Luke 17:18-19–Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” How you ever thought about what makes gratitude so elusive in our […]
How do we know we are the children of God? How can we be sure that we belong to God? By the way, not all human beings are children of God. Yes, God created all human beings, but not every one of them is a child of God. How? Just because a carpenter made a […]
Has life gotten so difficult that you wish you were dead? You have lost taste for this world, and death would be a relief. You secretly envy really old people because they are nearer to death than you are? Can Christians feel that way? Would God approve of those thoughts? Do those thoughts show that […]
1 Corinthians 2:11-12–For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 13-Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things […]
I am very fortunate that my parents are still living. Not all of you can say that about your own. But they are aging. I’m having to go more frequently with them to the doctor for translation. And I know the inevitable is coming… Sin is not the only reason we must die. Another reason […]
Isaiah 37:29–Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come to my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.’ I don’t think anyone would argue about encouraging people to have confidence, and […]
One of the worst effects of sin is myopia – nearsightedness. I don’t mean our eyes, but our perspective. Sin makes us become preoccupied with triviality. Oh, how easily we forget the big picture! In Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky describes one scene where a university student commits premeditated murder. Immediately, he’s summoned to the police station. […]
Those who realize they are given much, will give much. I emphasize “realize” because not everyone who has much is generous. As a matter of fact, percentage wise, the richest are the least generous. Mississippi state has the lowest GDP of any state in the U.S. Can you guess which state has the highest giving percentage-wise? […]
If the devil were to have an upper hand in my life, it wouldn’t be through adultery, embezzlement, or other moral failures. It would be through disrupting my time with Jesus daily. The most important thing that I have to remember (and you also), is to stay close to Jesus everyday. A gross sin does not […]
Deuteronomy 8:3–And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every wordthat comes from the mouth of the Lord. If there is anything […]