19 posts from April 2008

Read: Psalm 23

It’s reassuring to know that our Shepherd will guide us safely through this life, and that He will continue to feed and lead us throughout eternity. The Lamb who died to save us is the Shepherd who lives to lead us.

Read: Job 2:13

When you’re there to comfort someone, be a quiet unassuming person, listen, hug, and cry. Be available and come on the sufferer’s terms, not your own. Often the best comfort is just being there.

Read: Isaiah 55:8-11

In the Holy Land after a rainstorm, dry ground can seemingly sprout vegetation overnight. Isaiah used rain's renewal to illustrate God's refreshing Word: "As the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11).

Scripture carries spiritual vitality. That's why it doesn't return void. Wherever it encounters an open heart, it brings refreshment, nourishment, and new life. The Bible is to a thirsty soul what water is to a barren land.

Read: Mark 8:31-38
To approach life as one big game that you always have to win is to live in hopeless delusion and fantasy. While material possessions, professional success, and personal victories are enjoyable, they last only for this life. Then they're all left behind.
Jesus instructed His disciples to deny themselves, identify with His cross, and follow Him in self-denial, and for some that even meant death (Mark 8:34-35). He made it clear to His disciples that artificial victories in "the game of life" don't count for much. What really counts is what's done for the Lord. Those who live for God are the real winners in life.

Read: Psalm 148

God created all including our planet Earth. We should take care of our planet, but not put in the place of worshiping “our Maker” (v6). The creation was flung into space to point to God and His greatness, power, and majesty. He alone deserves our praise and worship (Psalm 148:5). Thank you Lord, for such an awe-inspiring reminder to worship you! “All praise the Lord together. His name alone is exalted. His glory is above all the earth and heaven” (Psalm 148:13).

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

In 1 Corinthians 6:20, Paul reminds us that we too have been “bought at a price”. Christ made a great sacrifice, liberating us from the cruel slave-master of sin by buying us with the high price of His own life. Paul concluded “therefore glorify God in your body” (v20).

Read: Peter 1:17-25
It is because of the enduring nature of God’s Word that we can have confidence in the message it contains. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Mark 13:31). Later, Jesus’ disciple Peter would write, “all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and it’s flower falls away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25).

Read: Psalm 103:1-12
One of the greatest salvation benefits of all-the reality of sins forgiven. The Bible indicates that in Christ "we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:14). We who have received the Lord Jesus as Savior enjoy freedom from sins eternal condemnation (Romans 8:1), and we can also have daily forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9).

READ: James 1:2-18
James tells us not only that every good gift comes from our heavenly Father (1:17), but also that we are to "count it all joy" when we "fall into various trials." The testing of our "faith produces patience," and the work of patience makes us "perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (vv.2-4).
Even when we receive something that doesn't seem good, we can be grateful because we know there is more to it than we can see. What seems like an imperfect gift may be the means by which God perfects us. v12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. A trial may be God's good gift in disguise.