“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 When Christian Nicolai Mustad showed his Van Gogh landscape to art collector Auguste Pellerin, Pellerin took one look and said it wasn’t authentic. Mustad […]
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;” Lamentations 3:25 Sometimes when you have had a series of disappointing things happen, you can get in the habit of expecting more of what you already have. Or you may be familiar with […]
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever […]
“Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 Our Lord Jesus wants our lives to be cheerful. On three different occasions, He encouraged His disciples to ‘be of good cheer.’ And we really do have reasons to be cheerful. The first reason to be cheerful is because […]
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11 We often develop strategies and life-plans, and then, at some obstacle or critical point, we say, “Just stick to the plan!” It […]
“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” Isaiah 48:10 Charles Haddon Spurgeon had a plaque on his bedroom with the words written on it, “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” Spurgeon, writing about the trials and […]
“Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.” Genesis 22:10 We are not all tested in the same ways, but we are all tested on the same issues. Consider Abraham, destined to be the father of many nations, after waiting for many years, God gave […]
“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything” Philippians 4:5-6a You are not alone. You may feel alone. You may think you are alone. But there is never a moment in which you face life without help. God is near! God […]
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Romans 8:35 One of God’s greatest promises to us is that nothing can separate us from His love. No tribulation or distress we might ever suffer can […]
“For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of My people; My chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.” Isaiah 65:22 In 1968 a scientist discovered a 600-year-old necklace in a Native American grave. It was made up of seeds which had been […]
“For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.” – 1 Thessalonians 3:5 “Believe that as sure you are in the way of […]
“Listen to the words of the wise.” Proverbs 22:17 If you think about the major decisions you have made, like choosing a mate, deciding where to live, and what career to pursue. Looking back, can you say you have consistently made the wisest choices? Jennifer Winquist says, ‘We make choices […]
“And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the Lord. “But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” Jeremiah 45:5 J. Oswald Sanders, a Godly man and […]
“To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17 We usually focus on sins of commission, which is the wrong we do. But what about the sins of omission, which is the good we fail to do? In Jesus’ parables, […]
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22 You are forgiven. You are redeemed. According to Galatians 4, those […]