Psalm 103: When you count your blessings
Ever wonder what life would be like without the Lord? If sins kept piling up on our shoulders? If life’s problems were pushing our faces into the dirt? If death...
Psalm 91: When God lifts you up on his lap
Her little hand swatted my newspaper aside. “Grandpa, I talking to you,” she said. My granddaughter wanted to climb up on my lap and tell me something important....
Psalm 4: When you draw nearer to the end
Times were tough for King David. His son Absalom had started a civil war, trying to wrest the kingdom from his father. The rebel forces had even forced David to...
Psalm 42: When you ask, “Where is God when I’m hurting?”
Do you know any super Christians, believers whose faith never stumbles on the road of life? But what about when the washouts and rockslides occur? Then we find out...
Psalm 32: When you need forgiveness
What kind of sinner are you? Do you consider yourself mildly sinful, at least not as bad as others? Or do you realize how serious each sin is and what punishment...
Psalm 130: When rocks fall
“DANGER! Falling Rocks!” the sign said. We were traveling down a secondary road alongside a steep cliff in the mountains of Colorado. What should we do? Turn...
The book of James: Waiting for Christ’s return
Christ is coming! That was the Old Testament believers’ great hope. He did come to lowly crib and cross to save the world. Christ is coming! That is the New Testament...
The book of James: Active in using prayer
From Jesus comes an example of how to pray. On the mountaintops and in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prayed for strength to do his Father’s will. From Jesus also...
The book of James: Active in showing love
A blueprint for living out our life of faith Markings are meaningful. We’ve learned to look for them when making purchases of items like clothing or electrical...
The book of James: Correctly evaluating riches
A blueprint for living out our life of faith What are our chief concerns in life? Eternal salvation or earthly security? Christ’s righteousness or our own real...
The book of James: Avoiding loveless judging
A blueprint for living out our life of faith Did you know that the snail has teeth on its tongue? Under the microscope, hundreds of tiny teeth show up. With its...
The book of James: Taming the tongue
A blueprint for living out our life of faith The gift of speech brings much joy. What if we had no tongue to help us say, “I love you”? What if there’d be...
The book of James: Using the Word of Truth
What different descriptions we have for God’s Word! It is “a lamp for my feet” (Psalm 119:105), the only sure light in a sin-darkened world. It is “fire”...
The book of James: Active in giving thanks
People need a day of thanksgiving. Like children clutching new presents, they need the reminder, “Say thank you.” Christians can forget their words of thanks...
The book of James: Active in good works
Paul is described as “the apostle of faith,” John as “the apostle of love,” Peter as “the apostle of hope,” and James as “the apostle of works.”...
The book of James: When battling temptation
Last time, James spoke about trials; this time, he speaks about temptation. Though he uses the same Greek word for both, their meanings are far different, as the...
The book of James: When facing trials
DID YOU EVER hear anything so strange? “Consider it pure joy,” James said, “whenever you face trials of many kinds” (1:2). To some that sounds about as sensible...
The book of James: A blueprint for living out our life of faith
What’s a book like James doing in the New Testament anyway? Quickly reading through its 108 verses, we find no direct mention of the Christmas manger, the Good...
A most blessed freedom
Of all the freedoms we have, religious liberty is the one we cherish the most. Richard E. Lauersdorf She was crying. As she stood there in the row of communicants,...