“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit”Romans 15:13Like many of you, ever since the day I opened my heart to Jesus I became what you might say, “hopelessly hopeful”, meaning I can’t help but be hopeful no matter what situation I might find myself in. ...

“O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways”Proverbs 23:26The Shema is an affirmation of Judaism and a declaration of faith in one God and is found in Deuteronomy 6 where it is stated, “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselve...

“For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”Ephesians 4:4–6Oh if you and I could comprehend the power of one that the apostle Paul has in mind as he pens a letter to the church at Ephesus. The apostle was writing to remi...

“This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it”Psalm 118:24Imagine if you can what it must have been like for Joshua and the children of Israel as thy set out to enter into the Promised Land. We pick up the story in Joshua 3:1, “Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossi...

“God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted”Matthew 5:4This past week I have had two friends lose a loved one. Like you, I hate when the people I love hurt and I know there is really nothing I can do to remove the sting that death inflicts on us all. In moments like this I am reminded of the apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus ...

“But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”1 John 4:8The kind of love that the apostle John writes of in explaining God to us is a love so unlike any other kind of love that once you experience God’s love you are forever changed. God’s love is first pure and holy and is self fulfilling and has no need of reciprocation. Because God is immutable, He needs nothing and He needs ...

“Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?”Romans 2:4The longer you walk with Jesus the more you understand that the Christian faith is an active faith. We don’t work to be saved, but we do work because we are saved. Jesus was very busy about the Father’s business ...

“That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”1 King 3:5Solomon was both the richest and the wisest man to ever walk the earth, save the Lord Jesus. Sadly, I think many if not most believers in Jesus settle for way less than what the Lord would have for us, me included. Don’t get me wrong. I am not talking about health and wea...

“For to me, living means living for Christ…”Philippians 1:21As my wife and I were out of town this past weekend celebrating our forty first anniversary we spent some time looking back over our lives together and reliving some of our high moments, which as we talked and compared notes we realized are countless as God has been so very good to us. Besides three wonderful children God has blessed us w...

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself.”Revelation 19:7Jesus reminds His disciples in Matthew 10:29-31 that their Heavenly Father is very much aware of them and that each of God’s children are valuable to Him. So valuable that God has taken time to count all the hairs upon your head! Wha...