You and I control our peace. No one else… One morning, while on a pre-dawn walk with my husband, I felt a little grumpy. Mainly because it was early! I had been trying to find the perfect time to exercise because I know I need it, but my schedule (by my choice) limited my options. So as we started out, I ...

I was recently visiting with a respected minister friend of mine and the subject of righteousness came up. He said, “I think Malachi 4:2 is the best righteousness scripture in the whole Bible. You know what it says, right?” Well, at the moment, no. I drew a blank. Then he said, “But to you who fear My name the Sun ...

If you’re even a little bit of a Bible-studier than you’re familiar with the example James uses in describing the power of our tongue. He said, “A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest ...

What a blasted word. Or a blessed one. Again. To repeat. To mimic a former behavior, instance, or circumstance. Paul said, “In [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off]” (Galatians 5:1). We have a choice. ...

Do you remember the story of the man with the withered hand? The Bible says Jesus went into the synagogue and noticed the man. He had a weakness–his hand was deformed. We’re not told if it was like that from birth or possibly from an accident. But Jesus said to him, “[Stretch] Hold out your hand” (Mark 3:5). And when the man ...

You know I care about helping people find a “self to live with” through an understanding of who we’ve been made to be in Christ. But I was quite surprised to discover the scriptures use the word self quite a bit in the negative–not the positive. For example, you’ll find words like: self-confident, self-seeking, self-condemned, self-sufficiency, self-imposed, and self-willed. Yuck. Those ...

“Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3). A young man recently visited our church. I was told that he had given his heart to Jesus in one of our small groups. The first day he attended church, this young man –who seemingly had no prior church experience– went to the altar during worship. ...

Here’s a confession you should make daily: “I have been enabled and endued with Christ’s strength to recover and increase in every area of my life!” When we read the encouragement Paul issued to believers in Ephesus, this is his admonition: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10). Power and might ...

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 You are the keeper of your heart. Sometimes, we’re unaware that the trials we are facing are directly related to the things we are allowing. Jesus said, “And some [seed] fell among thorns, and thorns sprang up with it and choked it… Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when ...

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Jesus made it very clear: the SEED is the Word of God and the GROUND is man’s heart. In the parable of the sower, Jesus went on to explain there are four types of heart (or soil) that the Word will land upon, and three of the four produce little or no ...