Tempted in Every Way For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to […]
Love Your Enemies So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. ––Matthew 7:12 We heard it all the time growing up. From our grandmas to our moms, and regularly in church: Treat others as you would like to be treated. Otherwise […]
“Be it So” Versus Being Liked For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ––Romans 10:10 St. Ignatius of Antioch (98-117 AD) was a Syrian who became a disciple of the Apostle John after converting to Christianity from […]
Pleasures Forevermore You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. ––Psalm 16:11, AMP Sometimes I think we’ve become allergic to pleasure. At least in my church background, “pleasure” was not a word to be trusted. As in, if your life is full of pleasure, you are […]
Alone? [Jesus] took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My […]
The Death of Truth? You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times […]
His Vision for Your Life In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. ––Proverbs 3:6 God’s vision for you is solid, invincible, and has been in place for a long time. It is an oak tree—rooted, grounded, and able to withstand very strong winds of crisis and chaos. Only arrogance or […]
When Iron Floats They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!” The man of God [Elisha] asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha […]
Know Thyself Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ […]
Surrender Brings Victory Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 At precisely 9:04 am on September 2, 1945 aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, World War II officially ended. Signing on behalf of Emperor Hirohito, the Japanese foreign minister inked […]
