“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world…is not of the Father…And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides […]
“What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut 10:12). Great checklist! i) Fear = take God seriously; ii) walk = put […]
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lam 3:22-23). When I was a boy, the breadman and milkman delivered to the door; now near the other end of life I can testify: His unfailing love comes fresh every morning—He never […]
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless’” (Gen 17:1). Keep moving! Whether you’re 99 or not, keep moving in the Lord’s direction, and, as much as possible today, set wrong things right—we’re not faultless, but we can […]
“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith,…abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Col 2:6-7). Beautiful! Live life with Jesus, push your roots into His resources and draw them up by faith until your life abounds with constantly new reasons […]
“Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:8-9). Here is Jonah’s “Open Sesame,” the key that unlocks another opportunity to obey. When I don’t take God seriously, what option […]
“So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm” (Joel 2:13). Inward honesty is far better than outward display; I must remember that my reputation—what people think of me—is of no […]
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Lk 6:46). God keep us from the sham in Western Christianity: Jesus uses “and,” not “but,” showing the assumption that these go together—calling Him “Lord,” then doing whatever we want. […]
“Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes” (Song 2:15). Relationship are rarely jeopardized by great tragedies or insurmountable crises, but by the slow erosion of corrosive attitudes, words and actions. Let’s repent and forsake such things! […]