The Cup of Suffering was the Father’s Will
“So Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me’”John 18:11? This passage details the betrayal and arrest of Jesus in the Garden...
Category: God’s Redemptive Nature
The Discipline of the Lord and A Good Life: The Connection
“Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him” Proverbs 22: 15. One doesn’t need to be a child to have the heart of...
When Afflictions are Just What We Need
“. . . No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” Psalm 84: 11b. Psalm 84 is a joyful song of longing for God’s presence and celebrating the blessings of dwelling in His...
Your Enemies: How God Uses Them to Bless You
“They will seize the spoil of those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord God” Ezekiel39:10b. This chapter is about God’s judgment of Israel’s enemies. Among other things, God will bury them...
Endure Through the Pain to Become Strong
“For when I am weak, then I am strong” 2 Corinthians 12: 10b. In this passage, Paul focuses on a “thorn in the flesh” given to keep him humble, declaring that God’s grace is sufficient and...
Self-Denial and Abundant Life: The Link
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard...
A Fool and His Beatings
“When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord” Proverbs 19: 3. “Condemnation is ready for scoffers and beating for the backs of fools” Proverbs 19: 29. According to verse 29, our foolishness...
A Call to Worship When it Feels Impossible
“Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. . . ” Exodus 7:...
The Test of Your Faith that Will Drive Out Your Demons
“When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand” Acts 28:3. This passage describes the apostle...
Resist Temptation and Turn a Snare into Freedom
“They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the...