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Have you come down with an illness? Has silence descended into your marriage? Have you lost your job? Have you lost your church position? Have you been rejected by your peers at work or by your boss? Have your finances taken a slide downhill? Have you had to quit your job in order to take care of elderly parents, or a sick child?

There once was a fish that God had appointed to do a great service for Himself and to Jonah. Sometimes God puts us in the dark place so that we can realize what God has known all along. Sometimes the belly of the fish is the only place where we can come…  ( Click for more )

If you missed the first three parts, the links are at the bottom of this article.

Now we are at the part where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. The decision has been made, the temptations have been recognized, and you have a regimen to deal with those pesky temptations, so now it’s all smooth sailing, right? Not by a long shot. Now begins the real battle. Now is when Satan will dig in his heels and begin the battle in earnest.Now is when you fight more than just your fleshly desires, the Spiritual Battle begins, and Satan will be using every fiery dart and piercing…  ( Click for more )

Last time we talked briefly about making that conscious and deliberate decision to quit ________. The importance of this step cannot be emphasized enough.

If you recognize there is a problem, admit that what you are doing is wrong, but don’t make a decision to quit doing it, the flesh will win out every time. Temptations are extremely strong when we let them roll around in our heads. There is a very thin line between thinking about doing something and actually doing it.

According to the University of Baltimore the neurons in our brains initiate thoughts and memory. Without…  ( Click for more )

Breaking a sinful addiction is the hardest thing anyone can do. Addictions have brought the mightiest to their knees, and have surprised even the most stalwart that they got caught in Satan’s web of addictive seduction. Godly people do ungodly things. It is a fact which Beth Moore explores in her book (and one that I highly recommend), all because the flesh is weak.

As in every problem solving situation, one must first recognize there is a problem. It is a key element. There was a man who was suffering from severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms (DTs) and his family rushed him…  ( Click for more )

There are countless ways we Christians sin. We have called someone "you fool", even under our breath when they pull out in front of us on the highway. We have been angry with our siblings without justifiable cause, or even with justifiable cause but we are consumed with anger and bitterness rather than forgiveness. We have taken communion while being angry at a sibling. We have taken the LORD's name in vain, we have lied, we have stirred up strife. We have held a thing or a person higher than the LORD. We have stolen. We are not without sin.

Habitual sin, however, is…  ( Click for more )

1. The difference between love and lust.

1 John 4:16 And we have known and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and the one abiding in love abides in God, and God in him

Jeremiah 22:17 But your eyes and your heart lust for nothing but your unjust gain, and to shed innocent blood, and oppression, and to do violence.

Galatians 5:16 But I say, Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

2. When to hold on and when to let go.

Proverbs 3:18 She (wisdom) is a tree of life to the ones who lay hold on her, and happy…  ( Click for more )

A trip to the store on Wednesday had me reaching for a blindfold. What are women thinking? I saw lots of belly fat through thin T-shirts. I saw lots of chest skin and held my breath hoping against hope that a woman’s breasts would not fall out of her shirt when she bent over to unload her basket into the trunk of her car. It was a Fallout Alert! Why do women think this is pretty? Why do young girls cheapen themselves by wearing next to nothing? Why aren’t mothers telling their daughters, “You can’t wear that, it makes you look cheap.” Which is what my…  ( Click for more )

This month we’ve been studying scripture’s Wonder Woman. I was taught in Sunday School when I was a teen, that this paragon of virtue was a guideline, but unachievable. I bought into that for a long time. Only after studying this passage with the proper guidance from the Holy Spirit have I realized that the Bride of Christ is really Wonder Woman. Not because she is stronger than a locomotive or faster than a speeding bullet (oh, wait, that’s Super Man—hmm), but because of the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, living God Who dwells within us. Everything…  ( Click for more )

21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

The word translated scarlet is שׁני shânı̂y (shaw-nee') Of uncertain derivation; crimson, properly the insect which is the Coccus ilicis, an insect which infests oak trees, called kermes by the Arabians. This insect used to extract the color crimson when it was boiled. It also meant “shining” because of the brilliance of the color, and to get that color it was double-dipped. More on this in a moment.

Since a color…  ( Click for more )

I ran across a blog post that stated the Proverbs Super Woman was unattainable. He (of course it was a he and a pastor) blithely stated that he hoped his wife would read his post because he wanted her to know that no matter what, he loved her and she did not have to be this super woman to have his admiration.

Oh, come on!

That is most commendable, but so erroneous to think that Wonder Woman is unattainable. Absolutely, this Proverbs woman is quite the paragon, but her qualities are not unattainable. She is described as a virtuous woman…excellent woman…capable…noble…  ( Click for more )

Juggling multiple priorities can either be the blight or the crown of Today’s Woman. The first step is actually recognizing something as a priority then being able to categorize all of them into manageable slices. Some people use lists, others use piles, some use other methods. Regardless, if we do not have a system for managing and prioritizing our tasks, we flounder in stress and stacks of chores. The most perfect woman described is the one in Proverbs 31 where we see a true Super Woman. This Wonder Woman was able to manage multiple priorities with seeming little…  ( Click for more )

“I really don’t think God cares about the mundane things in our lives,” said someone in my Sunday School class a few years ago. She meant, why would He care what dress we wear or if our shoes are comfortable? He has so many more important things on His mind. Like what He has in mind for the Bride of Christ, or World events, or holding Satan’s tail, things like that. Those things are an excellent overview of the kinds of Wills of God. His perfect will, His absolute will, His divine will, His personal will for each of His children. There is a personal will because,…  ( Click for more )

…in hectic daily living.

What does your average week day morning sound like? Is it filled with soft, shuffling breezes carrying the scent of frying bacon and brewed coffee? Does the gentle sound of children’s giggles waft to you as the dulcet warmth of a hot shower cascades down your back?

Neither was mine twenty years ago. Kids gathering homework, phone ringing, breakfast frenzies, all the while trying to get mascara even and hose untwisted, the right color shoes and so on. It was nothing like the days when the babies slept until seven o’clock and…  ( Click for more )

To whom it concerns an open letter:

Dear Mr. President, Honorable Senators and Representatives, Governors, Judges, Councilmen, Aldermen, Mayors, Sheriffs, Police Chiefs, and other Persons holding positions of Authority,

The first heat of battle is over. There is now time to regroup and rest before donning the armor and entering the fray again to determine who will be our leaders for the next few years.

Lately, it has come to my attention that this world we live in has lost much of its ethical luster and needs a good polishing and cleaning. Since you have sought this position…  ( Click for more )

Is prayer an art? I can be lost in wonder at the beauty of some prayers. David's for example how Psalm 16 begins, A Secret Treasure of David. Watch over me, O God, for I take refuge in You... Or how about Paul's in Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may yet abound more and more in full knowledge and all perception, 10 for you to distinguish the things that differ, that you may be sincere and without blame for the day of Christ, 11 being filled with fruits of righteousness through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Some prayers have been combined…  ( Click for more )

Centuries before Jesus was led to Golgotha, God provided a picture of that event, a promise to His chosen people in the form of the Passover. He said it was to be an ordinance forever.

The lighting…

The lighting of the candles... Only the woman of the house may light the candles because she is the light of the home. Also, through a woman, through Mary came the Light of the World. The Light of the World is Jesus.... John 9:5 While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world. Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, nor of the moon, that they might…  ( Click for more )

This piece never fails to make me cry as I read exactly what happened to Jesus that long ago Passover. He suffered so much, but looked past the pain and all the shame to the joy beyond the cross specifically for you and for me. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below. This is the day the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

(Originally published in Arizona Medicine, March 1965, Arizona Medical Association. A medical explanation of what Jesus endured on the day He died.)

By Dr. C. Truman Davis

Dr. C. Truman Davis is a…  ( Click for more )

Being a Christian since I was six years old, I guess it was inevitable that I should take God's Grace for granted. I know absolutely that God has a purpose for everything and that includes me. So, I was sitting there one day feeling incredibly sorry for myself... trying to pray and realizing that my prayers weren’t even getting off the ground. Not, because there was unconfessed sin, but because I was focusing on my depression rather than on God's grace. We all have that problem at one time or another, there is nothing unique about it. David lamented about it, too.

Tony Evans,…  ( Click for more )

In Exodus we read about how God told Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. That is an extraordinary thing because God, being perfect and holy in every way, could never cause someone to sin. Wouldn’t we define a hard heart a sinful heart? Of course we would. But, God doesn’t sin. So with that premise and understanding we must delve deeper to understand what is meant here, and how it applies to us today.

Take a look at Exodus 4:21. Some translations say “I will harden his heart,” and others say, “I will make his…  ( Click for more )

That question was asked in the Studylight forums this past week. It is a very thought provoking question. What declares God in this world? David tells us that His handiwork declares Him in Psalm 19. Isaiah reminds us that we are his handiwork in chapter 64. Paul talks about the testimony of the world and the universe in Romans 1. But, where do you see God?

There is an astounding thing that I have personally witnessed which is a wonderful declaration from God. It is Him saying, “Look here. I would that you act like this.”

This spectacular sight I witnessed…  ( Click for more )

When I lived in north Louisiana, I made a point of being in front of the TV early weekday mornings to catch the five minute devotion by Pastor Bill Dye who pastors North Monroe Baptist. He has such a way of looking at ordinary things and extracting the spiritual lessons from them in such an extraordinary way. His spiritual points are like gold nuggets to carry around all day. My favorite was the one about dog food which went like this:

Pastor Bill's dog took a dislike to dry dog food. Just wouldn't eat it. So he got the idea to buy some nice, juicy canned dog food. Her ears perked…  ( Click for more )

By the incredibly smart fellow Anonymous.

Ages ago, actually last century, I ran across a story about a man and a huge rock. I have no idea who wrote it but God called it to my mind this week. I searched for it and could not find it, so I'll try to remember it as best I can.

A man had his home in the woods far from civilization. He liked it that way and relished the clear air and exercise he got walking as well as the marvelous peace he had from the bustling city just down the mountain. One morning he walked outside and saw a huge rock sitting right in the middle of the…  ( Click for more )

Rain plinked on the roof, or it might have been frozen rain, I was too tired to take enough interest to look. It was a soothing sound far outweighed by the splattering of rain in the puddles. The dampness soaked into my clothes and settled into my bones. The small blaze in the brazier finally gave up the fight against the cold and went out. I shivered.

Slipping the roped leather sandals from my feet, I tossed them to the corner of my bed and tucked my feet under me to warm them. I succeeded in chilling the only part of my body that had any warmth left. I brushed dirt from the…  ( Click for more )

So many people are blind about eternal security; they use the verses in Romans 11 about the branches being broken off as their proof text.

Who is doing the breaking off of the branch? Can the branch break itself off? No. It is God doing the breaking off, for He is in control.

So... We have to look at the Options or perhaps the action that results in the breaking off of the branch. What was the reason the natural olive tree branches (the Jews) were broken off? Because of unbelief. Why were the wild branches grafted in? Because of their faith/belief.

Here is what I am…  ( Click for more )