Make Our Thoughts Obedient to Jesus Paul tells the church in Corinth to capture every thought and make it obedient to Jesus. Likewise, Proverbs advises us to guard our thoughts (Proverbs 4:23). (Some translations say to guard our hearts, putting a different twist on the same concept). This is often hard to do—but not impossible. […]
We Must Be Willing to Share Our Concerns If We Hope to Receive Help One of my newsletter subscribers emailed me with a question. He wants to do what the Bible says about loving one another (such as in 1 John 3:11). He’s willing to sacrifice to meet the needs of his brothers and sisters […]
Make Spending Time with the Almighty a Priority God deserves our best, not whatever’s left over at the end of the day—if anything. This may be why he told the Israelites to give to him their first fruits, the first of their harvest (Exodus 23:16). That’s why we should start each day with God, with […]
God Blesses Us So That We Can Be a Blessing to Others God wants to bless us. He loves us and wants to give us his best. This idea of blessing occurs throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, God often ties his blessings to the people’s obedience and to the attitudes of their hearts. […]
Discern When to Be Satisfied with What You Have and When to Yearn for More Though some of our world live in an environment of true need, most people have their daily needs met. Yet they aren’t satisfied with having their basic requirements covered. They want more. And the more that most people have, the […]
The Birth of Jabez The obscure Old Testament character Jabez is only mentioned in two verses in the Bible. A reoccurring theme (if two verses can have a reoccurring theme) is pain. The birth of Jabez is marked by pain and his mom gives him a name to let everyone know that. What a terrible […]
The Old Testament Law Talks about Offering Sacrifices to God, but What If He Wants More? King Solomon writes in the book of Ecclesiastes that we need to be careful when approaching God. “Guard your steps,” he says. This is wise advice. Then he adds something more: “Go near to listen.” He even places listening […]
Pray That God Will Protect Us from Harm Do you ever ask God to protect you from evil? You can. It’s biblical. It’s part of my morning routine, and based on what I’m about to share, I want to be more intentional about making this request each day. There are two key prayers in the […]
God Is Always Just a Prayer Away Prayer is part of my daily spiritual journey—at least most of the time. Each day. before I climb out of bed, I seek God’s blessings for my day. I ask that I will write well, he will grant me favor, and he will provide what I need. Some […]
Praying to the Godhead Last week we looked at God as Trinity and used the image of a tripod to illustrate how one God can exist in three parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now we’ll build upon that understanding and use it to inform us so that we can better pray to the Trinity. […]