Lent is a grace-filled time of preparation to come closer to God. We often think about what we are going to give up during Lent, and fasting is a good thing. But let’s look at what God says is the kind of fasting that pleases Him. He talks about this in Isaiah 58. Setting the […]

Jesus tells us that the road leading to eternal life is narrow and few find it and that the road to destruction is wide and many are on it. The world tells us the opposite. Even from the pulpit, we don’t often hear this truth. Who are we going to believe? There is suffering on […]

When we receive ashes on our foreheads for Ash Wednesday, we often hear, “For dust you are and to dust you shall return.” We are all going to die, and our bodies shall turn to ashes. Lent is a good time to look into our lives and see what we need to work on. Then […]

Jesus gives us some basic requirements to be His disciples: deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him. One of the ways God forms us to be disciples of Jesus is by trials. We shouldn’t be surprised when trials come our way. Every trial in our lives has a purpose, yet we often […]

Rivalry and jealousy are connected. Rivalry is expected in sports – you want to beat your main rival and make them look bad. But in the Bible it is the opposite. Think of others as better than yourself. If you want to be great, be the servant of all. If you want to be first […]

We have all felt jealousy or envy at one time or another. It’s part of our fallen nature, original sin. We want what someone else has. Jealousy can lead to serious sin. Jealousy led to the desire to murder. Examples: King Saul with David Joseph’s brothers in the Old Testament story Herod with baby Jesus […]

Picking up where we left off last week, we hear more about God’s faithfulness and the miracles He has done. Praising God doesn’t come naturally to us. We have to train ourselves to remember what God has done for us. The enemy wants us to focus on all the negative things in the world. But […]

Psalm 136 is a litany of the Lord’s saving love in the history of the Israelites, with the repeated refrain of, “His love is everlasting.” We can do our own salvation history thanking God for what He has done for us. It’s important for us to remind ourselves what God has done for us. It reminds us of […]

Every January there is a lot of exercise machines and equipment on sale because many people make New Year’s resolutions to get in shape. There are also more detox solutions advertised because people feel sluggish and fat from all the holiday overindulging. Just as our bodies need detoxing and getting in shape, so too do […]

Elisha had his servants make a big pot of soup, but there was poison in it. There was a famine going on so instead of throwing out the soup, Elisha threw some ground meal in it and the soup was fine. God uses Elisha over and over again for many miracles, as we can read […]