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Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” - Jeremiah 31:3

They say hind sight Isaiah 20/20. We look back on our lives and see God at work. Those situations that we thought would be the end of us turned out to be our finest hour. Those people that we mistakenly thought were our best friends or the loves of our lives, ended up being jerks. We were heartbroken when we lost them and shook our little fists at God and cried “Why, God? Why are you doing this to me?”…  ( Click for more )

…Because of your faith, it will happen. Matthew 9:29

I read a story about a church that was located in an area beset by drought. At last, they decided to pray about the matter. Isn’t it funny how we don’t start out praying? We always wait until the situation seems hopeless then yell out, “God! Help!” Anyway, only one person showed up to the prayer meeting with an umbrella. They were all there ostensibly to ask God for rain, but only one among the congregation actually believed God would answer. When you pray, do you carry an “umbrella”…  ( Click for more )

Yahweh M’Kaddesh - 'The Lord Who Who Makes Holy'

Keep all my laws and obey them, for I am the Lord, who makes you holy. - Leviticus 20:8

At the village church in Kalonovka, Russia, attendance at Sunday school picked up after the priest started handing out candy. One of the most faithful attendees was a pug-nosed, pugnacious lad who recited his Scriptures piously, pocketed his reward, and then fled into the fields to munch on it. The priest took a liking to the boy and persuaded him to attend church school. This was preferable to doing household chores from…  ( Click for more )

This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand or perform. – Deuteronomy 30:11

Naaman was a celebrated, powerful officer in the Assyrian army, who had a huge problem: leprosy. He heard of an Israeli prophet with the power to heal him, so he asked for and received permission to travel to Israel (a considerable effort in the day) to find this prophet. The Assyrian king tried to help with a letter of introduction to the king of Israel, asking him to heal Naaman. The Israelite king thought that Naaman was trying to provoke a war. The prophet,…  ( Click for more )

He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The Lord gave me everything I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” Job 1:21

Once, a fox discovered a vineyard. It was completely enclosed by a wall, except for one small hole. When the fox tried to enter the hole, he discovered he could not. It was too small. So he decided to fast for three days until he became thin enough to enter through the hole. He began fasting and, after three days, was scrawny enough to make it. He entered the…  ( Click for more )

Just as the body is dead without a spirit, so also faith is dead without good deeds. – Js. 2:26

Nehemiah had a great job. He worked for the king and got to eat like one. He had an easy job and didn’t particularly suffer from any want or persecution. But he got a burden for Jerusalem. He prayed and prayed and the burden only became greater. Finally, he did something about it. It was risky. It was foolhardy. It was downright foolish. But God answered amazingly and provided.

Nehemiah was able to go to Jerusalem and start building. The book…  ( Click for more )

I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. Psalm 16:8

Is this verse a reality in your life? When someone is right beside you, don’t you tend to think about them more? Don’t you address them in conversation? How often have you addressed the Lord in the last hour? How prominent has He been in your thoughts?

Some of the best times I have spent with the Lord have not been in a church. I have felt His presence while sitting high in a pine tree, listening to the wind sigh in the needles, feeling it sway from side to side,…  ( Click for more )

…Be earnest and disciplined in your prayers…Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere. 1 Peter 4:7; Ephesians 6:18

Most girls, when they fight, flail away wildly – hair falling in their eyes, eyes closed, they swing with great energy, but with little accomplishment. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some phenomenal female warriors, but most girls fight like – well, girls!

We Christians are often guilty…  ( Click for more )

For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good words from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil words from an evil heart. – Matthew 12:34b-35

A blind man once sat in a very popular park. He loved to sit there and listen to all the activities in the beautiful place. One day, there was a sudden influx of noise as though a great crowd was gathering. He overheard some people say, “Oh, the food is delicious! I’m stuffed! This is the best I’ve eaten in a while!”

The blind man thought to himself, “A…  ( Click for more )

But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did. He declared us not guilty because of his great kindness. And now we know that we will inherit eternal life. – Titus 3:4-7

There once was a rich man who had all the world could offer. But the pride of his life was his son. He arranged a marriage for his son to a beautiful young…  ( Click for more )

“And I assure you of this: If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I, the Son of Man, will openly acknowledge that person in the presence of God’s angels. But if anyone denies me here on earth, I will deny that person before God’s angels. – Luke 12:8-9

Two hundred years ago, in the southern French town of Aigues-Mortes, a young girl named Marie Durant was dragged before the court and charged with heresy. Marie was a Huguenot. She was bright, attractive and only fourteen years old. In those days, fourteen was marriageable. She was commanded…  ( Click for more )

The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: - Matthew 1:1

A tzaddik was called to be the elder of a wealthy church in a large metropolitan city. Shortly after his arrival, some of the more prominent members invited him to lunch. Hoping to impress their new elder, they each began listing their various exalted positions within the social strata of that great city. As the conversation progressed, they started discussing their heritage. “My ancestors came over on the Mayflower” claimed one. “I list Robert the Bruce as…  ( Click for more )

Let me hear of your unfailing love to me in the morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I have come to you in prayer. Psalm 143:8

Prayer can be like a compass. It is a time to ask God for direction in your life. It is a time to ask Him to show you the way. If you ask honestly and in faith, He will always show you. Don’t expect Him to show you the next twenty years, for they are in a large part yet to be determined by your obedience. He will show you, however, the next step, the next goal. You must be satisfied with that and trust Him to take care of…  ( Click for more )

When Jesus had tasted it, he uttered another loud cry, “It is finished! Father I entrust my spirit into your hands!” With these words he bowed his head and breathed his last, releasing his spirit. – Luke 23:46; John 19:30

A man had a son who was the commander of a tank artillery division. The son was so anti-religious that he would even complain about a photograph of his grandfather praying over a meal that hung in his father’s house. “That man was an idiot! Take that embarrassing picture down!” he would shout.

But one day, he converted!…  ( Click for more )

When arguing with fools, don’t answer their foolish arguments, or you will become as foolish as they are. When arguing with fools, be sure to answer their foolish arguments, or they will become wise in their own estimation. – Proverbs 26:4-5

Have you ever had to deal with a fool? You know – bull headed, ignorant, unteachable, absolutely convinced of the rightness of their cause contrary to all evidence and good sense, easily angered, thin skinned, and self-righteous – a fool. Of course you have – we all have. The Bible has sound advice for dealing…  ( Click for more )

Once when Jesus had been out praying, one of his disciples came to him as he finished and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1 “Teach us to pray.” This disciple had a flash of insight. He realized that there were hidden depths, unrealized complexities to prayer that were eluding him. When audiences who are not familiar with the art of grappling watch two master wrestlers, they often think not much is happening. Because they have not tried wrestling themselves, they don’t see the nuances. They don’t…  ( Click for more )

I will honor only those who honor me, and I will despise those who despise me. I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. – 1 Samuel 2:30b-31a Eli was a good man with bad sons, a frequent phenomenon in the Bible. Eli’s two sons were supposed to assist him at the temple, but they began to take for themselves meat that was supposed to be sacrificed to God. As if that was not enough, they took the meat by force and they also slept with women who came to worship at the temple! Eli tried halfheartedly to rebuke them but was…  ( Click for more )

He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him. – John 14:21

A man approached a tzaddick, wanting to be reassured that he was on the right path. When the elder gently pointed out sins that the young man was contentedly living with, he answered, “Yeah, I know that those are probably sins, but I attend church, I provide for my wife and I don’t steal. So, I think that in the end God will accept me.”

The tzaddik was nonplussed…  ( Click for more )

Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.” – Matthew 11:29-30

A jewelry merchant and a tool seller simultaneously checked into a hotel. The jewelry merchant had his small case, filled with diamonds, emeralds and pearls. The tool seller had a trunk filled with hammers, saws, drills and other kinds of tools.

Both were served by the same porter. The jewelry merchant proceeded up to his room and the porter soon arrived…  ( Click for more )

“…Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” - Matthew 19:21.

Awiya was renowned as a great hunter. People far and wide talked of his exploits and craftiness. Being part pygmy, he stood barely five feet tall, but he did not rely on his strength or speed to catch his prey. He knew his quarry well and caught them by using their weaknesses.

One day, he went into the jungle to catch a monkey. He went to a coconut tree and found a nut. Drilling two holes into the nut (one larger…  ( Click for more )

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” - Matthew 11:15

I am slowly and inexorably going deaf. I finally admitted this a couple of years ago. I got tired of pretending to hear what people were saying; tired of people getting aggravated with me because I simply nodded and smiled when I failed to catch what they had said, and then didn’t show up when I was supposed to. My wife ended up being the deciding factor. “You’re hard of hearing.” She explained as though to a child. “You need hearing aids. It’s not the end…  ( Click for more )

Hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. - 1 Peter 4:8

A young boy was once offered a paper route. It didn’t pay much money, but he knew having a job would build good character, so he took it, good character being important to fourth graders.

He began lingering on the front porch of one of his customers who was an elderly widow. She’d watch for him to come down her street, and by the time he’d pedaled up to her house, there’d be a slushy bottle of Coke waiting for him. He’d sit and…  ( Click for more )

You are my God. I worship you. In my heart, I long for you, as I would long for a stream in a scorching desert. I have seen your power and your glory in the place of worship. You love means more than life to me, and I praise you. – Psalm 63:1-3

“I love you.” We think of our first grade school crush. We demonstrate it by punching her or pulling her pony tail if we’re male. If we’re female, we ignore him or call him names. “I love you,” we tell our lover as we show them the ring. In our search for their hearts we seek first their hands…  ( Click for more )

If another believer sins, rebuke him; then if he repents, forgive him. 3" target="_blank">Luke 17:3

Forgiveness is first granted, then felt. Christians frequently raise the objection that if you act forgiving without really feeling it, you are guilty of hypocrisy. But we find in Luke 17 that feelings are not a necessary ingredient of obedience. Jesus began with a warning in verse 3: “Be careful of yourselves.” The warning was necessary; there are many ways to err about forgiveness. The warning is pertinent to many Christians who are caught up in the easy rationalizations…  ( Click for more )