We live in a broken world filled with sadness, suffering, pain, and uncertainty; Jesus said “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” John 10:10. So how do we coordinate the two and experience this abundance in the midst of the brokenness? First we must be confident […]
On more than one occasion the Apostle Paul had been imprisoned for the gospel he preached, but on no occasion do we find him sitting there in despair and gloom. Remember in Acts 17 he and Silas conducted a prayer and praise service in a jail cell at Philippi with their feet fastened in the […]
As we tread the path of life if we become distracted by the surroundings and take our eyes off of Him who is the object of our faith we find ourselves becoming weary and even fainting, and perhaps becoming like God’s people in Isaiah 40:27 saying, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my […]
We are living in times of great darkness upon the earth, times like are described in Isaiah 60:2, “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people …” While this chapter gives Israel hope of restoration from captivity, it also embraces Messianic and Eschatological times. Darkness speaks figuratively of misery, destruction, […]
In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus taught His disciples – and He teaches us – not to worry about life’s needs. To be certain He is not teaching a Christian welfare state where His followers do not work and just expect everything to be handed to them; indeed the Bible teaches the exact opposite, “…if anyone will […]
Winter is known as the coldest season of the year, the weather can become tempestuous, the nights are long and in many agricultural zones the earth seems mostly barren; all this can contribute to loneliness and despair. Winter in human life can express times of distress, loneliness, pain, suffering, lack, or hurt. Perhaps you are […]
Becoming depressed, discouraged, and feeling like a failure, is a tactic Satan uses to render God’s children unfruitful in acquiring and accomplishing all God’s purposes for them. Perhaps Elijah felt this way even after witnessing God’s provision and seeing His power manifested through him. He moves in fear and spends the night in a cave […]
When we see the beauty of the world all around us, the flowers that bloom, the grass that grows, the sun that shines, the stream that flows, the birds that sing, the animals that roam, the fruit of the ground, and the people that populate the earth, we remember that all are the handiwork of […]
Often the pathway of life is obscure in the distance to our vision. In Joshua 3:3-4 the Israelites have come to such a place having reached the border of Canaan, the land God had promised to give to Abraham and his descendants. The final hurdle was to get across the Jordan River, now in flood […]
In Jeremiah 29:11 God assures His people that His thoughts (His intentions or His plans) are to “give you a future and a hope”; although they were in captivity at that time the inference was that they should look to Him in hope. Today we live in a world that is dominated by flesh, with […]