“If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp”(Judg 7:11). The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years He gave them into the hands of the Midianites.

“John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light”(John 5:35). The moon is lovely on a clear night only because it reflects the light of the sun. It has no qualities by itself to reflect its beauty. Without the sun shining onto its surface, you

“Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more”(Ps 83:4). God calls us to know the signs of the times. The final end time conflict will arise when nations of the world will come against Israel. The Bible is clear that Jesus will return to

“But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs”(Phil 2:25-26). I got onto the bus with the other delegates attending a workplace conference in South Africa. It was a season in

“O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed”(Ps 30:7). It is often difficult to recognize the hand of God when we are in the midst of adversity. We often feel God has hidden His face from us. When the Lord takes us

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know”(Jer 33:3-4). Julian Watts and Warren Sinclair, who operate an international company called Markets Unlocked in Guildford, England have learned how important intimacy and the presence of God is to fulfilling His purposes for their business. In

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”(Rom 12:1-2). A cab driver in the Philippines became radically saved. He was taught that he now had the power of God in his life to transform his community. Because he had not had any prior

“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do”(John 17:3-4). A popular TV commercial comes on the screen raising the question of why the viewer works long hours while showing beautiful pictures of a luxurious car. The message was clear. We work in order to acquire. Another TV

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Ps 30:5). When a measured assault enters our life we often respond in two different ways. The pain caused by the assault drives us to a place of either embracing the pain or we embrace anything that will make us feel better. That

“Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men”(Proverbs 22:29). I was sitting in a room of 400 business people from 75 different nations to begin an international conference. After a time of worship, a man stood up and exhorted Christians in the

“I urge, then, first of all, requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all men; for kings and those in authority”(1 Timothy 2:1). In I Timothy 2:1 Paul exhorts his young proteg? to make prayer and intercession for those in authority the first work of the church. Whereas we once thought of those in

“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place” (Ps 51:6). History reveals that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes popular mystery series once played a practical joke on 12 respected and well-known men he knew. He sent out 12 telegrams with the same

“The Lord told him, ‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying’”(Acts 9:11). I stepped into the cab to take my first drive to downtown Jerusalem. It was an exciting time for me! My cab driver’s name was Moses. “When in

“Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel”(Phil 1:12-13). Have you ever heard these statements: “Money talks.” Or how about this: “He who has the gold, rules.” Both of these statements have truth in them. When Jesus was crucified there was a question

“So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? (Luke 16:11). Although he was an innovator in the reclamation of silver in the photographic process, Stanley Tam of Lima, Ohio, is best known for his commitment to Jesus Christ. A large sign adorning the home of

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’”(2 Cor 12:9). I was in Switzerland visiting an acquaintance I had met briefly almost ten years earlier at a Christian conference on the island of Cyprus. We had stayed in contact over the years as he

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it (1 Cor 12:27).” All legitimate work matters to God. God Himself described himself as a worker. In fact, human occupations find their origin in His work to create the world. Work is a gift from Him to meet

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes’” (Luke 19:41-43). Jesus was making his triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. The Pharisees were complaining

“Now it came to pass the same night that the LORD said to him, ‘Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it; and build an altar to the LORD your

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion”(Ps 84:5-7). There is a

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” (Matt 4:1). There is a common teaching going around today that says if you do all the right things in your Christian life, you will be blessed and never experience problems in your life. This teaching is heresy. The

“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you’” (John 20:21-22). Have you ever entrusted someone to carry on a project only to have them fail miserably? What was your response? Many times leaders shame others in order to help them realize the gravity of their failure.

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:38-40). Sometimes you would think the trinity is Father, Son and Holy Scriptures instead of the Holy Spirit. There can be

“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5b). A black hole is a place of total nothingness. It’s a time in our life when God removes the resources and supports that we normally rely on to feel secure – our careers, finances,

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil” (Proverbs 3:5-7). Oswald Chambers advises, “Whenever God gives a vision to a saint,

“As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit – just as it has taught you, remain in him” (1 John 2:27). Do you know your

“Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything” (Acts 9:8-9). It’s hard to find anyone in Christian history who became a great leader without earning

“But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:15). Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983) was born in Amsterdam and raised in the Dutch Reformed Church. When the Nazis came to power in the late 1930s, Corrie and her family hid Jews behind a false wall in Corrie’s

“If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth” (Deut 28:1-2). Our God is a God of success. You are created to be a success. Success is rooted in our relationship with

“Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you” (Lev 26:8). The Church is called to impact the world. The biblical definition “church” is not an institution or building, but rather it is made up of individuals. Jesus

“Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the LORD” (1 Chron 21:18-19). In 1857, an American