The gold we wear on our finger or around our neck is a beautiful example of the finest metal. It didn’t become precious in an instant. It took lots of steps along the way. It starts from the ground up. From the ground or in a mine there is a beautiful nugget...
A test is coming tomorrow. We study and know all the answers but in our minds are the fears of many things. What if the chapters we study are not the ones on the test. What if we draw a blank. What if our pencil point breaks. What if, what if, what if the...
There are things in life that do not go as we expect. We put an unconscious checkmark on our mind and move on with other things in life. A second thing works out differently than we plan. Even though we keep going in life checkmark number two is placed on our...
God is the Most High. He sits on the throne of heaven and knows all things. When we think of God in all His majesty and glory it’s difficult to realize that one day we will be with Him. A day is coming when we will face Him and bow to Him. Jesus will live among us...
It’s a battle when things are always changing. The people we grew up with have all moved away. The home where we were raised belongs to someone new. The teachers and advisors have all grown old and moved on to heaven. God is continually sending new people and...
Many times the greatest blessings come after the most difficult times. God is continually refining us like gold and He will allow us to see developments along the way. These glimpses from heaven are worth every moment of adversity. God is chipping away at all the...
When we live for our Lord, all things we say and do should be in obedience it Him. As humans it takes time to become more Christlike. We have our desires, stubbornnesses and anger that we try to manage. Things in this world are so unfair that it’s a common thing to...
Most of us prefer to drive or walk on a paved road rather than a dirt or rocky road. A paved road has all the rocks removed and all the potholes smoothly filled. Travel is much quicker and easier. When traveling on a paved road we do not comprehend very well the...
We often wonder why such a dishonest one goes unnoticed when it comes to punishment. We watch while this one cheats on his/her spouse or lies to a boss yet they have a following of people who praise the ground they walk on. A day comes when such a person passes away...
It’s strange how sometimes we can withdraw into our own thoughts and try to figure a way out of a circumstance. We feel so all alone. It’s as though nobody understands and even if we explain it people still wouldn’t understand. We get embarrassed,...
While there are people who seem to thrive in this world without any difficulties others go through valley after valley. Christ has already won each and every battle yet life’s battles still give a sense of defeat, especially the situations that linger. For the...
There is nothing worse than to be a high school graduate with no clue what to do. Classmates and friends are choosing colleges or vocations while we face lots of options that do not appeal to us. As we get older some of us are faced with decisions on where...
Spiritual blessings last for an eternity while earthly blessings last only for a lifetime here. It’s easy to feel overlooked when another gets selected every time. It may be a job promotion, a solo on stage or a specific material thing that never comes our...
There are times when we just need a break from day to day life. Jobs get to be too much, daily routines become too ordinary and even the world around us is coming unglued. We may not be personally effected by any of this but the things going on around us...
Hot and cold running water is taken for granted in many places. A roof over our head and enough to eat are easily enough gained. Most people drive a car, have access to a good education and a cell phone. A lot is expected at holiday time for gifts and stores to...
There are wrongs committed against many of us daily. Some of the things done to us are unthinkable because of the horror. Others join in with them to add insult to injury. We watch while people flock to the guilty to provide encouraging words egging...
When we think of stewardship we often think of the ten percent of earnings. Stewardship is much more than an offering plate. How we invest our time if important. There is a parable about the talents Jesus speaks of in the Gospel of Matthew. A...
Occasionally someone will just have it in for us. We can do no right no matter how hard we try. There will be statements made that suggest we will never accomplish as long as they are our boss. Other times silence says it all. Friends are told...
These days we see more people not getting along. Each one seems to want the last word and even then, the argument is not won. Some arguments are not worth the time and effort to entertain yet the competition of winning the last word is enticing to some people. Even...
Are you going through some things that discourage and disappoint you? Is someone else going through things that cause moods to be differently toward you? Are your circumstances beyond and above anything you think will ever turn around? You are not alone. Christians...
God, Who is the same today as yesterday and forever, reminds us that the conversation He had with Cain is the same for us. As we are bombarded daily with temptations it is up to us to seek God’s face to see us through them. These temptations desire us and pursue us...
Pride slowly creeps in on people. It starts with one small success then a strong desire for more takes over. One success leads to another until a spirit of pride takes over. A “can do no wrong” attitude creates a comfort zone that leads to a blind confidence in...
It’s easy to get our thoughts fixed on certain details when we study our Bibles. Are we saved by our faith in Jesus or in Jesus’ faith in us to have faith? Does Adam have a belly button? What comes first, the chicken or the egg? We can spend many hours trying to...
Let’s not let Mr. A into our choir because he doesn’t sing well. Our company cannot hire Jane Doe because she doesn’t fit the company image. We will not attend a class party because the person who planned it is not in our little group. Look out! These are the type...
As we read our Bibles we see that we are to put aside our old ways or to deny ourselves. This means we are to give up old habits such as lies, stealing, lust, jealousy and numerous other things that are hard to give up. This sounds easy but it is not. In fact it is...
There are people who play a musical instrument very well while we struggle with notes. There are people that are gifted at keeping a good conversation and at times they will take a conversation completely away from another person and us. We listen to a pastor gifted...
Sometimes we ponder what things would be like if only…….. We pray for things in life and we imagine an answer yet we are often disappointed when things work out differently. We want friendships to be restored or we want a certain dating parter and we pray for a...
To the best of our human ability we follow the instructions of God. We refer to our Bibles and pray in all things. It’s understandable to expect a smooth ride through life as we continue our loyalty to God’s leadership. Unfortunately for most of us, rising waters...
It happens to us all at some time or another. Everywhere we turn the answer is “no.” Blessings that come in the form of an answer to prayer are bestowed on our friends and not us. Promotions automatically happen to coworkers who are always on break while we work...
Storms come that create floods. Fires happen that destroy everything in its path. Landslides occasionally occur covering the land below. All these things happen when we least expect it. Weather patterns change and the earth quakes shaking up everything around us...
We often wonder the exact spiritual gift God gives us. There are tests that asks certain questions with blocks to check which gives us a general idea of our gifts. Sometimes we can search our own personality through careful thoughts and comparisons and draw some...
There are times we feel like people get away with all types of wrongs done to us. We pay the consequences of their actions toward us while they seemingly get by with what they have done. Days, weeks and even months are spent picking up the pieces of what they...
When we are angry, does the anger truly solve anything or does it take control of us? There are lots of things during the day that make our fuses light up to the explosion point but there are things we can do. The most important thing is not to feed it with...
There are numerous ways God speaks even during times we feel He isn’t listening. He speaks to us in peace when we sit still beside a soft running brook. Sometimes when we read our Bibles a particular sentence will suddenly have a deeper meaning. Other times our...
Many of us have asked for prayer and have received the benefits of prayers being answered. We know beyond the shadow of a doubt our friend, pastor or loved one offered a prayer on our behalf. We feel our burdens lifted or see hardships start to work out. We watch...
We all live under the authority of someone whether we choose to acknowledge them or shun them. While we don’t always agree with the ones placed in charge of us God requires us to pray for them. It’s easy to post opinions on social media or to each other opposing the...