How Perseverance Produces Character Through Adversity
“This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless” 2 Samuel 22: 33. But how does God make our way blameless? Does He just put it on us without any effort on our...
Don’t Grow Weary: Be Refreshed by the Wine of the Spirit
“. . . and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness” 2 Samuel 16: 2c. The wilderness in an exhausting place, whether literal or figurative. It’s hot and dry with...
When God Speaks a Blessing, and You Experience Bain Instead
“But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not...
How to Reap a Harvest When Plowed by Painful Trials
“In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest” Exodus 34: 21b. This passage is actually talking about the sabbath, but I want to focus on this idea of plowing and harvest for a minute....
Why Trust in God When It’s Easier to Trust in Yourself?
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” Proverbs 3: 5, 6. My dad leaned on his own...
How To Trust in the Lord and Avoid Trouble
“No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble” Proverbs 12:21. This verse tells us that nothing bad happens to the righteous. But the paradox is this: Being righteous, doing the...
Why God Disciplines His Children
“And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he...
Manna In the Wilderness: What the Israelites Missed
“. . . who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end” Deuteronomy 8: 16. This...
God’s Promises and the Unexpected Path to Get There
“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. . . ” Luke 1: 32. One can’t help...
How to Be Righteous in One Difficult Step
“Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is devious in his ways despises him” Proverbs 14: 2. Faith and Patience The reason one must fear the Lord to be upright (or righteous) is that...