“Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure.” -2 Corinthians 12:21 In a day where we tend

“‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’” -Luke 19:17 I don’t think there’s a “safe” way to get to any sort of dream that matters. I mean, think about it. We try to go around things that are too hard

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” -Matthew 6:19 There is a great temptation in our lifetime to

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” -Colossians 3:17 Imagine with me for a moment that every Christian on earth had a revelation of the “in everything” principle. What if we asked ourselves, at every moment, “Is what I’m

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.” -Psalm 68:5 I hope you had a loving mom, or dad, or both. Or perhaps your grandparents or surrogate parents took good care of you. But if you didn’t, no worries – there’s hope. If your parents were absent or let

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” -Hebrews 12:1 & 2 True commitment is so rare in our culture. It’s difficult to find someone who will do what they say – and stick it out until the end. Commitment

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” -Matthew 16:18 Have you ever found yourself lacking confidence? Have you ever found yourself doubting the call of God on your life? I think all of us go through

“And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.” -Romans 11:6 There are often great dichotomies in our journeys in Christ. There are things that seem as though they are directly contradictory, when in

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” -Psalms 37:23 Once my dad took me out to dinner. This was during a time when he and I didn’t have a very good relationship – I had perceived him as cold, distant, and excessively authoritarian, and he probably

“You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s master stroke, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did – Jesus crucified.” -1 Corinthians

“When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, ‘Tell him to come here.’ So they called the blind man. ‘Cheer up,’ they said. ‘Come on, He’s calling you!’” -Mark 10:49 Imagine spending 100% of your time doing things you were gifted and anointed to do. How awesome this would be! Perhaps this is you already,

“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