“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” -Proverbs 5:5-6 Elizabeth (not her real name) went to her job one morning only to be taken aside by her boss, away from the other employees. “I’m so

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those

“The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work.” -Proverbs 12:24 Do you enjoy your job? According to Forbes magazine, 70% of all employees hate their jobs. That’s huge! It seems many of us are in jobs where we either don’t enjoy the work, don’t enjoy the atmosphere, or both. I

“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed – always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” -2 Corinthians 4:8-10 In America,

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” -James 1:2-4 You know,

“Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.” -Ezekiel 18:23 As a Christian, I have often wondered why people had to die in the Old Testament. It seemed so harsh – why couldn’t they

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” -2 Corinthians 10:4 Have you ever heard of a “stronghold”? A stronghold in a spiritual influence in our lives that compels us to make decisions that aren’t good for our spiritual or even

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-16 A couple of friends of ours came into town for one of our conferences. Afterward they stayed with us as

“Jesus realized that the Pharisees were keeping count of the baptisms that He and John performed (although His disciples, not Jesus, did the actual baptizing). They had posted the score that Jesus was ahead, turning Him and John into rivals in the eyes of the people. So Jesus left the Judean countryside and went back

“They refused to keep my decrees and follow my regulations, even though obedience would have given them life.” -Ezekiel 20:11 A lot of the time we wonder how following God will turn out. We wonder why we should live by Christian principles, or why God told Adam and Eve not to eat the apple. “Why

“When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.” -Genesis 22:9&10 I

“Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember Me. They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their detestable sins. They will know that I alone am the Lord…” -Ezekiel 6:9, 10

“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” -Matthew 10:37, 38 We live in a culture today

“But the angel said, ‘I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time – God’s time.’” -Luke 1:20

“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” -1 Corinthians 13:11 Dr. Paul Hegstrom is the author of a book called Broken Children, Grown Up Pain. A psychologist himself, Dr. Hegstrom describes a phenomenon known as “arrested development”, in which

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” -Hebrews 13:5 Have you ever felt far away from God? I have. I’m sure every Christian, no matter their current circumstance has felt far from God at one time or another. But, why do we feel this way? Do we have to feel this way?

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?” -Luke 14:28 If you’ve ever tried to do something great, you’ll know it has a huge cost. Anytime we attempt to accomplish something more than most

“For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” -Colossians 3:3 In life, there is a great temptation to go for the next big thing: the next big business, the next big degree, the next big job opportunity. But in the kingdom, things are different. God works quite

“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” -1 John 4:16 Many times we are taught to believe, consciously or subconsciously, either through culture, the media, or false religious teachings,

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” -James 1:2&3 I often reminisce on my family history. So much of what we encounter in our daily lives roots back to our childhood experiences. (See Paul Hegstrom’s book Broken Children, Grown-Up

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” -Romans 12:2 Have you ever noticed how certain forms of media, whether it’s the news, music, or movies, can make us feel worse

“In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and His goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” -Acts 14:16&17 Do you struggle with finding evidence for God? I think it’s difficult for Christians

“But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.” -1 Corinthians 7:7 Paul talks in 1 Corinthians about the question of whether it is better to be married or single. He expresses the idea that it’s okay to be married,

“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” -James 4:14 When I turned 10 years old, my parents took me to a really nice restaurant for my birthday. It was called the Sundial, located in the

“Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the Lord our God burst out against us. We failed to ask God how to move it properly.” -1 Chronicles 15:12, 13 Have you ever had to follow directions? We have to follow directions all of the time in order to

“The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. All the builders had a sword belted to their side.” -Nehemiah 4:17&18 Sometimes life requires that we do two things at the same time. Nehemiah was burdened for the city of Jerusalem, and he wanted to rebuild

“And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” -Mark 2:22 If you’ve ever been running, you’ll know that the body takes an extraordinary amount of energy and

“You prepare a table before Me in the presence of My enemies. You anoint My head with oil; My cup overflows.” -Psalm 23:5 The word “cup” is mentioned many times in the Bible, mainly as a reference to drinking and eating, but also many times it is spiritually significant. A “cup” implied what filled your

“Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march

“Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel.” -1 Chronicles 21:1 In the Old Testament, David instructed Joab, the commander of the army, to take a census. This may not ordinarily have been a noteworthy event, except for the fact that David suffered enormous consequences by