It’s Not Fair. How Could It Be God’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 describes the betrayal and arrest of Jesus in...
Category: God’s Redemptive Nature
Is the Fiery Furnace for the Righteous or the Wicked?
“So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing...
The Cup of Suffering: 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...
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:...