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Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself; how I praise you! Psalm 63:3 A person who recognizes God’s unfailing love in his life is on his way to wisdom. He will discover that peace comes from knowing that God has his best interest at heart. He will find joy because he is now at liberty to pursue the interests that develop from his natural gifts and talents. He will be patient in that pursuit because he understands that he is immortal and has all eternity to develop his skills. He is kind to his fellow man because he can afford to be. Their petty slights are…  ( Click for more )

Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt deep pity. Kneeling beside him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. - Luke 10:33-34

In the story of the Good Samaritan, we see three very distinct perspectives on life. There were the thieves who mugged the poor man, taking his things and leaving him for dead. They are like those who care nothing for the poor, but deliberately exploit them. Their view is “What’s yours is mine…  ( Click for more )

If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will roll back and crush you. - Proverbs 26:27 Do you remember the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show? I used to love watching the coyote trying to catch the road runner. “Wile E. Coyote – Genius” it said on his business card. He would buy a catapult from the ACME company and try to launch a big rock. The only problem was that the rock went straight up and landed on him. He tried to move farther away but the platform flipped instead of the arm and landed on him.…  ( Click for more )

Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. – James 4:8a Have you ever tried to grapple a 300-pound gorilla? It would be like wrestling under water. When you push, instead of moving your opponent, you actually end up moving yourself. I understand that this same effect is found in space. Astronauts end up spending many, many hours in huge pools, trying to get used to the difference in leverage.

Unfortunately, many Christians have not learned how to use the different leverage that is found in prayer. We believe that by praying, we are going to move God to perform…  ( Click for more )

This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand or perform. It is not up in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go to heaven and bring it down so we can hear and obey it?’ It is not beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear and obey it?’ The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. – Deuteronomy 30:11-14

Sometimes people come to me complaining about their struggle with sin. They talk about their…  ( 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 A couple 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 to…  ( 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 pure bred 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 )

“The Lord demands fairness in every business deal; he sets the standard.” – Proverbs 16:11

Quentin O’Connor, the noted lawyer, died and went to heaven. He had no sooner gotten inside the Pearly Gates when a tremendous chorus of angels began to sing gloriously in his honor. The air was filled with a golden aura, clouds of incense wafted everywhere, and approaching O’Connor was St. Peter himself.

“O’Connor,” said the celestial gatekeeper, “we have long been awaiting you. You are the first human being ever to break…  ( Click for more )

This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught. – Mark 1:1; Luke 1:1-4 There once was a great rabbi named Hillel who loved learning the Scriptures above all else. In his day,…  ( Click for more )

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. - Revelation 3:15-16 In the 18th century, smallpox was a killer. Those infected would become covered in horrible pustules and die a painful death. Those who were fortunate enough to recover were left with ugly scars called “poc marks” on their skin.

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu had seen people in Turkey deliberately infect themselves with a mild form of smallpox in order to develop immunity…  ( 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

On September 12,2001, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle stood before the Senate and gave a speech decrying the 9/11 terrorist attack which included an unfortunate quote from Isaiah 9:10. Like many, he failed to note the context of that verse. It is actually a judgment on bravado!

Around 700 BC, the…  ( Click for more )

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.” - Psalm 51:1

We know that God is omniscient. We know that He cannot forget anything He chooses to remember. Yet, we find instances in Scripture where people remind God of His own attributes.

In Psalm 51, David seems to be reminding God that His love is unfailing – that He is characterized by compassion. Why does David feel the need to remind God? It’s not so much that God forgets when He’s angry; it’s more like…  ( Click for more )

Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…You have not lied to men but to God. And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last. Acts 5:3-5a There’s an old Jewish midrash out of Tanna d’Bei Eliyahu about Abraham and his father, Terah. It says that Abraham’s father, Terah, was an idol worshipper. In fact, he owned a shop where people could buy idols of whatever god they chose to worship. One day, Terah had to go somewhere and he left Abraham in charge. Abraham had doubted the power of these idols for a while,…  ( 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 by this…  ( Click for more )

“The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. Yes ask anything in my name, and I will do it!” John 14:12-14

Did you notice that a couple elements are necessary for us to receive answers to our prayers? The first is that the Lord had to return to the Father. Jesus said He had to go so that we could receive the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s role…  ( Click for more )

“Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself; how I praise You!” Psalm 63:3 There are few things in life that are more irritating than a spoiled brat. We hate hearing that whining tone from our kids. So, why do we use the same tone with God? He gives us so much. How grateful are we? Every time something comes along that we don’t particularly care for, we murmur and complain. “Why me?” we ask. We develop negative attitudes and wonder why we haven’t heard from God lately. We should be grateful for anything we get. We were the ones…  ( 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 )

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven…A time to keep and a time to throw away. - Ecclesiastes 3:1,6 Most people think of hippopotami as fat, lumbering, slow, inoffensive creatures. But they can actually be very fast and very dangerous. They can become a serious problem when humans and hippos try to share the same space.

Many years ago in the country of Chad, a hippo had been kicked out of its territory by other hippos. It decided to take up residence in an area of the river where the villagers swam, washed…  ( 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 )

Why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? Matthew 7:3 A man went to his doctor for a physical examination. The doctor gave him an initial exam and then sent him to five other physicians, who checked him out in their areas of specialty. A week later, the man returned for a report on the results.

Sitting behind his desk, the doctor fingered several sheets of reports, lingering over a few pages. Finally, he closed the manila folder and reported, “You are in fine shape – your heart, your lungs, all those things are in…  ( Click for more )

…they are without excuse. - Romans 1:20 We are all skilled in the art of making excuses. We try to obtain exemption or release for what we know we should have done. Excuses are offered by the very young for failure to do household chores. As children grow older, they are confronted by more situations in life which often require excuses; such as being late or failing to do one's homework. Adults find it necessary to offer excuses for being late to work, or being late in paying bills, or forgetting appointments. We have heard most of the excuses; they are all too familiar.…  ( Click for more )

“If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.” Jeremiah 29:13 How many times have you tried to pray only to find yourself thinking of something else instead? How many times have you caught yourself asleep when you intended to meditate? We are so easily distracted. We are like babies whose eyes follow whatever is moving without true understanding. A fly buzzes and we are distracted from our conversation with the Sovereign God. A drip from a faucet can ruin our meditation.

God promises that in the great game of hide and seek He will be…  ( Click for more )

He said to another person, “Come, be my disciple.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” Jesus replied, “Let those who are spiritually dead care for their own dead. Your duty is to go and preach the coming of the Kingdom of God.” Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:59-62) Have you ever noticed how often…  ( Click for more )

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 is 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 )