I believe that the Old Testament law lays out to us the standards by which to live that God created in us, but one act of disobedience broke the relationship with God allowing sin to dominate the earth and the entire human race, robbing us from our ability to live up to those standards! In […]
Distress, a close relative of pain, anxiety, and grief, are among Satan’s “big guns” in his attack on Christians. It is on the opposite end of the spectrum from joy and gladness! Jesus wants His followers to be joyful, telling us, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, […]
Jesus was journeying from Judea to Galilee and “He needed to go through Samaria” John 4:4, even though the Jews and Samaritans did not get along too well. While the most direct route went through Samaria He had a much more urgent reason to pass through that area. There was a harvest of souls there […]
Jesus said “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7. To me that sounds like persistence which He also teaches in Luke 18:2-8; no, this is not trying to “twist” God’s arm or to manipulate Him, but by persistently pursuing […]
After the death of Moses God spoke to his assistant Joshua placing the responsibility of leading the Israelites on him. The time had come for them to claim and conquer the land God had promised, which they had failed to do approximately 40 years earlier. It must have brought awe and fear to Joshua, however […]
In Psalm 4:1 David’s prayer was “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!” Did God answer his prayer? Oh yes He did. In Psalm 40:1 he said, “I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry” (He bowed down listening to my prayer). Interestingly, the words […]
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, this is the first of nine blessed’s in Matthew 5:3-12. The Greek here means to be supremely blessed, and through extension to be fortunate or well off, the Amplified Bible using happy as an alternate or explanatory word. To be poor in […]
Society may minimize those of older age, but God does not! In Isaiah 46:4 He says to His people, “Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.” While recognizing distinction, the […]
“The word became flesh and dwelt among us…”John 1:14. Just as God manifested Himself to the Hebrew people through the Tabernacle in the wilderness, so Jesus came to manifest Him to us by “Tabernacling” (or dwelling) among us so we can behold and experience His glory. He is God’s living and life changing word in […]
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 […]