“Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 23:24, New Living Translation) Did you have a special hiding place as a child? A closet, a hidden nook? Somewhere you felt invisible, unfindable? I often played…
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there…
“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” (Proverbs 16:32, NKJV) Self-control. Discipline. Willpower. The King James Version of the Bible calls it temperance. Whatever word we use, self-indulgence is easier than self-control. Ask anyone…
“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” (I Thessalonians 5:14, ESV) Have you ever walked into a classroom and noticed a poster on the wall listing the rules of conduct the teacher expects within the class? The rules may…
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5, ESV) How many decisions will you make today? Twenty? Three hundred? One thousand? Researchers estimate the average adult makes 35,000 decision each day. (Your first decisions today may have been whether to hit…
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded…
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17, ESV) The class topic that Sunday was wisdom—what it is and how to obtain it. The discussion was lively and on target. Together we developed…
“When everything was ready, the LORD said to Noah, ‘Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous’ . . . Then the LORD closed the door behind them.” (Genesis 7:1, 16, NLT) Wouldn’t you love to…
“Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13, NKJV) One of the things I’ve missed during the past year’s restrictions on gatherings and travel has been having guests in my home. Whether our weekly small group from church or a…