than all the big things we try to accomplish. As you travel down life’s road, notice little moments, little opportunities, and little people. Paul Horst taught me how …
Pour Out, Pour In
It is better to correct someone openly than to have love and not show it. Proverbs 27: 5 The faces of people in the Dominican Republic are forever impressed on my mind. Their hunger for hope and the cries of their hearts still whisper to me today. Their humility far outshines the definition of that word in any dictionary. You …
Beyond Your Strength
Be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1 According to Henry Cloud, when a Navy Seal parachutes into an assignment, he’s trained to ask himself three questions: Where am I? Where’s my buddy? Where’s the enemy? He tells the story of a Seal candidate about to finish hell week. The candidate’s swimming …
Calm Under Fire
Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:3 Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II, receiving every military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. …
Be a Signpost
Jesus sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit.” (Luke 10:1) Jesus didn’t send his disciples to go just anywhere. He sent them ahead, like signposts, pointing the way and preparing people to encounter him. He still does this today. If I’m walking closely with God, perhaps people meeting me will soon …
The Painful Upward Stretch of My Soul
Sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, and they were all healed. Acts 5:15-16 Peter, where did you get this power, that even your shadow healed people and set them free from their …
Kind Words
We remind small children to be kind to their siblings or other kids in school, and along the way, they discover the cause and effect of a loving attitude. It becomes a natural part of their learning and growth. Kindness often reciprocates with happiness and caring from others. Even more so as adults, we need to remember kindness. Kindness takes …
Hitting the Wall
Many endurance runners describe hitting the wall at the marathon’s 20-mile mark. This has been calculated as the point when they physically run out of fuel. Their glycogen levels are exhausted, resulting in overwhelming feelings of heaviness in the legs. Concentration diminishes, and despair overtakes them. We can feel this way when we get partway through a difficult situation. Bill …
Too Late? Not if You’re Reading This
When my father died, I was supposed to be a pallbearer. We forgot we were in the Eastern time zone, which was an hour later than our time. I called the funeral home and told them we were on the way. “We can’t wait for you,” the man said. We drove to the cemetery, but got lost. As we pulled …
I Can’t! …Or Can I?
Do any of these excuses sound familiar? Excuses lock you up and shut down growth. The worst kind of prison is to be locked up inside of yourself. Mental obstructions can be as powerful as physical obstructions. No circumstance will magically break open these bars. Until you take responsibility for your own thoughts and behaviors, you’ll never get free. Taking …
The Best Gift
Grace is a healthy freedom that turns life into a song, a poem, an art, and a dance. Even the sad and painful experiences can be music, dance, and poetry. Perfectionism and grace/excellence can’t exist in the same space. Perfectionism always demands more than we can give. Perfectionism kills—nothing can grow under the laws of perfectionism—everything dies under its heavy-handed, …
God’s Timeless Expectation of Us
Being young can be a cop-out. I can say, “I just don’t know,” “I don’t have the experience,” or, “no one ever taught me.” Or sometimes we’re given an opportunity beyond our years and we struggle to overcome the mental hurdle that we don’t have what it takes. God’s standards for each of us are timeless and ageless. Recently, I heard …
God Doesn’t Show Favoritism
We all have equal access to a fair God. Our access to God isn’t based on our nationality, religious background, race, gender, or financial status. If we fear and respect God and do what’s right through obeying him, these are the only qualifiers. We all have a chance. We all have the same opportunity. Ben
Be Bold with Your Gifts
Timothy was a young leader whom Paul mentored. Paul encouraged Timothy to keep his special gift of ministry on fire and not holding anything back. God doesn’t want you to hold back from using the gifts he’s given you. He wants you to fully experience your true potential, using what he created in you to bless the world around you. …