…free from your burdens!

7 people to cut loose from your inner circle
     'Refreshment in Refuge' from Gina Burgess

Devilish Advocates There are numerous examples of this type of person, but Job’s wife is an epitome. By no means am I advocating divorce here. I am pointing to the need to choose a wife or husband carefully. Matthew Henry points out a stark truth. When Satan was given permission to take any and all that belonged to Job, he left Job’s wife. This seeming oversight was filled with devilish purpose as we see in Job 2:9. She was like Michal to David by scoffing Job’s faith. To her, trials and troubles were signs of God’s lack, not His power or purpose.…

God Inhabits The Ordinary
     ''Christ in You...'' from Dale Krebbs

At times God may seem distant. It can be a very lonely feeling. At times, to the point of desperation. In these times, we long to reduce the distance, feel His closness again. This can be caused by distractions, neglect, and the ever present business and demands of our human existence. We feel the need for closeness with Jesus Christ, and we sense that He is somehow far away. All of this would evaporate by believing and understanding that Jesus inhabits the ordinaries of life...the seconds, minutes, and hours of our seeming mundane activities. Then there are those trials of our…

Long Life-Psalms 91:16
     'Voice of Inspiration' from Andy Castro

With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. Psalm 91:16 KJV This guy I know is one I don't want to be traveling with on a long road trip. He's a good guy, but his mouth tends to speak everything he is thinking. I mean everything. From the rising of the sun, till he lays his head down at night, he would say everything he's thinking. It's the gift of gab on a double shot of espresso. My ears work overtime consuming the thousands of letters crammed into my brain. The processing power it takes for my mind to comprehend the surplus of words causes me to lose…

True Success Is A Team Effort
     'Inspiration For You' from Randy Mitchell

Are you successful in your career, home life, love life, and being in general? Were you always this way, or did you have circumstances and people which helped make you who you are? No matter our positions in life, all of us have had others to help, nurture, support, and pay for our success along the road regardless of achievement. From giving birth to a child to our daily work as being loyal, caring, sympathetic, and encouraging to those we love, the devotion should never end on both sides of the equation. But, do we pull them along with us as we grow and surge forward, or conveniently…

Bible and Quote - March 11-15
     'Bible verse and quote' from Jan Couns

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation. Psalm 51:12a Man cannot find true essential joy anywhere but in his relationship to God. Oswald Chambers, 1874–1917 .sustain me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51:12 My lips are ready to confess, but my heart is slow to feel, and my ways reluctant to amend. The Valley of Vision, Puritan Prayers and Devotions, 1600/1700s (After King David ask God to restore and sustain him) Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will turn back to You. Psalm 51:13 Take your mess and turn it into a message. Don Piper, Baptist…

Trusting God Yields Happiness
     'God's Words For US' from Cecelia Lester

He who heeds the word wisely will find good; and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he. Proverbs 16:20 (NKJV) Words of Solomon I found a form of this verse in a gift book that I ran across in my living room. The book is entitled “Growing Through Prayer”. I am certain that each of……

Counting the Cost and Bearing the Cross
     'Point of Reference' from Fred Price

In these days of excuse-making for sin, tolerance of any and all behavior etc., the Progressives of one party demand we acquiesce to their agenda while the Conservatives lash out in anger against anyone who fails to meet their standards, however low they may be. What’s a Christian to do? First,……

Choking can be Hazardous to Your Eternal Health
     'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' from Tom Kelley

Our English is, I am told, unique. We have words that have more than one meaning, more than one spelling, more than one pronunciation as well as meanings with more than one word for common usage. And we wonder why some immigrants don't learn English. Maybe we should call our language American. I seriously doubt some stodgy Englishman would be caught dead speaking as we speak. But enough of the introductory material, the preface, the hook. The word "choke." As a verb it can mean to strangle someone, have a problem swallowing or become emotional. As a noun it is a device…

Inspired
     ''Winging It' from Stan Smith

Perhaps one of the most hotly contested Scriptures today is in Paul's second letter to Timothy. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) It is a claim to divine inspiration ("No, it's not," the skeptic--Christian or not--will tell you) of Scripture ("No, it's not," said skeptic will repeat), placing the Bible in the category of "God's Word" ("No, it doesn't," our…

The Second Sin
     'The Way' from Kevin Pauley

The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” – Genesis 3:12-13 A lot has been said about the first sin. Philosophers often wonder about it, though the average person doesn’t usually give it much thought. But the second sin may, in fact, be more important because we’ll never recover from the first sin as long as we’re guilty of the second. No matter…

Who Won?
     'Today's Little Lift' from Jim Bullington

College and High School football is a huge reality this time of year. Sometimes people argue for months and even years about which team would have won had this happened, or had the other thing not happened. If you are in the typical office workplace, chances are better than even that you will hear some “Monday morning quarterbacking” going on before the morning is over. However, the score will remain just as it was when the final whistle blew regardless of the “self-proclaimed experts” who hash and rehash the game until they are blue in the face. With…

"Lord God, You Have a Funny Way of Working at Times"
     'Word from Scotland' from Sandy Shaw

God is processing Joseph’s way to leadership in Egypt and every stepping stone to get Joseph to become Prime Minister of Egypt appears most painful. This fourth obstacle sees Joseph having his identity stolen – it is taken from him. Genesis 37 verses 31 to 35 –……