One of life's temptations is to live in the past. If that doesn’t work, the enemy will tempt us to be overly concerned about our future. God wants us to live to the fullest in the present. Matthew 6:34 tells us, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day [...]
We all need milestones in our lives. They help us face our future with confidence. Samuel the prophet, after the Lord gave God’s people a great victory, took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer (which means "the stone of help"), for he said, "Up [...]
The Bible is God’s personal love letter to us. From it, He speaks to us, directs us and molds us for His purposes and plans. In every generation, the Bible has been viewed as a source to understand the world we live in and the reason for our existence. True followers of Jesus read the [...]
God’s Word never changes. However, the area in which we need guidance may not be specifically addressed in Scripture. For example, we may need to know the answers to some of the following questions: What is the Lord’s plan for my career? Whom should I marry? Do I need to consider further training? Where should [...]
God has designed His work to be accomplished perfectly—through imperfect people. We are often tempted to think, “How could God ever use me? I don’t know how to help anyone else. I’m afraid. I don’t know the Bible well enough. I need to get my life together.” If you feel this way, you have a [...]
We all need to experience Sabbath rest—the kind of rest that involves ceasing from our own efforts and relying entirely on God (Heb. 4:9). Sabbath rest comes from a person—Jesus Christ. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and are depending on Him alone for salvation, then you have rested from your [...]
Sometimes the Lord speaks to us by opening and closing doors. I was in Nairobi, Kenya, several years ago when terrorists bombed the U.S. Embassy, killing nearly 1,000 people. That morning, the wife of the pastor who was sponsoring the leadership training at which I was teaching, planned to go to the embassy to help [...]
Our God is so infinitely amazing, wise and creative that He does not limit Himself to speaking to us in the same way all of the time. God thinks outside the box! He is a little unpredictable, not unlike Aslan the lion in The Chronicles of Narnia: “One day you’ll see him and another you [...]
There are times when it seems the Lord is nowhere to be found. Our prayers feel like they are hitting the ceiling and bouncing back. We feel far from God—like we have entirely lost our way. Every Christian goes through these “dark nights of the soul” when the Lord seems to be silent. If you [...]
Sometimes we simply need to take a step of faith. When I read in the book of Acts that Paul and Silas were trying to go into Bithynia and were being prevented by the Spirit, it was life changing for me. Without knowing the full scope of God’s plan, Paul and Silas obeyed the Spirit’s voice [...]