“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” -Acts 2:4 What does it mean to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit? It doesn’t have anything to do with drugs or alcohol. It means, in part, that we submit

“Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.” -Psalm 144:1 “I am just so fed up!” said my friend. “I don’t understand why all this negative stuff keeps happening to me. I am so tired of things working out for others and not working out for

“As a man thinks… so is he.” -Proverbs 23:7 Have you ever had a hard time with the way you think about yourself? I know I have. Fat, ugly, stupid, never good enough – it seems I’ve “subconsciously” called myself everything. Of course, those things couldn’t be further from the truth! In reality, most of us

“Then they took him and cast him into a pit.” -Genesis 37:24 Joseph was his father’s favorite. Subsequently, he was despised by the rest of his brothers. Joseph’s brothers plotted against him to kill him. Instead of killing him however, they threw him into a pit and then sold him into slavery. But God had

“Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” -Psalm 55:22 Have you ever felt “weighed down” with burdens? It seems that with the constant stressors and events of life, it has become normal to be weighed down with the things

“Then He pointed to his disciples and said, ‘Look, these are My mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of My Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!’” -Matthew 12:49-50 Each of us has a family we were born into, or adopted by. We didn’t choose our family; Some of us

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” -Revelation 2:17 There is a lot

“I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; be merciful and gracious to me according to Your promise.” -Psalm 119:58 I went to the Toyota dealership to get an oil change for my car. It was a rainy day, and I was late for my appointment. I was met by a very friendly-looking gentleman with

“…If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” -Exodus 33:15 Do you want to be more productive in your life? It seems there are more books written, blogs created, and seminars conducted on increasing personal productivity than ever before. After all, if time equals money, then our best

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.” -Matthew 16:19 Recently we had new keys made for our office. Our office manager instructed me

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” -Psalm 37:4 In certain faith circles, we can often confuse our faith in God with our expectation of God. We might be taught to expect the miracle and wait for God to make it happen. But, we become frustrated in the waiting.

“I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report, but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.” -Joshua 14:7-8

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is

“The one thing I ask of the LORD – the thing I seek most – is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.” -Psalm 27:4 Every day, we decide what we’re going to do that day. We choose

“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” -Matthew 18:5

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.” -Psalm 95:6-8 Have you ever thought about what kind of “frequency” heaven must have? I was doing a tutorial recently on the

“In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out – until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud

“Come, and follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” -Matthew 4:19 Jesus was a no-nonsense kind of person. Whenever He said something, it had purpose. Jesus never did anything without purpose: He did what He saw the Father doing. (John 5:19) Additionally, he instructed people to jump all in – give it 110%,

“So again I ask, does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?” -Galatians 3:5 Have you ever witnessed a miracle? I can’t say that I’ve seen someone come back from the dead, though I have experienced what might be

“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant…” -Matthew 20:26 When I was younger, I worked at various restaurants as a server. At first, I was petrified. I used to have a HUGE fear of people. So huge, in fact, I was afraid to answer the telephone

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”  -1 Peter 5:8 Sometimes when I think about the state of our culture, I feel burdened.  When I see or hear about music video with lots of sex and violence and all of

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” -Hebrews 13:5b Have you ever seen the sun shine when it’s raining? It is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. The rain pours down, with big grey drops, and showers the earth with its downpour. But, as the sun peeks through, the raindrops that

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” -2 Corinthians 13:14 In many organizations, the driving force is fear. Workers are afraid of losing their job, so they work themselves to the bone. Perhaps there is a fear of

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” -Ephesians 6:16 Have you ever played a video game when your immunity shield went down? All of a sudden, you get hit. Out of nowhere. And you had gotten so far too!

“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.” -Luke 10: 31 & 32 We often hear

“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” -Ephesians 4:15 What does it mean to be mature in Christ? The Bible says Jesus is coming back for a “spotless” bride. (Ephesians 5:27) But, what does that mean?

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” – Romans 8:15 Enric Siva is a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. He and his family lived on a

“Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!” -Matthew 10:7-9 Have you ever been given a new job description? Sometimes when we’ve been doing the same thing over and over

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” -Matthew 17:20 Isn’t it amazing that just one degree warmer or

“…and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.” -Matthew 4:22 There is a lot to be said for the word “immediately.” Nothing defines us more than our actions right now, or our lack thereof. Our actions determine the content of our hearts, and the course of our lives. Sometimes it’s difficult

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ” -1 John 1:9 I have a friend named Kathy. She is amazing! The day I met her, Kathy told me the most incredible story. Her story was not only engaging but also