Recently a woman won the lottery worth $1.6 billion. We can only imagine how ecstatic she was. Can you imagine what you would do with $800 million (after taxes)? But what if she was terminally ill and only had a few months to live? Money drives our society. I don’t need to prove this. What […]

Are you currently in the will of God such that you can pray, “Do not abandon the work of your hands?” You are not praying that God not abandon YOU but rather He not abandon HIS work which is being done through you. David prays this prayer in Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will fulfill his […]

2 Corinthians 6:11-13–We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections.13  In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also. If you ask a variety of people how they show affection to their loved ones, […]

Are reading the Bible, praying, and participating in worship pleasant to you? Or are they duties that you feel you must do even though you find no pleasure in doing them? We human beings are joy (or pleasure) driven. Our will will follow what our heart delights in. Therefore, whatever we engage in, if we […]

Exodus 16:3-and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.“ When […]

The gospel is not: If you believe in Jesus and do good, then God will accept you. The gospel is: If you believe in Jesus, then God will accept you and you will want to do good. “I will not enter my house or get into my bed, I will not give sleep to my eyes […]

I ran across the other day a former youth who was in my ministry years ago. He was not following the Lord any more, but he seemed pretty happy and content. This encounter made me think: Is christian happiness different from that of unbelievers? Is christian hope different from that of unbelievers? What is our source […]

Job 30:20-21-I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me.21 You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me. One of the major “markers” of measuring how our faith/love have matured is too look at our  “consistency of […]

I tend to favor those who want to be favored. It is human nature to have my heart go out toward those whose hearts are after me. As a youth pastor of many years and now as a school teacher, there are students who want my attention and I usually respond with extra attention. Those […]

Luke 14:13-14–But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,  14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” If you’re parent or work/serve in any place that requires that you continually give, than you know the […]