The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (Psalm 51:17, ESV). Before a horse can be useful to its owner, it has to be broken. An unbroken stallion is proud and strong. It will paw and snort and let no one ride it. But then a […]
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13, esv)! What have you finally given up on? What are you thinking you’ll never see, never do, never have? Maybe you’ve been trying to salvage a particular relationship for so long now—and with so little […]
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin (1 Peter 4:1, esv). When was the last time the consequences of sin, with all its guilt and shame and disappointment, were raining down on your head? When was […]
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor […]
And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp (Numbers 11:1, ESV). Why do we complain? We would all agree that complaining changes nothing, yet […]
“Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25, esv). Has this ever been you? You’re running late to a meeting or a doctor’s appointment, when someone cuts you off in traffic or won’t pull over to let you pass. And before […]
Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: “Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them” (Jeremiah 5:14, esv). Just what is this Book? Every now and then we get a glimpse of the Bible’s […]
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 […]
[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, […]
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10, esv). When we hear the Lord’s Prayer recited, we usually hear emphasis on the words kingdom and will. It sounds like this: “Your kingdom come, your will be done” (emphasis mine). We can subtly change the meaning of wording […]