Credit Where Credit is Due

Daniel 2:27-29 (NIV) Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these: “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going t

The Lord's Concern for You

Exodus 4:31b (NIV) And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

The Hebrew people had been in bondage in Egypt for a long time and the situation was getting worse. God had confided many years before to His servant, Abraham, that his descendants would suffer and be oppressed in Egypt for 400 years (Genesis 15:13). This happened because the people of God had started picking up the habits and customs of t

Properly Dressed for the Wedding

Galatians 3:27 (NIV) ...for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Even though some things have changed with dress protocols in our country, there are still dress codes that should and usually are adhered to. For example, most people would not show up to a funeral service in shorts and sandals. You would dress appropriately to show respect for the deceased and for their family. Another example is a wedding. If you show up to a wedding

Our Pilgrimage

Genesis 47:9 (NIV) And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.”

As we read the miraculous story of Jacob’s life, we see him begin as a shrewd schemer. He was the second of twin boys and when the first son, Esau, was born, the second, he, Jacob, was holding onto his brother’s heal. As Jacob grew, we read that he tricked Esau out of his

Then...God

Exodus 2:3, 5 (NIV) But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it.

Many times when you read scripture, you read a series of events that, to most peopl

Avoiding Sin

Genesis 39:10 (NIV) And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

I have had the opportunity to counsel with many, many believers who have needed guidance for their lives. A good number of those people’s issue was their struggle with sin. It is a fight to the finish when it comes to sin because the flesh is insatiable. It can never get enough and what it craves is sinful things. If you have not dealt properly with your

The Solution

John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

I was talking to a group of men the other day and one of them was sharing how his life had been radically transformed through a relationship with Jesus. Before being saved, he was in and out of prison, was coping with life by using drugs, and he couldn't maintain a relationship. His life was a complete mess until he found Jesus. But before he got into hi

Repairing the Breaches

Ezekiel 13:5 (NIV) You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord.

During the time of the Prophet Ezekiel’s ministry, God used him to correct His people who had sinned greatly against Him. He also used him to correct the prophets who instead of telling the people the truth, prophesied what the people’s itching ears wanted to hear. Ezekiel seemed to be one of the very few

Not in Vain

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV) Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

As I reflect on all the years of my life on this earth, I shudder to think of all the things that I have gotten myself involved with that were a total waste of time. There are a lot of things that we spend time doing that don’t even have any temporary value, le

For the Sake of You

Genesis 26:24 (NIV) That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

Abraham is known as the father of our faith. The Bible tells us that the Lord appeared to Abraham and told him to leave everything he ever knew, including his country and his relatives and to go to a land that He was going to show hi

Standing the Test

Romans 16:10a (NIV) Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.

I never liked tests when I was in school. Not many students do, but they are a sure way to see how much of what has been taught has been absorbed and learned. There are many things that test us in life. Sometimes our strength is tested in certain situations. Sometimes it’s our common sense and at other times, our ingenuity is tested. Those are all areas that are important. But there is one test

He Watches Over You

Psalm 121:5-8 (NIV) The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

I was recently at the beach with my grandchildren and I found out that they all love to be in the water. This is especially true of my grandson, Gabriel, who is four years old. From the momen

Getting the Prize

1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV) Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

I have always loved prizes, no matter how small. Back when I was a child, my mom and dad would buy cereal boxes that had a prize inside. Of course, I couldn’t wait till the box was not as full to make it easier to get to the prize, so I would dig into the box and make a mess trying to find it. Then there were the times when we wou

No Condemnation!

Romans 8:1 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...

To be condemned is to be declared guilty, to be doomed or to be declared as incurable. It is a horrible experience to be condemned. You are condemned when you do things so terrible that the only solution is to exact punishment on you. Many people in society have been condemned either to life in prison or worse, condemned to die. In this country, those things happen to people who h

Hope that Overcomes Despair

Lamentations 3:21-26 (NIV) Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

When you read the first part of the third chapter o