The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:6–7, esv). When the apostle Paul set out to develop a case […]
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples” (John 8:31, esv). You probably can’t remember the last time you used the word abide in a conversation. Most of us don’t tell our kids, “If you abide in my house, you live […]
This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them (1 Timothy 1:15, hcsb). “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Mark 2:16, esv). That was the reaction of the religious when seeing Jesus interacting with the common rabble […]
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1, esv). Think how much of our misery comes from our wanting. Wanting a particular level of income. Wanting a specific kind of vacation. Wanting a certain desired job, position, or assignment. Wanting to be like somebody else, or wanting what they have. Wanting this, […]
It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops (2 Timothy 2:6, esv). In his second letter to Timothy, Paul used a string of work analogies to show what it’s like to follow Christ Jesus. He spoke of Christ-followers as teachers (2:2), soldiers (2:3), athletes (2:5), and farmers (2:6). […]
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved (Psalm 55:22, esv). As much as we may wish for a day in this lifetime when everything negative finally clears and miraculously remains that way for all eternity, that day is not coming. As long […]
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him (Psalm 34:8, esv). I’ve often heard enthusiastic preachers lead their congregations in kind of a cheer: “God is good!”—to which the people respond, “All the time!” And of course I couldn’t agree more. God is good, all […]
You know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness (James 1:3, esv). If you could have anything you wanted in life, what would it be? What would make your life just perfect? People have been dreaming up answers to that question for centuries, and have either been doing their best to pursue it or […]
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (Romans 8:8–9, esv). Sometimes, if we’re honest, we’ll admit that the Christian […]
[We are] always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh (2 Corinthians 4:10–11, […]