The devil could not stop him, the cross could not defeat him, the grave could not hold him.
Text: Isaiah 53:10-12Only two things in this world are eternal—the Word of God and people. It only makes sense to build your life around those things that will last forever.
Text: 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20To understand forgiveness, consider Jesus on the cross. In his dying moments He uttered words that still ring across the centuries: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Even as he said those words, the crowd laughed, mocked, cheered, jeered. They taunted him. When he died, the people who put him to death were quite pleased with themselves. No one seemed very sorry. No one said, “I was wrong. This is a mistake.” And yet he said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” That is precisely what we must say if we are going to follow Jesus.
Text: Romans 15“Then He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…’ What did Jesus mean? He meant there were many people ready to be harvested for the Kingdom. All around us there are broken, bleeding, hurting people, ripped apart and left to die, they are ready to be reached if only someone will go to the harvest fields. If only someone will tell them about Jesus. Where are the harvest fields today? Let me name a few ….
Text: Matthew 9:35-38Is ministry your Spiritual Gift? No man calls himself into the ministry or into local church leadership. A self-called man and a God-called man are two different people. One man thinks he’s qualified so he calls himself. The other man feels unworthy but responds to God’s call. If God has called you, rise up, go forth and serve the Lord.
Text: 1 Timothy 4:14What is inner beauty that lasts and how do we get it? In today’s quest for physical beauty amidst a burgeoning population of aging Boomers who are finding it difficult to reconcile the ravages of time on their bodies, surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures are seeing explosive growth in this country. This craze is not particular only to celebrities and socialites but now includes the rest of society who can afford the cost of the procedures. We all want to look good, but all external and applied adornments will fail sooner or later. The Bible puts forth a better goal of the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. There is power and value in this inner beauty that all women can acquire. Scripture gives us a solid example of such beauty in the Old Testament character of Sarah. She was a woman of recognized great beauty in her society but Scripture credits her with a greater inner beauty of character that was more commendable and precious to God, described in First Peter, chapter three. Here, all Christian women are called to be “daughters of Sarah,” to emulate her lasting beauty of character quality and attitude. Ultimately for women, the beauty of eternal value is like that which Jesus demonstrated in his submission to and hope in God, in doing what is right without giving way to fear. This is true beauty in God’s sight.
Text: 1 Peter 3:1-6Are you looking around and complaining, or are you looking up and comprehending? As God eavesdrops on our lives, He makes a distinction between those who know Him and those who do not. We see this in the last verse of Malachi 3: “And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
Text: Malachi 3:13-18Jesus sometimes puts us in the fire in order to purify us until He can see His image in us. Remember that He prunes so that we can grow because He is much more interested in our character than He is in our comfort. He takes His launderer’s soap and cleans us so that we’re forgiven. Isaiah 1:18: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Text: Malachi 2:17-3:5There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it.
Text: Matthew 20:20-28The following story happened quite a few years ago. I was getting my hair cut at one of those places […]
Text: I Samuel 16:14-23