Are you hopeful? Martin Luther wrote, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” If everything is “done by hope”, maybe we need to take a closer look at what that means. Hope is defined as… Believing that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best….
Jesus said, “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30) and “The Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:38) John wrote, “In the beginning, [Jesus] the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Jesus always been and will always be true God,…
You’ve decided you want to live with Godly wisdom but… Have you ever taken advice from someone and later realized you’d made a huge mistake? Yea, me too. You went shopping with a friend and overspent your budget so you could get matching bags. You listened to and based your opinion on a friend’s gossip only…
“Be yourself. That is something you can do better than anyone else. Listen to that inner voice and bravely follow it.” – Anonymous Hmmm. That’s the message of today, isn’t it? Be true to yourself. Just follow your “heart” or your “gut” or whatever. So, I searched—How to be Yourself and found… How to Be…
True patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, difficulty, or annoyance without getting angry or upset. True patience treats yourself and others with kindness and compassion. Would you say you have true patience? What would your friends say? It’s easy for me to be patient when nothing is annoying me but harder when someone…
Generalizing is the belief that all members of a group are alike. It assumes that a few individuals in the group represent the whole group. Therefore every individual believes, thinks, and acts exactly like all the others. Generalizing believe that… Women are _________. Men are _________. White people are _________. Black people are _________. Democrats…
There’s a new house being built in our neighborhood. They started by digging down through the pliable earth, set forms, and poured a concrete foundation. Every building needs a strong foundation if we want it to stand through the storms of life. So, let me ask you… What is your foundation for life? Your family…
Can you imagine? A time is coming when everyone who has ever known, trusted, and followed Jesus will join together to forever thank God for who He is! Think about it. What an awesome moment it will be. All God’s children joining together to worship and praise God… “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God,…
The Lord made the earth by His power, and He preserves it by His wisdom.With His own understanding He stretched out the heavens.When He speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain.He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from His storehouses. Jeremiah 10:12–13 Have you ever stood outside…
Oh, my friends, it’s ugly out there and I’ll admit, I have times when it really upsets me! Groups are fighting, families arguing, neighbors feuding and relationships ending. So, I have a question for us to consider… As followers of Jesus, how can you and I disagree with a friend without hateful words and broken…
How often do you pause to simply celebrate God and His love? We know what it feels like to celebrate but what does it actually mean to celebrate God? The Dictionary gives the word “celebrate” four simple meanings: to rejoice to observe to perform/participate (a solemn or religious ceremony) to praise publicly; proclaim So, let me ask again… How often do you celebrate God and His…
I’ve prayed and waited and prayed and waited and… I imagine you know what it’s like to pray while waiting on God, too. Maybe you’ve prayed for a: Job. Child. Restored relationship. Spouse. Home. Healing. And you wait. At some point, the “what if I never” thoughts begin. What if I never get hired?What if…
Let’s talk about our Joy, Junk, & Jesus. I picked up my old Bible the other day. The one I used when our children were growing up. I’ve always kept it in a cute fabric case so the cover still looks clean and undamaged. But the pages are a different story. They’re covered with notes…
You’ve heard the sayings… Don’t tell God how big your fear is, tell your fear how big your God is. F.E.A.R. – False Evidence Appearing Real Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death. Although there’s truth in these words, they can sound trite to… the parent who received a hard diagnosis about…
Is being angry a sin? Paul wrote: When you are angry, do not sin, and be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day. Do not give the devil a way to defeat you. Ephesians 4:26–27 (NCV) Anger itself is not a sin or Paul would not have told people to avoid sinning…
Who is the wisest person you know? Before you answer, we should probably start by defining wisdom. The Dictionary defines wisdom as – The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting. A commonly used and easy-to-remember definition is – The ability to know the right thing to do and do it….
Every day we are faced with difficult decisions . . . some because of problems and some opportunities. Where should we live? How can we best help our child? What is the best path forward with this health problem? What career/job is the best choice for me? Where should I go to school? Where? What?…
I don’t believe there are enough hours in a lifetime to read all of the books, articles, and blog posts that have been written on the subject of prayer. They’re filled with suggestions of how to pray, what to pray, when to pray, and where to pray. The Bible tells us to never stop praying…
How much time do you spend thinking about what-if questions? You know… What if I had done this? What if I hadn’t done that? What if I’d reacted sooner? What if I hadn’t posted this or reacted to that? It’s called “second guessing” and it’s defined as . . . criticizing or questioning someone or…
A family counselor once shared the following with me… I met with the (Smith) family because four-year-old (Brittany) was having trouble getting along with the other children at her pre-school. As mom and dad took their seats, Brittany wandered the room picking up puppets and books. After a few moments of chit-chat, I asked, ”…
The Commandments as given in Exodus 20 begin by telling us 1) to worship God and put nothing else ahead of Him and 2) to not make an idol of any kind. God inspired Moses to write: Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the Lord…
