He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are […]
“See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 1:21, esv). In the Christian life, faith is so vital and doubt so detrimental that God places regular tests of faith in […]
After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed (Matthew 26:73–74, esv). Have you ever heard a […]
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you (1 Peter 4:14, ESV). When life is hard and you’re in pain, you need to ask yourself a revealing question: “Am I suffering in a trial, or is my pain a consequence […]
There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want (Proverbs 11:24, nasb). On days when the chance of rain is ten or twenty percent, you prepare as if it’s zero percent. You assume the game will […]
“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1, esv). Hosea 6:1 includes an intriguing phrase: God “has torn us, that he may heal us.” The word torn describes how a predator grabs its […]
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness (2 Corinthians 9:10, esv). God promises in His Word to bless the giver—He just comes right out and says it. Not once or twice but numerous times. Yet as […]
Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices (Psalm 37:3, 7, esv)! Rest is such an elusive thing. Our bodies […]
“For I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Deuteronomy 5:9–10, esv). If we’re going to change, we have […]
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 […]