“Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.” -Proverbs 21:23 Did you know what you say defines your life? The Bible says, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21) Wow! That’s pretty powerful – having the power

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” -1 Peter 2:9 In the Old Testament, it was unlawful for priests to do or wear certain things – it

“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it.” -Psalm 139:14 I love that God created us all so wonderfully, and so uniquely.  There is no one on earth with the same fingerprints as you! However, people who are different from us can sure get on our nerves. 

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” -Colossians 3:15 The best cure for restlessness and lack of contentment is learning to be thankful. Contentment doesn’t have to do with the stuff we have now, the place we’re at, where

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” -John 10:10 Probably one of the greatest stumbling blocks to people’s belief in God is this question: “If God is a good God, why does He allow suffering in the world?” I was on

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” -John 3:17 “The #1 barrier that keeps unbelievers from trusting Jesus is not the Good News but the sinful attitudes of believers.” – Rick Warren Frequently I meet Christians who are caught up in the

“So Moses told the people, ‘You must be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, following his instructions in every detail. Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter

“But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” -Matthew 6:15 Have you ever had a hard time forgiving someone? We all experience things in our lives that can cause us to hold unforgiveness against someone else. It is especially difficult if the person who has hurt us

“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

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” -1 Timothy 6:10 Have you seen anyone destroyed by money? I have. Have you ever seen someone use money wisely? I’ve seen that too.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build…” -Ecclesiastes 3:1-3

“But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.” -Acts 9:27 What does it mean to be fearless? Does it mean

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” -Ecclesiastes 3:11 Have you ever noticed how much time we spend planning for our education, planning for weddings, or planning for

“When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’” -Judges 6:12 Has God given you a dream or vision that is bigger than you? All of the major characters in the Bible had a vision that was bigger than them; such is the case with God-sized

“But I tell you this – though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.” -Luke 11:8 Have you ever been persistent about something? I know persistence is hard for me – I tend to

“His Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and his power pierced the gliding serpent. These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?” -Job 26:13-14 Every time I go to the mountains I am enamored by God’s creation. The sun,

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” -Deuteronomy 31:8 The Israelites were discouraged. After Moses had sent Joshua and 11 other men to explore the Promised Land for forty days, ten of them came back

“After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone…” -Matthew 14:23 Life really does get crazy sometimes. TV, radio, text messaging, phone calls, Twitter, Facebook, the Internet – there is so much to keep up with in our post-modern society! But, every

“And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in Him.” -1 John 3:5 Are you a pure vessel? Being a committed Christian involves a continual process of sanctification, and even more so if you are a teacher of God’s word. (John 17:19, James 3:1) Although Jesus has

“Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” -2 Corinthians 12:9 “I’d like for you to load the dishes in this way. This is how the instruction

“Jesus told them, ‘Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.’” -Matthew 11:4,5 Jesus was a “results” kind of person. He

“A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.” -Proverbs 14:30 We tend to live by emotion in our culture. “Just do what feels right,” seems to be the general norm. Many of our thoughts about right and wrong are based on our emotions, on what we perceive is

“‘Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath…” -Ephesians 4:6 Things happen in life that are bound to provoke us to anger. There are parts of life that are not fair, and there are people in life who may drive us crazy. Consequently, at some point of

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all

“Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” -Psalm 46:10 We humans don’t like to wait on God. We are naturally impatient. We want everything to happen – right now! But sometimes our walk of faith requires patience. In fact, most

“Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.” -1 Corinthians 1:27 Have you ever felt God tell you to do something unusual? Have you ever heard God speak on something that would

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” -Ephesians 2:8-9 We live in a very performance-based world. Performance can equate to

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” -Hebrews 4:12 I don’t know about you, but when I used to hear the phrase “the living word” I thought it was

“Then Moses said to him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” -Exodus 33:15 What’s different about you and I as Christians? I think the world is wanting to know. With much emphasis on political activism in the news, many people think that Christianity has had a

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” -Galatians 6:9 & 10 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and