My marriage is on the rocks and we’ve tried counseling and we’ve read all the books and I don’t see things getting any better! The Lord lives. The same Lord who created a bride for himself out of rebellious, wicked, God-hating sinners is real and alive and active in your life. You can’t rescue your marriage, but your marriage is not too hard for Go

Hear David's words, "Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place." David is recognizing a new awareness. He is acknowledging a new sightedness. He understands what God is working on. You and I will only ever be holy by God's definition if we put the moral fences where God puts them. We tend to put the fences

1. Colossians 3:23 - Working for the Lord This verse says, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” If we can harness motivation from extrinsic rewards, I believe we can spark a deeper motivation from intrinsic rewards. As parents, we naturally enjoy our children, and when we are in consta

1 Corinthians 5:2, 4–5, and 12–13: “Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?… So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan…. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you

1. Pray Whenever you feel a restlessness or disturbance in your spirit, it’s a call to prayer. The Holy Spirit uses these emotions, these nudges, to get our attention and draw us into communication with Him. Jesus provides the perfect example⎯He always went to the Father in prayer. Scripture provides great illustrations of this when Jesus’ heart wa

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:31-33For we are his workmans

But we can say that there was the first work published that we know of that contained the Old and New Testaments (with some additions, like the Shepherd of Hermas and Epistle of Barnabas, Apocryphal books that would later be of historical interest but without authentication of divine inspiration). This Bible, the Codex Sinaiticus (the “Sinai Book,”

Proverbs 31 are principles to be pursued, NOT practices to be prescribed.Take a closer look. Verse 15 says, “She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.” What is being described here? A woman who is diligent in caring for her entire family. It is not prescribing a time to wake up, a system of re

1. Eve “The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it,” (Genesis 3:6 NLT).The planner in me dislikes not knowing. I want everything written down in orderly fashion in my ultra-efficient organizer. I want to be able to

There were also the women who followed and cared for Jesus in Galilee and Jerusalem (Mark 15:40-41, John 11:5), along with the women who followed Jesus and supported him and the other disciples out of their own means — Susanna, Joanna, and Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:1-3). There is Mary of Bethany who sat as Jesus’ feet in the posture of a disciple and

The Same God? To cite an obvious example, a god in whose name believers cut innocent people’s throats, behead them, burn them alive, and rape girls and women—as is being done at the time of this writing by Islamist terrorists in the name of “the one God”—cannot be the same god as the God of the Torah, the God who gave the Ten Commandments, who comm

(I began that section with “Why not…” Well, I’ll tell you why I don’t pray that kind of prayer more often. Because I don’t want God to answer it! If he does (and he’s rather good at answering prayers), I’ll probably be placed into the awkward position of witnessing. So…I do want to pray that prayer, despite the difficulties, but I often add an extr

What Did Mary and Joseph Do with the Gifts?Isaiah 60:6 describes the wealth of the nations coming to God’s people through Christ. Mary and Joseph saw a glimpse of this when they received the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And in this case, that wealth was likely used to help the family escape to another nation. Matthew tells us that as soo

2. Women are forgiven.Jesus came to earth to forgive sins. His forgiveness covers those sins society considers big and bad, the ones filling us with shame, and even the seemingly trivial white lies. The Messiah’s forgiveness extends to all, including women. Our Savior shows no favorites but extends the freedom from sin and hope of heaven to all who

Do not keep talking so proudlyor let your mouth speak such arrogance,for the Lord is a God who knows,and by him deeds are weighed.The bows of the warriors are broken,but those who stumbled are armed with strength.Those who were full hire themselves out for food,but those who were hungry are hungry no more.She who was barren has borne seven children

Jesus is sent by God to become the suffering servant. For a time, the Son of God, through whom all things were made, became a “little lower than the angels” (Psalm 8:5), so the “world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). We affirm Christ’s divine authority when we proclaim in the Athanasian Creed, “Therefore, it is the right faith that we belie

Second, there were mixed marriages (v. 2): The sons of God (that is, the professors of religion, who were called by the name of the Lord, and called upon that name), married the daughters of men (that is, those who were strangers to God and godliness). The posterity of Seth did not keep by themselves, as they ought to have done, both for the preser

When we die and go to live in the Present Heaven, we’ll be with Christ, and we’ll be full of joy. But it won’t be our permanent home. It will be a layover, not our final destination. Those now with the Lord are looking forward to their bodily resurrection and relocation to the New Earth, where Christ will reign forever.(Adapted from Randy Alcorn's

The Best-Selling Book of All Time If you are like the average American, you probably have a Bible. According to a 2017 survey by the American Bible Society, 87 percent of respondents said they own at least one Bible.Owning a Bible is not a new phenomenon. In a 2006 New Yorker article, journalist Daniel Radosh observed, “The familiar observation tha

Memorize Scripture to Know GodA billboard near my hometown displayed a Bible with the caption, “When all else fails, read the instructions” and many pastors have described the Bible as “God’s manual for life.” While these sound like fine ways to describe Scripture, they miss something very important. The last time you put together a piece of furnit