When Bad News Comes

Read 2 Kings 18:1 through 20:21 Bad news often comes in the form of a letter. I once got a frightening letter from the Internal Revenue Service. I read, I wept, I prayed, I appealed, and I won. That letter was a snap compared to other letters. Some have opened letters from their spouses, letters that amounted to final notice …

Taking Friends to Jesus

Read Luke 5:1 through 6:49 “We’re in Branson and Mark had a heart attack,” Elizabeth wrote on her Facebook status. “He will have a heart cath and stents put in tomorrow.” She wanted to sob with fear and aloneness, but was trying to be strong for Mark and their two young children, who only knew that Daddy was too sick …

The Myth of Money

Read 1 Kings 9:1 through 11:43 How often have we thought that more money would make our lives easier? If we just got a raise, we could pay our bills more easily. If only our house or our car was nicer, we would feel better. If we only had money in savings, we could finally relax. Yet how often do …

What About Holiness?

Read 1 Peter 1:1 through 5:14 Modern Christians seem to have fallen into the entitlement trap. They expect a comfortable life and readily answered prayers. Rather than self-discipline or correction from church leaders when they stray from Scripture, they want acceptance of their personal practices. They may overlook or excuse sin in themselves and others. God calls believers to a …

Love God First

Read Mark 12:1 through 13:37 Some people get so busy doing God’s work that they neglect Him. They find themselves going through the motions of a church service without actually worshipping. Their daily bible reading becomes a duty instead of a delight. And their Christian service becomes a chore rather than a joy. These people need to return to the …

Forgiveness

Read Mark 10 through 11:33 “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:25). The story is told of a man who feared he was on his deathbed. He made an offering of peace to a man against whom he had held a …

Three Anxious Souls

Read Mark 5:14 through 6:13 Anxiety is common to everyone. “What will the doctor’s report say?” “Will the plane land safely in this storm?” “Where is my child? He is not home, and it is getting late.” “How will the bills be paid?” The people of the New Testament experienced anxiety too. A former demoniac was anxious to travel with Jesus …

God’s Strength

Read Joshua 13:1 through 17:18 “Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said” (Joshua 14:12). Though Caleb was 85 years old when he spoke these …

Personal Endorsement

Read Deuteronomy 31:1 through 32:52 When Karen’s friend began witnessing to her about God’s love and goodness, and how she had been delivered from depression, Karen was skeptical. After several invitations to visit church, she consented. After attending church several Sundays, she was saved. A radical change occurred in her life. She, too, became a zealous witness to the goodness …

Boundaries

Read Deuteronomy 12:1 through 14:29 The Israelites were given instructions on how to live for God. To follow those instructions was to obtain a promise. Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you (Deuteronomy 12:28). God wasn’t giving a list to make things hard. He knew the people …