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Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands. But He directly pays back and destroys those who hate Him. He will not hesitate to directly pay back the one who hates Him. So keep the command--the statutes and ordinances--that I am giving you to follow today. "If you listen to and are careful to keep these ordinances, the LORD your God will keep His covenant loyalty with you, as He swore to your fathers. - Deuteronomy 7:9-12 HCSB

God is extremely loyal. His…  ( Click for more )

"Show loyalty to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite and let them be among those who eat at your table because they supported me when I fled from your brother Absalom. "Keep an eye on Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim who is with you. He uttered malicious curses against me the day I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, and I swore to him by the LORD: 'I will never kill you with the sword.' So don't let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man. You know how to deal with him to bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood."…  ( Click for more )

What am I going to do with you, Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, Judah? Your loyalty is like the morning mist and like the early dew that vanishes. This is why I have used the prophets to cut them down; I have killed them with the words of My mouth. My judgment strikes like lightning. For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant; there they have betrayed Me. - Hosea 6:4-7 HCSB

Sometimes one culture will have a concept with the matching vocabulary that simply doesn’t exist…  ( Click for more )

Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires. - Romans 13:13-14 HCSB

It seems that almost every commercial out there is selling sex. Every drink is sold by showing images of wild, loud parties filled with beautiful, scantily clad young men and women. Even the argument for buying a men’s deodorant is that women will not be able to keep their hands off of you. The loss of virginity is…  ( Click for more )

So generally, what specific characteristics should you be looking for?

A good mate should already be demonstrating the character and loyalty that is so vital to a successful marriage. If they have a roving eye now, do you actually think that a marriage license, a piece of paper, will make them faithful?

They should take marriage very seriously[1] and their commitment to it must be absolute. It takes a lot of character to resist the world’s temptations. A potential mate…  ( Click for more )

Finding a good spouse is truly a gift from the Lord.[1]ut God's desires first, He will make sure you get a great marriage partner. By wisely choosing to fear the Lord, and showing Him the reverence and honor that is due Him, you will be protected from potentially devastating decisions.[2] Yahweh Yireh loves you and He wants what is best for you. Your spiritual health is central to His heart. If you will p

You need to trust not only God’s ABILITY but His WILLINGNESS to bring…  ( Click for more )

We’ve probably all seen the sweet diamond commercial where the young couple walking through the park sees the elderly couple still holding hands after years of marriage. How do we find that special person to grow old with when we are surrounded by materialistic, shallow, worldly, narcissistic people? When looking into the eyes of another person, how do we know for a fact that this is the right kind of person, much less the very person we should marry?

The first question is…  ( Click for more )

They pleaded with Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants, so we won't die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves." Samuel replied, "Don't be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don't turn away from following the LORD. Instead, worship the LORD with all your heart. Don't turn away to follow worthless things that can't profit or deliver you; they are worthless. The LORD will not abandon His people, because of His great name and because He has determined to make you His own people. - 1 Samuel…  ( Click for more )

Do not hide Your face from me; do not turn Your servant away in anger. You have been my help; do not leave me or abandon me, God of my salvation. Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD cares for me. - Psalm 27:9-10 HCSB

It would have been easy for David to feel abandoned. He had done nothing wrong and yet he was a hunted man. His loyalty had been rewarded with treachery. His humility had run headlong into paranoid pride and apparently lost! Those of us who know “the rest of the story” know that he had not been abandoned, but we must not fail to empathize…  ( Click for more )

Man born of woman is short of days and full of trouble. He blossoms like a flower, then withers; he flees like a shadow and does not last. - Job 14:1-2 HCSB

I recently went through two years of agonizing pain and confinement to a wheelchair. I also permanently lost a lot of my hearing. Though I did not enjoy the experience, I can testify that I have grown tremendously through it.

Tribulation is a part of earthly experience and comes from the hand of God. He may afflict in order to train us, in order to punish us, or He may allow the natural consequences of sin (whether…  ( Click for more )

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounding you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. – 1 Peter 2:24-25 HCSB

God has always guided His people. He has taught us wisdom’s ways and led us in straight paths, allowing us to run our race with certainty.[1]

In the Old Covenant, Hashem led His people by a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. Every time the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud…  ( Click for more )

Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the child of my body for my own sin? He has told you men what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: Only to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:7b-8 HCSB

A young man knelt sobbing in front of the altar. His face was red and his eyes were swollen from the long time he’d been kneeling there. He was wringing his hands and crying out before God when an elder of the church happened into the sanctuary. Disturbed by the young man’s apparent pain, the elder approached…  ( Click for more )

For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven't stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. - Colossians 1:9-10 HCSB

A key but little understood factor in decision making is the ability to “check one’s peace.” The path of the upright leads away from evil; whoever follows that path is safe.[1] Therefore, a good decision, as…  ( Click for more )

For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven't stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. - Colossians 1:9-10 HCSB

Where should I live? What church should I attend? Who should I marry? What should be my career? So many decisions! What guidance do God’s Precepts have for those who are faced with such critical choices?

First, you…  ( Click for more )

The beast I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like a bear's, and his mouth was like a lion's mouth. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. One of his heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but his fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against him?" - Revelation 13:2-4 HCSB

Of all the apocalyptic characters John described, none is more fascinating than the…  ( Click for more )

Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart: “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with smooth stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars." Therefore the LORD raises against them adversaries – Isaiah 9:9b-11a

Ugly often works better. Though my current service dog is a purebred Golden Labrador, some of the best dogs I have ever owned have been Heinz-57 mutts. In my experience, the best trucks are the beat up old rust pots that just never say die. The M-16A2 is a beautifully precise rifle. But if you even think…  ( Click for more )

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these. – 2 Timothy 3:1-5

A group of American soldiers planned the rape and death of a young Iraqi girl. In the process, they…  ( Click for more )

So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. – Matthew 6:34

I once counseled a person who was completely disabled by worry. He was so concerned about germs, nuclear war, global warming, terrorists and earthquakes that he could no longer leave his house. He barely got out of bed because he was afraid that he would slip and fall. The only thing that caused him to get into the shower was the fear that the dirt would allow germs to proliferate and lead to his impending doom.

Some people believe that fish have…  ( Click for more )

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb, but he sounded like a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast on his behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth before people. - Revelation 13:11-13 HCSB

One of the most frightening trends I see in Christianity today is the tendency to emphasize the emotional and experiential aspects of religious awe. I find this terrifying because…  ( Click for more )

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb, but he sounded like a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast on his behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth before people. - Revelation 13:11-13 HCSB

I have lived in many countries and thus, have been privileged to witness many cultures. Every one of them was religious. As a matter of fact, there is no such thing as an atheistic…  ( Click for more )

But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted from a complete and pure devotion to Christ. - 2 Corinthians 11:3 HCSB

Snakes have long been a problem for humans. A cunning, articulate snake was our undoing in the Garden of Eden. [1] In the Negev, poisonous snakes (probably the saw-scale viper) were sent as a judgment against the people of Israel’s grumbling.[2]

Isaiah referred twice[3] to “flying” or fleeing[4] serpents as part of a description of judgment or devastation. He then predicted that on the Day of…  ( Click for more )

Let your fountain be blessed, and take pleasure in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful fawn--let her breasts always satisfy you; be lost in her love forever. - Proverbs 5:18-19 HCSB

A couple once went through a struggle in their marriage. They had been together for ten years, yet without having a child. As time went on, the barrenness became a larger and larger issue in their minds, until finally they were arguing constantly. They didn’t argue about this principle issue but it was the subconscious underlying problem. They picked at all kinds of little things,…  ( Click for more )

For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves. – 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 (NASB)

A man in the Corinthian church was sleeping with his father’s wife and the whole community knew about it. Instead of sorrowfully dealing with the incestuous relationship with the strict vigor required by a holy and righteous God, the church members had arrogantly prided themselves on their “grace” and “understanding”.

Paul…  ( Click for more )

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:26-27 (NASB)

God’s original intent was for humanity to bear His image and to be in communion with the Godhead. We see what made that essential difference in humanity’s creation. In Genesis[1],…  ( Click for more )