Loving God
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37 Is it possible to love God with all of your being? There may be days when Satan is whispering in your ear that it’s not possible to love God completely and that you should just […]
Loving People
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39 The image of the cross brings several words to mind, doesn’t it? Sacrifice, suffering, salvation, grace, gratitude, forgiveness, eternal life, and love are all common word associations. And yet out of these words, is it possible that there is one word that serves as the foundation for all […]
Teachable Spirit
“Get wisdom, get insight.” Proverbs 4:5 Proverbs 4:5 begins with two very simple commands: get wisdom, get insight. There are two remarkable assumptions in these four little words. The first, King Solomon is presupposing that our wisdom and insight (or understanding) levels have not yet reached full capacity. This might be a difficult truth for […]
Trusting
Psalm 56:3 – Whenever I am afraid I will trust in you. In whom do you place your highest trust? Is it in your spouse? Your best friend? Maybe an elder or pastor? Usually it is someone close to us, someone that we put our confidence in, someone we rely on. The thing is… those […]
Compassion
Psalm 103:13 – As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. In the book of Luke, Jesus is asked how one might inherit eternal life. The answer? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength […]
Kindness – I treat others the way I want to be treated
“Be kind to one another.” Ephesians 4:32a For over two thousand years, the Golden Rule has served as the foundation for how Christians should treat one another. The apostle Paul reiterated this in the book of Ephesians “Be kind to one another.” It should be so easy, right? The truth is that kindness needs to […]
Prayerful-I can talk to God about anything
“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Corrie Ten Boom, who is known for having helped Jews escape during World War II, posed the question “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” The role prayer plays in a Christian’s life goes far beyond mere wishful thinking or good thoughts. Prayer is our direct line […]
Humility-I don’t think too much or too little of myself, but see myself as God sees me.
“…in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.” Philippians 2:3b The first part of the second chapter in Philippians definitely packs a punch. The Apostle Paul wastes no time in exhorting Christians to be unified through humility. To make sure the exhortation sticks, he points to the Son of God as the […]
Wisdom-I want to live according to the ways of the Lord.
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6 The book of Proverbs is the first in what is considered the wisdom literature of the Bible. Throughout its chapters, we are instructed and exhorted to live a godly life and to be alert to the ways of folly. The truths […]
Prudence-I think very carefully before I make a decision.
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 I love that this character trait follows wisdom (from last week)! Why? Because prudence is defined as “wisdom applied to practice.” They belong together! When your children are little, prudence may not occupy your thoughts much. However, there will […]
