Ephesians 5:11-12 NASB95: Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. Have you ever found yourself sharing sinful things you have done in the past? However, as you speak of them, or look back at your words later, you almost feel as if you were bragging about them. I know I am guilty of this. Why would we Christians brag about things we have done which

John 12:14 NASB95 Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, When I read the verse Jesus took me to today, my first thought was, what are you going to have me say about this verse? After much study, my next thought was, what are you going to have me say about this verse? Then in prayer, this is what He gave me. Jesus fulfilled prophecy by riding on this donkey. This showed Him to be the Messiah. Yet no one recognized the significance. They held palm branches,

When Thomas Edison was asked how he dealt with failure, he famously said, "I did not fail; I found over 1,000 ways not to make a light bulb." Once he had eliminated all the ways not to make it, then he would know how to make it. Abraham Lincoln failed at business and was stuck for several years paying off the debt from it. He then entered politics, where he was either not chosen by his party or lost the election a total of eight times. Yet he definitely did not give up and w

John 8:7 NASB95 But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” A woman was caught in the act of adultery. Now I could get into the discussion of adultery taking two people, but I do not feel like this is where the Lord is leading me today. We could get into the discussion of the fact that Jesus did not ignore the sin but reprimanded the woman by saying in verse 11, "

Hosea 14:9 NASB95 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, And the righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them. You are preparing for vacation. Which shoes will you pack? You will first evaluate where you will be, what you will be doing, and how much time you will spend on your feet. If you are going to a spa where you will be lying around, relaxing, reading a book,

We go through physical mortal life as if it is all there is. Many say we are Christians, and yet we see no urgency to Share the Way. We look forward to the coming of the Lord, thinking it will be a great thing, yet we have loved ones to whom we dare not speak boldly about Jesus because of fear of the struggles in this life. We have friends we do not Share the Way with because they might stop hanging around with us. We read devotionals that are 100 percent about how great life

Revelation 7:12 NASB95 saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Around the throne in heaven, the apostle sees a worship service that has no end. He notices they start with Amen. We correctly understand Amen to mean "so be it." However, Henry Morris had a great understanding of the word. He wrote, "The word 'amen' is a most remarkable word. It was transliterated directly from the Hebre

How quickly mankind becomes a fool. Gideon had been a judge over Israel and had rid the nation of Baal worship. Yet when he dies, we see a temple built almost immediately. In Shechem, there is a temple built to a false god, Baal-berith. Our text says, Judges 9:4 NASB95: They gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, and they followed him. A son of Gideon by a concubine attempts to take control

I am struggling this morning! In fact, my heart aches. I have literally been fighting back tears. I had an eye doctor appointment this morning, and when I had finished with it, I went to a local drive-thru to get me some breakfast. I had already spent my personal time with the Lord. I had already spent my personal time reading the Word of God, and I was already sad because of issues in God's church. I am this way quite often because of the burden God has given me for His Chur

Philemon 1:10 NASB95 I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, Paul writes to Philemon about the slave who had escaped and was now coming back of his own free will. God had made such a change in the new birth of Onesimus that now he was willing to pay the debt he had skipped out on. However, Paul desires to assure Philemon that the man he was receiving back was not the same man who had left. What had changed? The answer is everything. Wh

Whether it is quiet or loud, in a large group or all alone, at work or at home, having a disagreement or in complete unity, peace is available right where you are. How can I be at peace in a loud place? How can I be at peace in a large group? How can I be at peace at work? How can I be at peace when I am in a disagreement with someone? Scripture says, in Colossians 3:15-16 NASB95 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be

Acts 4:20 NASB95 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Have you ever had a cough you can't get rid of? It's not from a cold or congestion; it is simply a tickle or scratchy feeling in your throat. Every time you breathe in, you feel the urge to cough, and you just can't stop it. When I was in the Marine Corps, we were conducting night vision training. Part of our training was showing us how movement was picked up by the night vision. You could be l

Man's thoughts continue to evolve. As man continues to attempt to be self-sufficient, he consistently tries to disprove God. Yet, as God is unchanging, man's thought consistently changes as proofs lead him back to God. At this point, it would only make sense to stop and say, I will, in faith, completely trust You, O LORD. Instead, man, being manipulated by Satan, seeks excuses to explain away the proofs of God's existence, the proof of His unchanging ways, and the proof of Hi

Newton's third law of motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Man's finite understanding sees this as a must for everything. We have a thought process, because of our limited understanding, that for there to be light there must be darkness; we think that for there to be good there must be evil, but this is not absolutely true. While it makes sense to us, we are not God, who has omniscience and infinite understanding. God, who is good, has

Job was known as a man who loved God. As many people study the book of Job, they see its main subject. They see that Job is blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil. They see he remains faithful to God even through the tribulations sent by Satan. However, they often miss what Job's love for God looked like before the tribulation. Job's love for God manifested itself in a love and desire for the righteousness of his children as they live and love God also. L

God doesn't look at the volume of your giving. He looks at the faith of it. Jesus sat down and began to watch as people gave their tithes and offerings. He watched and saw many rich people giving large amounts, then came a poor widow. She put in two copper coins. Jesus watched and then said to the people gathered around Him. Mark 12:43 NASB95 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasu

Many people get so confused by works and faith. Are works important in following Christ? Absolutely! Ephesians 2:10 NASB1995 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Are works important for salvation? Absolutely not! Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB1995 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast

James 5:11 NASB95 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. There are days of scorching heat and days of frostbitten wind. We have experienced them all. There are days of non-stop crying over the suffering of a loved one and days of crying when they're gone. There are days of struggling to pay the bills, and days when you have no bills becaus

I remember a conversation with my parents while riding in the car. I was a teen, and I had it all figured out. I was more mature than they were at my age. I could survive on my own. I knew exactly how much money I needed to make. If I were able to do this, I would be fine. Later, I started to get somewhat of an idea of how naive I was. We tend to realize this as we have major milestones in life. Graduation, moving out on our own, marriage, struggles in marriage, children, an

Micah 5:2 NASB95 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” Bethlehem = house of bread. John 6:35 NASB1995 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. Ephrathah = place of fruitfulness Jesus died and rose again to bear much good fruit. J