December 4, 2022“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8Have you ever felt like the times when you are most obedient to God, you seem to be the most tempted? This is not unusual. When you are living right in the center of God’s will, Satan is extra motivated to take you out. Think about it. He isn’t ...  Read More

December 3, 2022“Jesus replied, ‘You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.’” – John 13:7When we were children, we were taught to pray: “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food.” But when catastrophe strikes and bad things happen to good people, we begin to wonder: “If God is so great, why doesn’t He do something? If God is so good, why doesn’t He seem to care...  Read More

December 2, 2022“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” – James 1:12Have you ever wondered what it takes to create a diamond? I read an article once that said, “Diamonds are formed deep within the earth about 100 miles or so below the surface in the upper mantle.” It went on to say, ...  Read More

December 1, 2022“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4  As we looked at yesterday, God uses suffering in our lives to show...  Read More

November 30, 2022“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:11-13 Romans 5 says hope will not ...  Read More

November 29, 2022“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.” – Romans 5:5As we continue to look at the reasons we should persevere through trials, there is something important we should remember. Trials will not only develop our endurance, patience, humility, and character, but there...  Read More

November 28, 2022“And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” – Romans 5:4We have discussed endurance over the last couple of days. Through trials, endurance is built. But there is something else that is built through that endurance: character. God never calls us to a life of complacency. He’s called us to a life of walking by faith and...  Read More

November 27, 2022“We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” – Romans 5:3-4  Has God ever allowed something to come into your life that makes you instantly uncomfortable? Perhaps you were just living your best life, going through ...  Read More

November 26, 2022“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” – Revelation 3:15-16When God disciplines us, He is getting our attention. Though it might be painful in the moment, it is good for us in the long run because we will grow and learn fr...  Read More

November 25, 2022“We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.” – Romans 5:3When I was a kid, I didn’t get grounded when I was in trouble. I got whipped! I hated it when I got spanked. I hated the whole process. And it was a process by the way. When I got in trouble, I’d get sent into my bedroom. Then I’d have to wait for my dad to get ...  Read More

November 24, 2022“That’s why I take pleasure in all my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and trouble that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:10Yesterday, we posed this question: when life hits a tough season, and everything appears as if it is going to fall apart, how will you respond? Like the world that murmurs, complains, questi...  Read More

November 23, 2022“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.” – 2 Corinthians 3:5Have you ever had a thorn in the flesh? What thorn has God used in your life to remind you of your ultimate dependency on Him? Every thorn is a divinely appointed dart designed to burst the bubble of self-sufficiency. Many of us, myself included, have ...  Read More