“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

“The LORD sent Nathan to David” (2 Sam 12:1). There are times when evil must be confronted. When God judges a situation He often uses His servants as vessels for communicating to the guilty party. Such was the case with David who tried to conceal his sin of sleeping with Bathsheba and then orchestrating a

“To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isa 61:2-3 NKJV). A 1988 article in Psychology Today reported on an experiment involving 1700 women under stress. The women participated in various projects that involved helping

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”(Rom 10:9). I received the phone call from the technology CEO. It was our second conversation. He began receiving my TGIF devotional a few weeks earlier, compliments of his mother

“They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor” (Isa. 61:3). It was the worst time in my life. Feeling betrayed by God, I stormed out of the door and walked up the heavily wooded hill behind my house. Reaching the hilltop, I raged at God.

“Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel” (1 Chron 21:1-2). God always requires total trust in Him alone for our victories in life. Throughout scripture we are cautioned not to place our trust in the strength of horses, other men or our own abilities. David’s decision to take

“For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land” (Jer. 32:15). In the scriptures we discover a difference in the way the Hebrew mind viewed things compared to the way many Westerners relate to God. Hebrews used something called Block Logic.

“If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand” (Psalm 130:3). One of the most common questions every person wrestles with in life is this: “God, if You are loving, just, and all-powerful, why do You allow good people to suffer?” Many choose not to believe in God because they

“Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:24). The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the daily grind of everyday life when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. In the 1600’s, there was a monk named Brother

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). D.L. Moody was a shoe salesman until God moved him into a full-time preaching ministry, often in the streets of

“For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me”(Matt 25:42-43).

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Do you find yourself in a place of nothingness? There is a time and place in our walk with God in which He sets us in a place of isolation and waiting. It is a place in which all past experiences are of no value.

“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herd” (Prov 27:23). Janice was a high level executive who required excellence and exceptional performance from those under her leadership. She was the general manager of a credit card unit when five of her 2,000 employees were found to have deliberately

“Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company” (Acts 15:37-39). Conflict in the workplace, in ministry, or

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Cor 10:3-5). Jerry had grown up with a father who was a successful workaholic. Although he lacked for nothing materially, he never sensed much warmth or compassion from his parents. Then, when

“I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will minister before my anointed one always” (1 Sam 2:35-36). I once imagined a meeting in heaven between the angel Gabriel and Jesus. It went something

“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Cor 2:3-5). I learned a principle years ago of withholding our natural gifting to insure that God is in whatever