“But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” (Psalm 73:2-3, NKJV) Have you ever questioned why some people seem to have such easy, prosperous lives even though they show no regard for God and His ways? They are wicked, prideful, and corrupt. It’s so easy to think, “The cheater gets rich while I go broke. That’s just not fair, God!” We might even go on to list all the things that have recently gone wrong in our lives—financial worries, illnesses, a broken-down car, trouble on the job. Yet the one who makes no pretense of serving God seemingly sails through life carefree. It’s the arrogant co-worker who gets the promotion and the raise. It’s the neighbor who never darkens a church door who drives a new luxury car while your clunker is about to fall apart. Is that fair? As we continue to read through Psalm 73, we hear the writer cry out with more questions. “Does God know what’s happening? Did I do all this for nothing?” he wondered. I’m sure the writer of this psalm isn’t the first one…

“Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20, ESV) I’m convinced that a lot of the grumpiness in this world can be cured if people learn to live a life of gratitude. Not only will we enjoy being around each other more, but we will also improve our physical and mental health. We will sleep better, have lower blood pressure, and feel less stress. We will enjoy better relationships and will lead happier, more satisfied lives. Research even suggests that we will become less materialistic as we fill our lives with gratitude. Have you ever considered the difference between gratitude and thankfulness? While similar, they are different. Thankfulness is usually tied to a specific thing, such as material benefits we receive. We are given a birthday gift, someone buys our lunch, or we receive a bonus at work. Thankfulness for such things gradually fades. Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation for the good things we enjoy in life, things that give us long-term satisfaction. Gratitude changes our perspective on how we view life. It allows us to see even little things as abundance. The apostle Paul did not…

“While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”  And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.  And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”  But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.  But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” Luke 5:12-16 ESV People are naturally drawn to the miraculous. Anything beyond what our finite minds can comprehend will lure our curious minds and eyes in. This doesn’t only apply to the church either. When I entered “Do miracles happen?” into a search engine, I received 27,300,000 results in 0.60 seconds. Humanity is always on the hunt for a miracle. On the contrary, not many people love and pursue desolate places. In my mind, I view the miraculous and the desolate as opposites. The miraculous is thriving, alive, and grand. Desolation is lonely, confusing,…

“So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” Daniel 6:28 NLT As we have journeyed through the story of Daniel, it is easy to see that God was working all things out for his good. He flourished in a foreign land, always maintaining his integrity and gaining the respect of those in high positions of power, and he survived every verbal attack and accusation spread about him. Throughout all of this, God always received the glory. If Daniel could sit with us today, I think he would agree that he became powerful in government and in spiritual matters only because of God. It was not accomplished by his strength or by his doing, but rather it was the result of a life fully surrendered to God. Daniel exercised his spiritual muscles daily, always spending time with his Lord, regardless of the possible repercussions. He was never led astray by the culture he was now immersed in. He was adaptable, but never compromised. Daniel became powerful because he was humble. Daniel never abused his power, never took it for granted, and always gave public glory to God for all that He had done. A…