2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” According to ancient Jewish legend, one day Abraham was shown his father, Terah’s room of many idols. Young Abraham, thinking that perhaps he could discover intimacy with them, made some desirable delicacies and placed them before ... Read More

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. When the apostle Paul compared our lives to clay pots, he focused not on the earthen vessels, but rather the contents of those vessels. Jars of clay deteriorate over time, become chipped, cracked, and eventually broken. However, the real value of those ancient pots was not in the clay containers themselves, but in what they contained. We human beings ... Read More

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. One of the paradoxes of our walk is that God’s gifts often require work on our part. After He delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians, the Lord led them to the Promised land and told them He was going to “give” it to them. It wasn’t long before they realized, ... Read More

Matthew 13:23 But he who received seed on the good soil is he who hears the word, and understandes it; who indeeds bears fruit and brings forth: some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. If you keep a grain of wheat in your pocket, it will look exactly the same ten years from now. But place it in the right environment — some good ground, enough water — it will sprout into a living sheaf of grain! Every kind of life requires its particular ... Read More

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. I could tell you about countless difficult and drawn out circumstances over which we have tried to stand firmly in faith until they finally came to pass. Sometimes we made it and sometimes we were weak and began to doubt. But God mercifully came through for us on most of these things, despite our lack of strength to stay faith-ful. There are some things in our lives that take ... Read More

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss [with wrong motives], that you may consume it upon your pleasures. Do you ever wonder why it is that sometimes we don’t get the things we pray for? James hits it on the nail when he says that we ask amiss, that we may consume it upon our pleasures. Think about this. You work for a large company such as, let’s say, IBM. You’ve been with them for quite some time and ... Read More

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. Charles Spurgeon wrote “Prayer pulls the rope below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly. Others give but an occasional pluck at the rope. But he who wins with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously, with all his might.” Some ... Read More

Matthew 6:30-34 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? O you of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, “What shall we eat?” or, “What shall we drink?” or, “What shall we wear?” For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the Kingdom of God and ... Read More