Posts from 2022

Pure As Gold To the left (north) He turns, but I cannot behold Him;He turns to the right hand (south), but I cannot see Him. “But He knows the way that I take [and He pays attention to it].When He has tried me, I will come forth as [refined] gold [pure and luminous]. Job 23: 9-10 In the first chapter of Job, we find out what’s going on behind the scenes in his story. Job, however, doesn’t have a clue.…

The Value Of Friendship A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17 Joe had seen his comfortable, stable, happy life crumble over the last few months. Demands of his in-laws created tension with his wife, and the tension continued to escalate. He found himself figuratively kicking the dog and literally yelling at the children. The strain spilled over into his work because he was so preoccupied with the problems at home. He noticed…

Power To Live God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. 1 Corinthians 6:14 The Corinthian believers were very young in their faith, and they were, to say the least, earthly. Paul spoke to them on their level, and in his first letter, he addressed two issues that concerned him very much: food and sex. (1 Corinthians 6:12-13) Spiritual growth sometimes has to pass through physical territory, and for the Corinthians, Paul had…

The Fullness Of Time We, when we were children, we’re in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Jews, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4: 3-5 The promise of the Messiah had been given many times by many prophets for over two thousand years, but for generations He didn’t…

Can’t Love You More Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. John 15:13 It’s easy to talk a good game. We say we’re committed to our spouses, our kids, and our friends, but the measure of love is the depth of sacrifice we are willing to make for them. How often are we willing to forgo our own pleasures, comforts, and desires for the good of another person? We see genuine…

*The Son Of God In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. John 1:1-2 In one of the most beautiful and powerful preambles in literature, John reminds us that Jesus was unlike anyone who ever lived, categorically different and utterly unique. The man- who was born as a baby, grew up in a carpenter’s shop, taught…

Christ’s Mission God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:17 Some of us have an image of God as the meanest schoolteacher we’ve ever had, someone who demands perfection and delights in punishing us when we don’t measure up to that standard. We live with the faint hope that this time we’ll do better, but in our hearts, we’re sure we’ll fail and get…

Being Right By Doing Good Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in. So then, while we [as individual believers] have the opportunity, let us do good to all people [not only being helpful, but also doing that which promotes their spiritual well-being], and especially [be a blessing] to those of the household of faith (born-again believers). Galatians 6: 9-10 We sometimes hear…

Believing Is Seeing We walk by faith, not by sight, 2 Corinthians 5:7 In the middle of a beautiful description of heaven, Paul reminds us that our confidence in God’s promises must be the product of faith in His trustworthiness to fulfill His promises, not visual observation. When we enter the gates of heaven, our bodies will be transformed. The bodies we dwell in today will be destroyed. In their place, we’ll have strong, healthy, beautiful bodies (2 Corinthians 5:…

Do You Believe? Jesus said to him, “[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes trusts [in Me]!” Immediately the father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, “I do believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief.” Mark 9: 23-24 Most of us readily identify with this distraught father who desperately wanted Jesus to help his demon-possessed son but struggled to find the faith to trust Him. The demon…