Daily encouragement for Christians
What do you normally do with instruction manuals? Do you read them from cover to cover? Perhaps you’re like me and stick them in a file just in case you need them later. Oftentimes we like to feel as though we are intelligent enough to figure it out without asking for help. Is that what […]
At 5 AM I can hear the birds in the trees but I cannot see them–it is still dark. I can’t deny their presence for their voices sing out loudly as if they will awaken the sun. The creatures of the night have settled into their holes and the night becomes day once again. There […]
Do you take for granted the possessions you have accumulated, diminishing their value? It’s an easy thing to do in the U.S. because we live in a land of plenty. Our land flows with milk and honey–things the Israelites only dreamed about for decades. We have enjoyed peace within our borders for the majority […]
“If I shut up the sky, so that there is no rain; or if I order locusts to devour the land; or if I send an epidemic of sickness among my people; then, if my people, who bear my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn from their evil ways; I will […]
Any tech-savvy person will tell you never to go online without virus protection. Doctors will tell you not to go into flu season without a flu shot and to take your vitamins. Our children cannot attend school until they have been vaccinated against a slew of diseases. Our world is full of dangers and human […]
When my grandson was in second grade they studied the gods of Olympus–the Greek gods–all twelve of them. When asked what interested him the most about that culture my grandson answered, “That they had so many gods.” They had a specific god for every area of life: the sky, marriage, the sea, agriculture, war, wisdom, […]
I used to have a friend who said he might go to a church that didn’t preach hellfire and brimstone. He didn’t believe in the existence of hell; “If God is good he’d never send people to hell,” he’d say. A self-declared genius, my friend believed that the Bible is a fictional piece of work, […]
Do you remember King Yoshiyahu? That’s Hebrew for Josiah. His story lies in 2 Kings chapters 23-24. We hear much about King David. In Acts 13:22 he is even called, “a man after my own heart,” by the Lord. David is usually the first one we think of as an example of a good king. […]
Have you ever mentored a young Christian? It’s a difficult process. When a heart turns toward Jesus it gets Satan’s attention. He knows it’s easier to get the new believer back in his arena if he can stop them from going all in. So he pulls out all the stops, not because he loves […]
What do you think of when you hear that someone has mastered something? I think practice, practice, practice. Reading Genesis 4:7 in several different versions I found it both challenging and encouraging. The NIV states: “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” The ESV says: “Sin […]
