“Keep sound wisdom and discretion; so they will be life to your soul” (Prov 3:21-22). Wisdom is knowing what to do; discretion, when and where to apply it. Both require agreement with God on the basics, why common sense seems to be the lost sense of the 21st Century. […]
Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Eph 5:14). A man asleep can neither do nor know anything useful. They say the way to make your dreams come true is to wake up! It certainly is the way to be enlightened by Christ so I live life to […]
“And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat’” (Lk 22:31). Unlike Christ, we never meet the tempter alone. Our Advocate knows the foe, his plots and tricks. He prays us through it, strengthening us in it, and gives victory over it as we look […]
“You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex 20:3). Here is the queen bee that gives us the honey from the whole hive. With God on the throne in my life, all His commands are my desire: “How sweet are Your words…sweeter than honey!” […]
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31). Common tasks done for Him become holy service. Mealtime is a feast with Him as host. And we enter Eden when we walk with Him. Things are only seen correctly in the light of God’s […]
“Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a kinsman…And he shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age” (Ruth 4:14-15). Christian, you can say this! Once a Gentile without hope, your Kinsman has not only given you new life, He installed you in […]
“Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart” (2 Chron 6:8). Holy desires are included in “doing well.” God “looks on the heart” and assesses the life, not as men do, but by a more gracious standard. Many a desire […]
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy […]
“Beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak” (1 Cor 8:9). It’s classic slapstick: eat a banana; toss the peel; someone’s feet slip, and Presto! an epic pratfall. But, says Paul, it’s no joke if my liberty leads to someone’s calamity. The peel is part of the […]