I recently circled these words of David from Psalm 142: Then I pray to you, O Lord. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life. Psalm 142:5 The rest of that section of his Psalm says things like . . . “I cry out, I plead, I pour out my…
In a world full of opinions all claiming to be the “truth,” we need for life, having someone who has told us the real, the best, the absolute truth for life . . . well, that is information we should apply. The crowds of people gathering to hear Jesus had grown into the thousands and…
I did a quick search on Amazon for books on prayer and the results included more than 70,000 titles. So, it appears that many people continue to ask… “Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1 Jesus replied with a model for prayer… “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon.Give us each…
I’ve stumbled over these words of Jesus more times than I’d like to admit… If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23 I didn’t struggle with the “follow me” part. The “give up your own way” part…
Compassion has been defined as “your pain in my heart.” In Luke 6, we have a record of Jesus saying… You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. Luke 6:36 And now, in Luke 7, we see several more accounts of Jesus demonstrating the Father’s compassion as He reached across cultural and racial…
There’s a story about a pastor who came to town and decided to give his new congregation a living parable. As the story goes… He dressed up as a homeless man and walked around the church for 30 minutes while people were arriving for the service. Hardly anyone looked at him and fewer spoke to…
Dr. Warren Wiersbe wrote in the BE Series the following quote from Napoleon Bonaparte… ‘If Socrates would enter the room, we should rise and do him honor. But if Jesus Christ came into the room, we should fall down on our knees and worship Him.” Truthfully, I don’t think there will be any “should” about…
It’s hard for me to think about Jesus suffering and death. In fact, it’s impossible for me to find a word to adequately describe my feelings when I truly pause to think about Jesus willingly allowing Himself to be tortured in every way for my sins. I can’t imagine the physical pain He endured. And…
I hardly know where to begin . . . where to focus our attention. Mark 14 is packed with moments and lessons from the hours that preceded Jesus’ crucifixion. Religious Leaders plotted to kill Jesus but not during Passover. Mary anointed Jesus’ head with precious oil. Judas agreed to betray Jesus to the Religious Leaders….
Have you ever noticed all the euphemisms we use instead of actually calling something a lie? We… stretch the truth. manipulate the truth. mislead. are inaccurate. misrepresent the facts. tell half-truths. My family will tell you there is nothing that upsets me more than lying it doesn’t matter what you call it. And that may…
Do you ever worry about being a hypocrite? I think it’s healthy to question our own hypocrisy. Recently my morning devotion challenged me to remember that temptation often comes after spiritual victory. You see the enemy of our souls knows that its easy for a spiritual victory to turn into pride; and well, to quote…
I’m sitting here staring at an idle keyboard and blank screen. I want to pour out encouragement and inspiration but I’m carrying around this heaviness and it’s hard to pour from a cup that needs to be filled. Life can be like that sometimes, can’t it? In Mark 6, Jesus and His disciples had just…
Do you feel hopeless? Maybe you’re disappointed and discouraged by the state of the world. Maybe your hopelessness is much more personal. I want you to know you can trust Jesus when you feel hopeless. He is able to heal you. No, I can’t promise that He will heal you physically although I know He…
Listening is defined as the way the brain actively processes what the ear hears. But I’ll admit, that when I was teaching a class of kindergartners or talking to my children, anytime I said, “would you please LISTEN to me!” I was looking for more than simply filtering sounds into words. I wanted them to…
You can feel the electric anticipation in the overflowing room. Jesus is speaking God’s Word in ways that you’ve never heard it spoken before. You’re fully focused on the teacher when bits of debris begin falling on you and those around you. In this account in Mark 2, four men carried their paralyzed friend to…
Yesterday we looked at what Jesus said about being prepared for His return. Today, in Matthew 25, Jesus went on to tell His followers about the importance of having faith and the importance of showing others their faith by demonstrating His love. The first parable today, tells the story of 10 bridesmaids who were waiting…
Recently, my morning devotion included the following quote: Human love typically expects something in return; divine love, however, is unselfishly given regardless of the response of the recipient. Whether we choose to love God or not, His love for us remains. ~ Henry Blackaby, Being Still with God Jesus showed people the generosity of God’s…
If Jesus came to you and asked… “Who do you say I am?“ Matthew 16:15 What would you say? Peter replied… “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16 A messiah is defined as a savior or liberator . . . someone who sets people free. And that’s exactly what Jesus did…
I’ll admit, it’s easier to simply focus on Jesus love and acceptance . . . to repeat His Gospel promises and ignore His the truth of His life-changing commands. It’s more comfortable to say there is no sin, no devil, no hell, and no need for repentance but that wouldn’t be the truth. Jesus challenged…
I refer to myself as “Blessing Counter” on all social media platforms. So, the question I want to ask today is . . . what exactly is a blessing? Or to put it another way… What is being blessed? The Dictionary defines a blessing as: a special favor, mercy, or benefit. a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness. the invoking of…
Has your life changed because of Jesus? I wonder if we sometimes resist growing closer to Jesus because we don’t like the idea of change. I bought our dog, Sadie, new dog dishes the other day because I was told that the ones that are elevated off the floor are healthier and better for their…
