…He loves you and guides you!

Bible and Quote - March 30 - April 3
     'Bible verse and quote' from Jan Couns

The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. Psalm 121:5 His hand can cool the heat of my burning brow, and stay the tumult of my palpitating heart. That glorious right hand which molded the world can new-create my mind; the unwearied hand which bears the earth's huge pillars up can sustain my spirit; the loving hand which encloses all the saints can cherish me; and the mighty hand which breaketh in pieces the enemy can subdue my sins. CH Spurgeon, 1834-92, British Reformed Baptist The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. Psalm…

Transformed
     'God's Words For US' from Cecelia Lester

In The Colson Way, a book I am reading for review, I find myself focusing on the statements: “The apostles of Jesus Christ were witnesses. This did not only mean they had physically seen Christ—as they had—but that they had been transformed by Christ through a personal encounter with him.” 1 Transformed Lives In our 21Century world, do we see transformed lives or do we see people who think it is fashionable to go to church. If we see the latter types, we, as a church, will suffer whenever we present ourselves before Jesus Christ and he…

The Risk Taker
     'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' from Tom Kelley

There are risk takers and there are risk takers. Yesterday I met a risk taker. Or, I should say, I came close to meeting a risk taker. She was driving a black pickup truck. She thought she could pass safely with a blind hill ahead. She was right. She could pass safely, but only because I stood on my brakes when I came over the blind hill right at her. Her risk was not just hers but mine as well. Such risk takers are the ones we might deem undesirable. I met another risk taker last week. She was "shopping" at WalMart. She removed some items from the shelf in one section,…

The Importance of the Resurrection
     ''Winging It' from Stan Smith

Our annual celebration of the Resurrection is upon us. I thought we ought to look at it for a moment. There are some today who question the Resurrection of Christ. Oh, they're okay with a "spiritual resurrection" of sorts. You know, spirituality is quite popular today. I mean, it's a popular theme that when someone dies they're "up there in heaven, looking down on us." Nice. And that was Jesus, too ... right? No, not right. The bodily resurrection of Christ is not negotiable, nor is it minor. The Resurrection assures us that there is a God. Its violation of…

Courting Christ: Trust Him, Part 2
     'The Way' from Kevin Pauley

They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” - 2 Chronicles 20:20 (NASB) Here we see some old, formidable enemies that arose against Jehoshaphat. Who were these enemies? Interestingly, all three enemies were distant relatives. The Meuranites were Edomites who came from Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. The Moabites and Ammonites…

Justification XXII (3-23-11)
     'Today's Little Lift' from Jim Bullington

“Are We Blind Also?” In order to fully understand the focus text that will be used for today's devotional, one must read the entire story of Jesus' healing of the blind man in John 9. We have referred to this chapter time and again in this series, but with good reason. The figurative language in the last few verses of this chapter is interpreted by the literal events that precede it. In the closing verses of the chapter, “seeing” doesn't mean “seeing,” and “blind” doesn't mean “blind.” The Pharisees understood…

The Future Is Revealed as the Dream Is Interpreted
     'Word from Scotland' from Sandy Shaw

King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that is in reality is a nightmare – and in Daniel Chapter 2 he and three trusted friends pray regarding this situation. They asked together. All four prayed. That is what mattered – but only one asked what they each asked for. This could have been Daniel’s……

Poor? Really?
     'Refreshment in Refuge' from Gina Burgess

In my Thursday morning Bible study, we’re walking through Matthew. We’ve made it to Chapter 5. One of my ladies said she just zipped through the chapter, and another one said she found tons about it on the Internet. I was struck by the familiarity I have with the Beatitudes as well. It is so tempting to rely upon one’s existing knowledge when teaching something familiar. I am so glad that I dug deep, because I learned so much. I realized after three pages of notes that we would not make it through the whole chapter in one sitting. There is just too much…

Maybe Tommorow
     'Voice of Inspiration' from Andy Castro

Where does the time go? Birthdays go from creep to leap as the years past. Work weeks drag and vacations fly by. Time is a ridiculously silly concept. Who thought of it? What good is it? It seems to put stressful boundaries on us and is a relentless taskmaster with our future. It waits for nothing or no one. It plays no favorites. We can earn money, but time is allotted. We make stupid statements about time. "I've got time to kill." "I've got all the time in the world." "I'll have more time later." …

A Permanent Calling
     ''Christ in You...'' from Dale Krebbs

Once called, God does not change His mind. If you are discouraged, feeling like perhaps God has changed His mind about your calling in Christ, God only changes His mind about how He deals with you based on your reaction to His guidance. But the callings of God are without revocation: "From the point of view of the Gospel (good news), they [the Jews, at present] are enemies [of God], which is for your advantage and benefit. But from the point of view of God’s choice (of election, of divine selection), they are still the beloved (dear to Him) for the sake of their forefathers.…

The Challenge of Unhealthy Love
     'Inspiration For You' from Randy Mitchell

Most have experienced it: staying with the same person no matter how bad and unhealthy a relationship becomes, hoping against the odds that things will eventually get better allowing love to prevail. Some look to God, wish upon a star, or seek out and counsel with every psychologist around to heal the broken seams, replace bad with good, take another drink of love potion which brought bodies together in the first place, and inflame the sparks both felt while first meeting. But realistically, sometimes the right thing to do is walk away early on before you wake up one morning,…