He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends. (Proverbs 17:9, NKJV) When we love the people in our lives, we will not reveal their transgressions. We will not talk behind their backs gossiping about them with others. The definition of gossip is “idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others.” We should not listen to or participate in gossip disguised as “prayer requests” or “prayer updates.” Most of us have heard this or even participated because no one is perfect. It’s important to use discernment to navigate these…
So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off. (I Samuel 17:38-39, NKJV) When Saul consented to allowing David to fight Goliath, he thought it would be best if David would fight him with his armor and in his way. If all it took was armor and a battle plan, his men would have already defeated Goliath. But, like so many of us, Saul was caught up in his own issues and could not take a step back and think things through. David arrived on the battlefield fresh and not as weary and could see the situation well. Perhaps too well. David’s faith in God and favor from God made others around him uncomfortable. His brothers harassed and mocked him, and soon after God delivered Goliath into David’s hand, Saul hunted him down and tried to kill him. However, on that day on that battlefield, David knew that he…
YOUR testimony ROCKS. In the fourth chapter of Joshua, we read about the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River by the children of Israel. We remember that God instructed that each of the twelve tribes of Israel take a large stone from the riverbed, and Joshua set up those stones—each tribe, a stone—on the riverbank at Gilgal as a monument to God’s faithfulness to their family tree. It was to remain a LANDMARK—a tangible testimony to the power of God so that they, and their children … and their children’s children … would always REMEMBER. As a Jesus-name, Spirit-filled believer, you are a living landmark. Your faith is a tower of testimony declaring the goodness of God and the truth of His Word to the flat habitat of unbelief in our world. Every healing, deliverance, and victory adds to your faith, and every declaration of that faith is a stone that raises your praises a little higher for all around you—and those who come after you—to see. “They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great goodness and shall sing of Thy righteousness.” (Psalm 145:7 KJV) What about YOUR FAMILY’s “memorial of faith”? Is yours a multi-generational family of believers?…
I love rocks. Take me to a rocky beach and I’m happy as a clam for hours. I love to look at them, study them, find the prettiest ones, and stack them up as high as I can as a monument to say that “I was here.” I don’t think they have any special powers—I just like rocks. Always have. I’ve heard that it’s not kosher to stack up stones on the beach and leave them that way—it changes the natural setting and habitat for others who chance to visit the area. Forgive me. I know that rocks don’t naturally…
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Psalm 119:9 As we come to the end of Paul’s admonitions to Timothy, we see the word “purity.” Paul knew that Timothy would face many temptations and by hiding the Word of God in his heart, he would be able to overcome them. In II Timothy 2:22, Paul advised him to “Flee also youthful lusts.” Today we live in a world that seemingly has cast aside all morals and the word “purity” has almost disappeared from society. Ways of life that once were hidden are now proclaimed as being normal. The entertainment world has influenced all areas of our society. But God’s commandments and promises have not changed. His Word still stands. Romans 6:12-13 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus…
“When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” II Timothy 1:5-6 As we continue in our study of I Timothy 4:12, we see that “faith” is an important attribute for those who desire to be an example to others. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul was nearing the time of his death and perhaps he wanted to see his son in the faith once more. He senses that the young evangelist may be facing difficulties, and he desires to encourage him and stir up his desire to serve God. He reminds him of the faith he had learned as a child from his mother and grandmother and wants to see him grow in this aspect. We all have received a measure of faith: Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder…