What is God’s goodness? Goodness is listed among the Fruit of the Spirit… The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22–23a The Spirit is a member of the one true God we call “good!” But what exactly do we mean…
How are worship, obedience, and God’s love related? What would you say if someone asked you, “Why do you worship God? Why do you believe it’s important to trust and obey Jesus?” Take a moment or two to really think about it. Do you worship God because… Although those are all understandable responses, there is…
Are you a peacekeeper or a peacemaker? I’m not talking about military or law enforcement peacekeepers. I’m talking about our personal relationships. I’m asking as someone who hates conflict, so for much of my life, I was a peacekeeper. I did whatever I could to avoid controversy and contention. Although it took longer than it…
Are you a hypocrite? You might be a hypocrite if: ♥ If you’re human! The truth is, everyone occasionally gives in to hypocritical thinking. Jesus said… “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why…
Do you find it hard to resist the enemy? Have you ever noticed how he seems to attack the areas where God is working and helping you grow? I recently reread The Jesus Creed, by Scot McKnight. His challenge to begin and end each day with the Shema, the sacred prayer and ultimate declaration of…
On a scale of 1 to 10 – If 1 is proud (completely self-focused) and 10 is humble (completely God and others focused), where would you fall? Proud 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10…
Jesus told His followers to shine the light within them… “You are the light of the world.” “If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.” Matthew 5:14a and Luke 11:36 (NKJV) I’ll be honest, I don’t always…
Do you find it awkward or easy to share your faith? Do you know someone who expresses their “Christianity” through judgments, accusations, rules, and arguments? Christians who consistently “look like they were baptized in pickle juice” rarely make the people around them want to join the family of faith. But, on the other hand, do you know someone, or…
We live together, work together, study together, play together, and worship together. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all get along easily? If people were always pleasant, helpful, and encouraging, appreciative, forgiving, and fun. Sounds like heaven! However, relationships are complicated, and even the people we love the most can drive us crazy at…
We want our relationships to be blessed, but too often we wonder… what in the world we could have been thinking. The relationship ended, and we wonder how we could have been so foolish. The signs were there all along. How did we miss them? You and I were created to be close to God and…
They say if you want to know what people treasure most, look at their calendar and their checkbook or credit card statement. I imagine it’s because we invest most in the things that are most important to us. We spend most of our resources on things we believe necessary to enjoy a life of peace…
God is Awesome! He is the very definition of awesome, which means: causing or inducing awe; inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear. Scripture says that awe, inspiration, reverence, admiration, and fear are the reactions we will have when we KNOW, LOVE, and TRUST God. The writer of Hebrews said… Since we are receiving…
Do you know why you celebrate Christmas the way you do? With full calendars and long to-do lists, we can start to panic as we wonder how in the world we’ll get everything done. Let’s pause for a moment and ask an important question… Why do I celebrate Christmas? I did a quick Google search about…
I hardly know where to begin today. Today’s verses are packed full of powerful and uplifting truths for life. Jesus’ Uplifting Truths for Life ♥ The Lord loves you and me, and He wants us to love Him. “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.” John 15:9…
We learn that Jesus loves us as children, but what does it mean to live and love Jesus? If you went to church as a child, you learned the song – Jesus Loves Me… Jesus loves me, this I knowFor the Bible tells me so;Little ones to Him belongThey are weak, but He is strong….
How do you observe the Sabbath Day? God told Moses to write the following… “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. In six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the…
About 30 years ago, I walked into a beautiful bookstore and found a copy of In His Steps by Charles Sheldon in the sale section. Rev and I were on vacation and had a little free time; so, I decided to get a copy. I quickly learned that the book is based on this verse……
Are you living intentionally every day? Rev and I often shared the saying: “I want to LIVE every day ’til I die.” We felt that if God gave us a day, by His grace and with His help, we wanted to embrace it and live it purposefully. I used to tie my purpose to my…
Don’t you wish liars’ noses grew and their pants did catch on fire? It would be much easier to confidently know the truth if we could quickly identify and reject lies and deception. I’ve shared before how much I hate lying. It seems like our culture assumes it’s just part of life but look at…
How willing are you to wave the white flag of surrender and give yourself completely to God? We typically think of surrendering as admitting defeat and giving up the fight but let’s see what some dictionaries say… Proverbs 3:5–6 perfectly explains what it means to surrender our lives to God… Trust in the Lord with all your…
The need to forgive and be forgiven is a human condition that affects everyone. And forgiveness is hard. It’s hard to admit we need to be forgiven and at times even harder to let go of our pain and anger so we can forgive others. We just celebrated all that Jesus gave to make our forgiveness…
