Emotions are complex. Did you know that you can rejoice and be sorrowful at the same time? Paul admonishes us to rejoice always. But then he says in Romans 9, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.”And this, right after sharing how nothing in this world can separate us from the love of Christ […]

Do not condemn yourself when God does not condemn you. If you do, then you are claiming that you are holier than God. I’ve heard people say, “I know God forgave me. But I just can’t forgive myself.” Although that may sound humble, it really isn’t. It is pride disguised in humility which is worse […]

Romans 4:4–Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.5 And to the one who does not workbut trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, What is your response when you unexpectedly receive a gift from someone?  Do you feel the pressure to have to pay […]

If you had to choose between suffering greatly in this world but living enthralled in eternity versus living trouble-free in this world but suffering in hell for all eternity, which would you choose? I know it sounds simplistic, but often that’s what it comes down to. I think it is our being puzzled as to why […]

1 Corinthians 8:2–If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. Having a great example of someone modeling something for you is very helpful.  No one would say that they want bad parents so they can learn to be good ones!  Though that is possible, the desire […]

The battle within happens in our minds. It is the battle between our desires. It is no different than wanting to eat chocolate cake as a midnight snack versus celery sticks. Which do you really want to eat? Well, it depends. In one sense, you want the chocolate cake but in another sense, you want […]

Who do you have the most frequent conversation with? It’s not your spouse. It’s not your best friend. It’s yourself! We are constantly either listening to ourselves or talking to ourselves. The fiercest argument we have is not with those outside. It’s with what’s in us. “But I see in my members another law waging […]

James 1:6-8-But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8  he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. The more […]

We are slaves to whatever we present our body parts to. What we watch, what we listen to, what we say not only show what we are enslaved to but they also continue to enslave us if we keep in them. For example, if I keep my eyes on the latest electronic gadgets, it shows that I’m […]

James 3:12–Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.      One of the things that make us fascinating as people, is our ability and struggle to be consistent from our “hearts and mouths”.  That what we talk about to others can be […]