Buy truth, and do not sell it, Get wisdom and instruction and understanding. - Proverbs 23:23 (NASB)

There's a price we must be willing to pay to secure truth. But The Truth brings a freedom and a comfort you can not find anywhere else. Are we willing to buy truth? All buying means that we have to rank our desires. Are we willing to pay the price and live a life that God has purposed us to live? Its not about just what we get, it is also about what we must give up.

When cultivating a rose bush the following steps are requires water, sunlight, fertilizer and trimming. Why trimming? Trimming them makes them stronger!! God prunes those He loves (Hebrews 12:6). When we are going through the process we seldomly enjoy it, but after the pruning, our Christian lives are stronger and more fruitful!

"All for one and one for all" is best known as the motto of the title characters in the book The Three Musketeers, by the nineteenth-century French author Alexandre Dumas. This attitude describes the first century church. Acts 2:42-47 tells us they were constantly devoted to the apostles teachings, praying, fellowshipping together, sharing with one another and of one mind. 21st Century Christians can learn how to operate as a team by examining the lives of the 1st Century Church.

There are six things the LORD hates— no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family. - Proverbs 6:16-19 NLT

Each of these are sins against people and hurting people is the opposite of Gods nature. God is love, but these behaviors that will do great harm to many and are void of righteous fruit! How destructive are these behaviors?

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. 1 Peter 5:8-9

Doubt, discouragement, diversion, division, defeat, delay and displacement are just some of the tactics that Satan will use against us in our daily lives. When facing his attacks we need to remember that while we might suffer for a short while, God will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. Just keep trusting God!

We have all been baptized into one body...like it or not...and that baptism carries along with it certain responsibilities. It starts with where He has called us to serve others. If we are not an engaged and an implanted part of a local body of believers, chances are, we are pretty much serving ourselves. As Christians we are call to work together with one mind, the mind of Christ.

Our lives are a fragrance presented by Christ to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those being saved and by those perishing. - 2 Corinthians 2:15

Smell is the strongest sense , it can bring back powerful memories and strong emotions. A pleasant sent can return us to fond memories from years ago and times of great joy. Our worship is like a fragrance to God, something very pleasing to him.

How's your relationship with God? We are in a time where people attending a church service would rather you hear they are ok with your Christian walk instead of hearing the truth. But just as a GPS will not work correctly unless it has an accurate starting location, how can we get into the presence of God unless we understand our true spiritual condition. The good news is that being in the presence of God does not require any high tech electronic equipment. So how do you get in His presence?

Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you. - Hosea 10:12 NKJV

fallow: cultivated land that is allowed to lie idle during the growing season - Webster Dictionary It will take more time to get the ground right than to plant the the flower into the ground if we want it to grow strong. To keep from becoming stagnant in our Christian lives, we need to be constantly preparing our hearts, removing the "weeds and thorns" or sin in our lives so we too can grow strong in Christ. So how is your soil?

Everyone likes those times in life when everything is going well, but all of us will at some point in our lives face moments of discouragement. Elijah had a great victory over the 850 false prophets of Baal and Asherah in 1 Kings 18. Yet after experiencing this great victory, he let "one woman" discourage him to the point of fleeing and pleading with God to kill him, all because he let fear and doubt veil the memory of that victory. But when we face these moments of discouragement, we need to remember that our God is bigger than any trial we might face.