Zechariah 2:10 NASB95 “Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD. When in the presence of the Lord, it appears that there is a great deal of singing going on. These are not songs of sadness, but of gladness. These are not songs of crying. They are not songs of hurt, suffering, leaving, or dying. For none of these things will happen in the presence of the dwelling place of the LORD. For the world to

Acts 20:21 NASB95 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul shares that he solemnly testified. This is to testify earnestly as under oath or with charge to do so under penalty. Paul felt like testimony was required of him. He is correct! It is not that he will lose salvation if he doesn't but instead, he will not be pleasing to the Lord. Because of this, he feels like it is a have-to situation. Paul knows God

Do you remember a time when you were involved in something foolish? You look back now and realize just how foolish you were to have been involved in it. If you cannot remember a time, then the chances are that you are involved in foolish behavior now. We are all guilty from time to time of letting our flesh have control as we are disobedient to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Then there are the times before you had the Holy Spirit where the majority of your decisions and ac

Do you desire to be with Jesus? Christians would answer yes. We are, and will be with Him. As the church, we are the bride of Christ and as I read our text today I wonder. Do we truly desire Jesus as the bride in our text desires her groom? Song of Songs 3:2 NASB95 ‘I must arise now and go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I must seek him whom my soul loves.’ I sought him but did not find him. In the next verses, we see that she doesn't give up until she finds

2 Kings 24:2 NASB95 The LORD sent against him bands of Chaldeans, bands of Arameans, bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. The LORD sent. You must not miss this statement. It shows that God is serious about His people following Him. People tend to think God doesn't care, watch, pay attention to, or respond to the daily life of His people.

Joshua 12:24 NASB95 the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings. Scripture lists 31 kings in the area that Israel would possess west of the Jordan. As these kings were concerned with their own and no one else's they all lost their own. Now I know that even if they were joined together they would not prevail against the Lord and His people. However, this shows us that an inward focus will bring about defeat. Jesus warns of this. Matthew 12:25-26 NASB95 And knowing the

This Is Your Life. Most younger people reading this will have no idea what that first sentence is. For you, I will explain. There was at one time a radio show turned into a TV show, where a guest would have their life story or stories of their life shared with the viewers. There would be pictures and letters written by the guest in earlier years of their life and then they would bring in people from their past who would share stories from earlier in their life. Some stories w

The differences between the early church and the church of today are many. The individual members of the church are to live for Christ and do so in a way that builds up His bride. You can do a lot of hateful things to me and I will take it. However, if you give my wife, my bride, a hard time, you should expect me to be there very quickly in her defense. The church is the family of Christ, after my bride, my next order of protection is my family. God blessed me with three chil

Malachi 1:5 NASB95 Your eyes will see this and you will say, “The LORD be magnified beyond the border of Israel!” People often look around and wonder, is the Lord doing anything today. Our text speaks of Edom. The descendants of Esau chose to live their lives away from God. They chose to worship false idols and call them God. However, they were destroyed. God will take all actions chosen by man whether good or evil, and He will glorify Himself so that others will see Him as

Hebrews 7:8 NASB95 In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. The writer of Hebrews is speaking of Melchizedek, for whom there is no record of his birth or death. Abraham gave to him a tenth (tithe) this was included in the Mosaic law, that this tithe be given to the Levites for the worship of God. The text says "one receives them of whom it is witnessed that he lives on." It is speaking of Melchizede

I remember when I was young, my brother and I would do our chores around the house, and at times when Mom and Dad could afford it we would get an allowance. We both would take that money, along with what we might receive for our birthdays, and save it to buy a toy. When a grandparent or other family member, would take us to town to buy something. I would gather up my money. We would go to town, pick something out, and then go to the register. I would then buy mine and my brot

Hosea 4:15 NASB95 Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Do not let Judah become guilty; Also do not go to Gilgal, Or go up to Beth-aven And take the oath: “As the LORD lives!” Several years ago, the FBI announced that the most dangerous neighborhood in the USA was one that I frequently visited in my business. In fact, I had two customers in this neighborhood. Statistics showed if my memory is correct that 7 out of every ten people who lived in that neighborhood for 10 years wo

1 Corinthians 10:4 NASB95 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Paul talks of Israel's journey through the wilderness, where God gave them manna, both physical bread to satisfy their bodies' hunger, and spiritual, as He fed them the word of God. In our text, he transitions into thirst. He says they all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which

Ruth 4:6 NASB95 The closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.” What a picture this paints of a future dealing. The closest relative had an opportunity. He could have the land to increase his wealth, but he would also have to take Ruth and have a child with her, who would belong to the line of Elimelech. Because he feared having to di

Ecclesiastes 10:9-10 NASB95 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. Life in a sinful world contains dangers. I remember as a child watching The Flintstones. Fred would be working in the quarry using his dinosaur crane to move stones. Suddenly something would go wrong and the dinosaur would toss

Deuteronomy 22:1 NASB95 “You shall not see your countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman. I live in the country and it is pretty common to see a neighbor's cow out of the pasture. It is common practice, as we see this, to let the neighbor know. I could not even begin to think of the times I have gone to the door of people I don't know to see if the cow belongs to them or if they might know

1 Peter 2:9-10 NASB95 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. The stones for the temple were quarried off-site and brought to the Temple Mount to be used in perfect order, perfectly mat

Proverbs 10:2 NASB95 Ill-gotten gains do not profit, But righteousness delivers from death. Ill-gotten, means a wrong or wicked manner was used to receive. It could be stealing, cheating, taking advantage of someone else, lying, or even finding but not seeking the correct ownership. There are many ways a person can come about gains. Gains, means treasure. It can be physical, spiritual, or emotional treasure. It just needs to have value. The value can be personal or corporate.

What have you done for the Lord? Let me start by telling you all that I have done for the Lord. I was saved at 15, and I am 56 now. So as you can imagine in those 41 years my list should be long. So here goes. I have at times been obedient. There is my list. This is what I have done for the Lord in my 41 years of salvation. In other words, at times I have surrendered to Him. Now someone might say. You played a part in Sharing the Gospel with me and I was saved. To which I re

Mankind has always felt its way was right. It is a pride issue. However, the truth is that it is God who has perfect vision. Science has always attempted to offer theories as facts while consistently changing what it says is the truth. As more things are discovered scientific "fact" continues to change. However, God the Creator has never changed and knows all. I remember that when I had children, I felt I knew what was best for them. I wasn't willing to take advice. If I did