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In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs. The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth. – Ecclesiastes 12:9-10 HCSB

In order to introduce Himself to Humanity, God first chose to use creation itself.[1] Then He implanted knowledge of Himself and of right and wrong deep within our consciences.[2] Then He used various humans to give us a direct revelation of His wishes.[3] Finally, as if all this were not enough, He came to Earth Himself…  ( Click for more )

Is the law therefore contrary to God's promises? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly be by the law. But the Scripture has imprisoned everything under sin's power, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for you are all…  ( Click for more )

For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person--though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us! Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath. – Romans 5:6-9 HCSB

A desperately ill woman sat in a famous doctor’s office. She was blonde and blue-eyed, a true descendent of her Mayflower ancestors. Her beauty remained,…  ( Click for more )

Don't all of us have one Father? Didn't one God create us? Why then do we act treacherously against one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? – Malachi 2:10 HCSB

A righteous man had many children. He loved each for their unique approach to life. One child was quiet and reserved. The next was outgoing and brash. One floated through life blissfully unaware of nearly anything going on, while another was intellectually and emotionally involved in everything. Each was beautiful; each was wonderful.

The man and his wife taught the children to express their love.…  ( Click for more )

Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the sights of your eyes; but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment. – Ecclesiastes 11:9 HCSB

A little boy dreamed of flying. He ran around the yard with a balsa wood model plane held high above his head as he imitated the sounds of the propellers. As he grew up, he worked for hours building model planes with pre-cast plastic pieces and modeling glue, carefully painting them with various logos. At first the colors…  ( Click for more )

Don't be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith. – Galatians 6:7-10 HCSB

Good people do not become so by accident. They do not become good while waiting around for the right…  ( Click for more )

Whatever your hands find to do, do with [all] your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. – Ecclesiastes 9:10 HCSB

It’s amazing how rapidly details can catch up with you. Benjamin Franklin wrote a ditty in his Poor Richard's Almanack that went:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost, For want of a shoe the horse was lost, For want of a horse the rider was lost For want of a rider the battle was lost For want of a battle the kingdom was lost And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Everything we…  ( Click for more )

If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you…This is My commandment: that you love one another just as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:7,12-13 HCSB

Many of us would like to become known as tzaddikim: righteous, holy people who are known for their intimate relationship with God and their desire to see their fellow humans united with Elohim. Part of the tzaddikim lifestyle is characterized by the ability to pray powerfully. That is why…  ( Click for more )

As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, "Follow Me!" So he got up and followed Him. While He was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came as guests with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when He heard this, He said, "Those who are well don't need a doctor, but the sick do. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn't come…  ( Click for more )

"You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16 HCSB

Humility is a good thing. We should take care to not practice our righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. If we do, we will have no reward from our Father in heaven. We should not have trumpets blast…  ( Click for more )

My son, if sinners entice you, don't be persuaded. If they say, "Come with us! Let's set an ambush and kill someone. Let's attack some innocent person just for fun! Let's swallow them alive, like Sheol, still healthy as they go down to the Pit. We'll find all kinds of valuable property and fill our houses with plunder. Throw in your lot with us, and we'll all share our money"; - my son, don't travel that road with them or set foot on their path, because their feet run toward trouble and they hurry to commit murder. - Proverbs 1:10-16 HCSB

In our materialistic and…  ( Click for more )

Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." Become right-minded and stop sinning, because some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame. – 1 Corinthians 15:33-34 HCSB

We need to be very careful choosing who to hang out with. We tend to become like the people who surround us. In that sense, we are spiritual chameleons. David said, “How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path of sinners, or join a group of mockers!”[1]

When King Jeroboam rebelled against the Davidic claim to…  ( Click for more )

"I assure you: Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop. The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. Where I am, there My servant also will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. – John 12:24-26 HCSB

The gardener carefully tilled the bed, gently turning the soil over and over. He mixed in the fertilizer, making sure that the soil would be sufficiently healthy to sustain…  ( Click for more )

But the one who boasts should boast in this, that he understands and knows Me - that I am the Lord, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things.[This is] the Lord's declaration. – Jeremiah 9:24 HCSB

A young person once mused aloud, “I know that for salvation I must place my trust in Christ.[1] But in what way should that act change my life? How should I live?” Fortunately he was standing near a scruffy bunch of old men who happened to hear him.

“You need to show faithful love, justice and righteousness…  ( Click for more )

"You are to keep My commands and do them; I am the Lord. You must not profane My holy name; I must be treated as holy among the Israelites. I am the Lord who sets you apart, the One who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord." – Leviticus 22:31-33 HCSB

Kiddush Hashem means to “sanctify God’s Name” and can be done in three principal ways. First, a tzaddik should live his or her life in such a manner that when the unbelieving witness his behavior they should be compelled to think, “If this is what association with…  ( Click for more )

In the same region, shepherds were living out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for you see, I announce to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: because today in the city of David was born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a manger." – Luke 2:8-12 HCSB

As signs…  ( Click for more )

"I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life. "I assure you: An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself. And He has granted Him the right to pass judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and…  ( Click for more )

Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. And He was openly talking about this. So Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind Me, Satan, because you're not thinking about God's concerns, but man's!" – Mark 8:31-33 HCSB

In our war on the yetzer hara, the negative impulse, which most Christians identify as the sin nature, we usually focus…  ( Click for more )

For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I persecuted God's church to an extreme degree and tried to destroy it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who from my mother's womb set me apart and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me, so that I could preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone…I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches in Christ; they simply kept hearing: "He who formerly…  ( Click for more )

Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, so understand that those who have faith are Abraham's sons. Now the Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and foretold the good news to Abraham, saying, All the nations will be blessed in you. So those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith. - Galatians 3:6-9 HCSB

There are many things that I cannot be. I cannot be a kohen (a Levitical priest) because that singular privilege is reserved for those who are descendents of Levi. I may be a priest[1], but not a Levite.…  ( Click for more )

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. - James 1:22-25

Each generation has had its parenting advisors. We’ve had Dr. Spock,…  ( Click for more )

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. - James 5:16

No man is an island unto himself. We are more like an archipelago – a chain of islands with interrelated ecologies. Everything you do affects others around you. Why not use this “ripple effect” to benefit those around you? Do not consider yourself separate. Do not pray only for yourself. Notice that in Christ’s example of prayer, He began by praying for the advancement…  ( Click for more )

His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him…He has helped His servant Israel, mindful of His mercy, just as He spoke to our ancestors, to Abraham and his descendants forever. – Luke 1:50,54-55 HCSB

A rich man had a son who was the apple of his eye and was a good, obedient child. Because the rich man had a lot of love to share, he adopted two daughters as well.

The first adopted daughter, in spite of the father’s best efforts, became rebellious. She forgot her humble beginnings. She forgot how terrible her circumstances were before…  ( Click for more )

Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive. – Colossians 3:12-13 HCSB

A righteous young man was studying diligently at a Bible school. His mentor was very pleased with this student because he seemed to bring a passion for Yah in all he did. With time, however, the mentor noticed that his prize pupil was sometimes late for chapel. Sometimes, he didn’t…  ( Click for more )