“Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you — better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away” (Proverbs 27:10).Sometimes our loneliness stems from unmet expectations about what our relationships should be like — we look at other families and wish we were part of somethi

The song “Beautiful One” by Jeremy Camp came out in the early 2000s. The chorus goes:“Beautiful One I loveYou're beautiful One I adoreBeautiful One, my soul must sing”Jesus is beautiful, and when we have Him in our hearts, we cannot help but adore Him. Then, we recognize that we are beautiful too because of Him.4. Elders Have Witnessed God’s Faithf

There might be days when we are sacrificing just like that relative in the kitchen, feeling like no one sees all of the hard work we are putting in. However, God sees us, the aroma of our life sacrifices are pleasing to Him. They matter. They show others His love for them and the love that He has for us.What Scent Do I Give Off?The fact still remai

To help, Elisha encouraged her to collect jars from all her neighbors, and to pour the little bit of oil she owned into those jars. By a miracle, God allowed all the jars to be filled. When they were full, Elisha said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest” (2 Kings 4:7b). As a practical matter, once her h

Father, this final week of Advent, fill our hearts and minds with the significance of that truth. Thank you, Lord, for loving us enough to send Jesus. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen. (Hope Bollinger)5. A Prayer to Prepare Our Heart for Christ’s ComingFather, just as You sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus, help me to clear the

Jesus as the WordMany years later, God sent his son, Jesus, to be our savior and show us the way to salvation. Jesus was a human representation of God’s word. John 1:1 tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And a few lines later, he tells us, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

2. Your sexual past may affect your marriageOne big problem sex before marriage can cause is guilt. If you or your partner had sex with others before getting married, one or both of you may feel guilt, shame, or regret for your past actions. When you get married and are with the one person you want to share your life and body with, you may regret t

How Can We Follow the "A Little Leaven Leavens the Whole Lump" Warning Today?If we are not careful, we can conclude that leaven is bad; however, like many things, it depends on how you use it. So, depending on what leaven means, the metaphor of a little leaven leaving the whole lump can be either positive or negative.There is nothing bad about lite

But the sacrifices given by men were not effective; they were temporary and only served as a picture of a better sacrifice to come. Hebrews 10:1-4 states, “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perf

Activities for the day have ranged from chasing crickets to spotting cloud patterns in the sky, differing from church to church, parish to parish.We can imagine that on the Sunday leading up to Ascension that many churches probably also have a reading included in the service about Christ’s ascension into heaven.What Church Holiday Comes After Ascen

It is also important to weigh the costs against the benefits. When we accept Christ as our savior, we get so much more than just escaping hell. We gain eternal life with God in Heaven and His presence here on earth. We become children of God and co-heirs with Christ. We are fully restored and healed as we were meant to be, if not on earth, then in

Day 1 - Psalm 145:1-3"I will exalt you, my God the King;I will praise your name for ever and ever.Every day I will praise youand extol your name for ever and ever.Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;his greatness no one can fathom."When we long to develop a heart of thankfulness, we must first look to the Lord God our King. He is the very e

What makes you different from everyone else around you? I would argue that the life of a believer will have a joy that is not of this world. Yes, we all have a variety of personalities with areas of strengths and weaknesses, but if we have the Holy Spirit, we should be producing joy (John 15:5). The disciples continually were filled with joy and th

Secondly, Rachel selects Joseph’s name on the basis of an optimistic hope that God will “add another son.” In fact, the Hebrew root of Joseph’s name means to add or continue (see Strong’s Hebrew Concordance #3130 and #3254). So, the name Joseph anticipates the blessing of another son to come. Sadly, in Rachel’s case, this son was Benjamin, and she

1. George Washington1st President of the United StatesWashington included this prayer in a letter to the states. It reveals his desire for the new nation’s people to be knit together by a love for God and for each other. That ideal still applies today to our families, our communities, and beyond, wherever we live.“I now make it my earnest prayer, t

Book VBook V has within it two sub-books: the Hallel and the Songs of Ascent. These point to the promise of a new Exodus. Positioned within the middle of these sub-books is Psalm 119 — that really long psalm all about delight in the Torah. Once again, we see the original theme of the book of the Psalms. The whole thing concludes with five Hallelu-Y

His coveting has caused him to buy into the lie of fake-it-until-you-make-it. Because of this, it has caused him to not find any satisfaction with his own church. His desire to be bigger overshadows any of the good or potential that is happening in his church. Because coveting has set in, nothing is ever good enough. The people aren’t good enough.

1. Jesus Let us begin with the Creator of gratitude Himself. Jesus modeled perfect thankfulness during His lifetime on earth. There are four specific times when Jesus gave thanks:In Rejection and AcceptanceHe thanked God for hiding things from those who were prideful and revealing them to those like children (Luke 10:21). I love how we learn from J

Do the Wicked Prosper? Have you ever looked around and thought, good guys never get any breaks! Or noticed that businesspeople who cook the books and over promise/under deliver set record profits every year? And what about the people who abuse their bodies with drugs and alcohol, go for their annual physical and get clean bills of health, while hea

4. Sing Songs of Grace and Thanksgiving to GodThe Bible tells us over and over how much God loves singing. Psalm 7:17 talks about how the psalmist will “sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.” Psalm 100:1-3 urges, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the