“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17, ESV). Permissive dads say, “Whatever you want.” That parenting style leaves deep, lingering wounds in children. For […]
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 […]
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18–19, esv). So much time is wasted by looking back. In the world around […]
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23, esv). One of the driving forces behind Western prosperity was the Protestant work ethic, which attributed value and virtue to hard work and self-discipline. Our society, though, continues to slip more toward entitlement—the belief that people deserve something for nothing. […]
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 […]
They reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from” (John 9:28–29, esv). When you start with a false assumption, it can never lead you to truth. Everyone today who […]
When he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you […]
When [Peter] saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me” (Matthew 14:30, esv). Picture the scene. A raging storm, giant waves crashing against a first-century fishing boat, and the disciples on the Sea of Galilee. Imagine their terror-filled eyes as water poured over the sides, negating their efforts to bail. […]
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the […]
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those […]