“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ” (1 Cor 12:12-13). Imagine with me for a moment that you have won a very expensive car. However, in order to receive your prize, you must

“Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt 20:26-28). A rider on horseback, many

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh 8:10). One of the overriding evidences that someone has a genuine relationship with our living Savior is their consistent attitude of joy and outlook on life. A follower of Jesus should not be a person who always looks at life as if

“Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life” (Ps 39:4). David accomplished a great deal in his lifetime. However, he also understood life had an end to it and he wanted to make the most of it. He learned to use his

“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15). When John Benson decided to make some financial investments in a new business venture, he was very excited about the possibilities for a handsome financial return. His business and financial background had served him well. John felt

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). I have discovered a pattern in the way God speaks to me when I’m faced with major decisions. I will spend a great deal of time seeking direction from Him and asking Him to speak to me regarding a decision.

“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Ps. 63:1). The desert holds a special place in God’s Word. The Scriptures portray the desert as a place of inspiration and exaltation –

“Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses” (2 Kings 23:25). What type of person does God raise up when a

“But after the men were healed, God told Joshua, ‘today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you’” (Josh 5:9). God is calling thousands of people out of Egypt, out of their old lives of bondage. He’s calling them to become new people, living out His plan for their lives in the Promised

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Rom 6:4). When Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt, he took them to the edge of the Red

“But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (Rom. 6:17-18). Becoming a new person in Christ is part of a life-long journey that begins

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Eph 1:18-19). Paul’s letter to the Ephesians exhorts believers to experience

“Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matt 4:1). Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan! After 40 days of fasting, when Jesus was at his weakest physically, Satan came to Him. He tempted Him in 3 areas

“Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles’” (Acts 21:10,11). In Acts 21, we find an interesting scene involving

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding” (Psalms 111:10). Education is a high priority in any society that wants to advance. Education should be sought after by every believer in Jesus Christ in order to better understand God’s ways. However, education that is not

“But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:18-19). I was in another country and had just completed a teaching on how spiritual strongholds (2 Cor 10:4) can hinder us from

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways” (Isaiah 55:8-9). God speaks to his children in many varied ways. God has said that his ways are not our ways. If left

“The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her” (Gen 16:2). Have you ever felt that you were supposed to receive something from God but it just hasn’t materialized? You wait and wait until finally you decide that maybe God wants you to

“Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight” (Isaiah 5:21). Many of us have been trained to make decisions and respond to problems in a horizontal way instead of vertical. Operating from a horizontal basis means we try to fix the problem through our own self-efforts by

“Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son” (Gen 22:10). There are times in our lives when God brings a test to see if we are ready to put to death the very thing that God promised we would have. Such was the case in the life of Abraham

“So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company” (Gen 13:11). My friend Danny and I have known each other for many years. Several years ago he was in a teaching session I was giving about Abraham being a great example of

“With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread” (Judg 6:21). Gideon was a farmer who threshed wheat for a living using a staff. This was commonly used in his day to beat out fitches and cummin (Isa 28:27), but now

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8,9). How do you know what thoughts are your thoughts versus God’s thoughts? One of the

“Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind” (Ps. 26:2). Throughout the Old Testament, we see many situations in which God tests His people in order to determine if they will follow Him or follow the systems of this world. The nation of Israel was tested many times during the

“But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your forefathers, as it is today” (Deut. 8:18). Muhammad Ali is considered the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He won 56 of his 61 professional fights and

“So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared’” (Gen 32:30). Every believer in Jesus Christ must have a defining moment in their lives. Jacob is about to meet his brother Esau in the desert after years of separation. The last time

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior”

“Then the men of Judah said to the Simeonites their brothers, ‘Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours’” (Judg 1:3). After the death of Joshua there arose a wicked king named Adoni-bezek that was creating havoc in the

“The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD” (Joshua 9:14). When Joshua and the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they fought many battles. In fact, they fought 39 battles in the Promised Land compared to only two in their exodus from Egypt. God instructed them to wipe out all

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last” (John 15:16). I will never forget the day in junior high school when I went to the gymnasium to view the list of those who would make the basketball team. Several of us