1. God created the angels before he created anything else in the universe.All of the angels were created simultaneously—and their number is incomprehensible. Revelation 5:11 records the number of Angels: “Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands and thousands.” The Bible says that the angels watched God work and shouted for joy at the results

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalms 100:4)Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalms 106:1)And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col

1. Storms will come.“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2It doesn't say "if," but "when." They will happen. It’s inevitable and unavoidable. But God still remin

1. You must fight to win in this thing called life. Work hard and do your best and some day you may be good enough.Truth: You already have the victory in Christ Jesus. Step out and act like you believe it.They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb... Rev. 12:11Photo credit: Unsplash2. You have no identity.Find it in other things: work, men, p

Yes, being stretched is hard sometimes. There is a huge amount of fear, but like Bartimaeus there can also be a huge amount of joy. It can take us places we never could have imagined on our own.May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you w

1. Exalt, exaltedI had an idea of this, but I had to confirm it with the dictionary. Why? Because people don’t use “exalt” in conversation about anything unless they are talking about a biblical passage or some topic close to a Christian activity. The word is a strong verb, but the coincidence of using it only for religious talk makes it seem like

— Luke 19:1-10What I have learned from Zacchaeus: 1. Even the worst of sinners knows truth.Even in the worst times of my life, when I have been the farthest from Christ, I knew the difference between right and wrong. For one reason, my parents taught me the difference but also, God says we are born knowing the difference—even though we choose sin.

1. Daniel was an expat.Even though Daniel goes down in Jewish and Christian history books as one of Israel’s finest, he didn’t live in Israel for very long. Deported as a captive when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in 605 B.C., Daniel lived most of his life in Babylon.2. Daniel had a bit of an identity crisis. His Hebrew name, Daniel, means "Go

1. God is the originator of love.“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Without God, we would not be capable of loving. It is something he put in us.God develops our character as we walk with him, and the longer we walk with God, the more people will begin to see what God looks like, because God is love. He tells us in 1 John 3:2 that o

1. The Sabbath was one of God’s very first ideas.The Sabbath Day is an ordinance of creation.Just as God instituted marriage and work in the Garden of Eden, so He also instituted Sabbath observance at creation. He set one day in seven aside for rest and worship at the very beginning of the Bible’s story. Genesis 2:3 says, “God blessed the seventh d

4. Which of the following statements describe your general attitude toward prayer? Check all that apply._ Prayer is like a marriage—it is hard work but can be very rewarding._ I want to like prayer, but I really don’t._ Prayer is like writing “thank you” notes—it is an obligation I need to fulfill._ I look forward to prayer._ I enjoy the time I spe

True faith is a working grace; it works by love to God, and to our brethren. May we be counted among those who, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. The danger of old was not in things of no consequence in themselves, as many forms and observances now are. But without faith working by love, all else is worthless, and com

In the same way, giants often begin quite small. When we have a big sin in our lives, it started as a little sin that was allowed, nurtured, fed, and even encouraged, and then became a giant that taunts us. It started with a so-called Christian liberty that we proclaimed and is now getting the best of us.In time, little things become big things.Two

No wonder. Our Lord was facing a cruel death, and they were nursing their ambitions. They were ashamed. Swete says that the dispute as to who should be greatest, was probably suggested by the selection of the Three for the mysterious ascent of Hermon, and the prominence of Peter among the three.What are some of the things are necessary for believer

Now that we know that "power" is a central theme in Luke's Gospel, we need to determine how the word is used throughout the book. Each occurrence of the word can be categorized by what it describes. When we categorize the different occurrences of dunamis (δύναμις) in Luke's Gospel, we find that it describes four things.In the beginning of Luke's G

1. Having a challenging teen causes you to grow in dependence on God.Going along with what was mentioned before, having a difficult teen causes us to grow in dependence on God—to cry out to the Lord in prayer, to seek him for mercy and grace and wisdom. It drives us to his Word, to seek out his promises. It causes us to grow in faith and trust in t

• In Nehemiah 1:4 after learning about the disrepair of the city of Jerusalem, he writes: “I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” In Nehemiah 1:5-10 he records his heart-felt prayer in which he asks God to act on behalf of the city of Jerusalem.• In Nehemiah 2:4 when King Artaxerxes probes Nehemiah about his sadness, Nehemiah shoots u

Those who have the salvation of God through faith in Jesus Christ know the secret to peace is found in thanksgiving. The Apostle Paul, writing to the Philippians, said, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understandin

The third temptation cuts to the chase. There’s not much spin on this one. It is a blatant attempt to have Jesus avoid the anguish of the cross and, thereby, disobey the Father (Hebrews 12:2-3). He could be declared “Lord of Lords” without bearing God’s wrath on behalf of sinners if he merely subjected himself to Satan. In response Jesus commits to