With Everything In You

Psalm 103:1 (ESV) Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! There is a recurring theme throughout scripture and it is about giving your all to God. The verse above has the psalmist blessing (praising, worshipping) the Lord with everything that is within him. Jesus taught us that we must love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30), and the Apostle Paul admonished us to serve wholeheartedly (Ephesians 6:7). Why does

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Seeing the Glory of God

John 11:39-40 (NIV) “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

When Jesus was told that Lazarus was sick, he waited two days before starting to make His way to Bethany where Lazarus lived. At that time, he told the disciples that this was intended for God’s glory. They didn’t

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The Wonders in the Deep

Psalm 107:23-24 (NIV) Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep.

Psalm 107 begins by giving thanks to the Lord and then encouraging the redeemed of the Lord to tell their story (verses 1 ands 2). It then speaks about all the different situations that those redeemed people of the Lord experienced. Then it comes to the passage of scripture above and in order to be able to unders

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Praying to Your God

Psalm 63:1-2 (NIV) You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

There is a big difference in your heart and mind when you see something as belonging to you. When something is yours, you treat it much differently than you do if it were not yours. For example, a person may be a friend but if they become your f

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All That He Asks Is All

Psalm 103:1 (ESV) Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

One of the most important things that we must learn as the people of God is that the Lord is not just looking to be a part of our lives. He is not looking for you to have a place in your heart for Him, but instead He is looking for you to give Him all your heart. He is not looking for you to love Him, but instead He is looking for you to love Him with all your heart. He is not looking for

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Mercy So Great

Genesis 19:15-16 (NIV) At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!” When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful.

When the Lord sent two angels to Sodom to destroy the city along with the c

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Never Forget

Psalm 106:12-13 (NIV) Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.

I have many times read the accounts in the Word of God about the exodus of the people of God who were slaves in Egypt and about how the Lord used Moses to deliver them from Pharoah’s hand. Then there is the account of how God parted the Red Sea like a curtain, allowing Moses and the people to not only cross the sea, but to

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The Reason That He Died

1 Thessalonians 5:10 (NIV) He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

We who are followers of Christ all know that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins, but the reason He died is a lot more expansive than that. I’m sure that everyone who has “received” Christ as their Lord and Savior are happy that their sins are forgiven, but what has happened since the day that they did that? Many Christians, after their salvation experien

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When Clean is Not Good

Proverbs 14:4 (ESV) Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

Have you ever walked into a stable area where oxen are kept? It is smelly and dirty. But if it is smelly and dirty, that means that there are oxen in there, which means that if you need to get some work done that requires using the strength of oxen, you will be able to get it done. To have a clean and nice-smelling stable, it has to be empty. If it's empty, i

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True Humility

Proverbs 22:4 (NIV) Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.

There was a time when I was on staff at a church and the leadership at the church decided that the staff needed to be evaluated every year or so, so they created a list of questions to answer on an evaluation form. Each staff member was to answer the questions as honestly as possible. I received mine and I set off to answer the questions as best I could. I was doing fine until I r

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The Importance of Citizenship

Acts 22:27-29 (NIV) The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.

Citizenship is important. There are certain rights and privileges that are onl

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The Right One to Go To

Proverbs 29:26 (NIV) Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that one gets justice.

It’s good to know people in high places. When you get in any type of trouble, people in high places can help you...or not. There are two problems with that thought. The first problem is that there is no guarantee that they will help you. The second problem is that the vast majority of people don’t know anyone in high places. We always think that if we can just get to some

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When God Says “Don’t Go”

Acts 16:6 (NIV) Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.

In the Book of Acts, we read about the different missionary trips that the Apostle Paul took with Barnabas and later on, with Silas. They went through different regions as the Holy Spirit led them and their trips were very fruitful in bringing many people into a relationship with Jesus. As your re

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He Doesn’t Forget

Jeremiah 39:16-17 (NIV) “Go and tell Ebed-Melek the Cushite, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city—words concerning disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. But I will rescue you on that day, declares the Lord; you will not be given into the hands of those you fear.”

Jeremiah was a prophet during a very bad time in the history of Judah. The people of Judah were very s

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What is Truth?

John 18:37-38 (NIV) “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” retorted Pilate.

Everyone wants to know what truth is. Not everyone believes the same truth. Some people believe that everyone has their own truth. But there are not multiple versions of the truth. There is only one truth. Something

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