June 15, 2022“As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.” Psalm 55:16 Yesterday, we talked about how God wants to help you when you face the stresses of life. When you cry out to God, He hears you. Not only does He hear you, but He is ready to help you. He doesn’t want to suppress your stress; He wants to address your stress. And God’s solution for addressing your stress comes by way of an i...  Read More

June 14, 2022“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” – Psalm 121:1-2 If you want to escape the cage of stress, you have to learn what God’s Word tells us regarding how you can be proactive in eliminating it from your life. Psalm 121:1 says, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?” Many ...  Read More

June 13, 2022“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” – Psalm 145:18 Yesterday, we talked about David and his cry of distress. In Psalm 18:6, David gives a personal plea to God. He says, “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” He reminds us here that when we are o...  Read More

June 12, 2022“Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.” – Psalm 4:1 Do you ever feel stressed? This is a question everyone will emphatically answer “YES!” at some point or another. If you have never been stressed, you likely haven’t done much. When you search the word “stress,” you find there are actually multiple differe...  Read More

June 11, 2022“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” – Colossians 3:23 We have spent the past week talking about pride and the effects it can have on our lives. We have talked about the consequences that come with pride, and what it looks like to be a prideful person. And if you have been reading along, you might be saying, “Pastor, I get ...  Read More

June 10, 2022“For which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.” 2 Timothy 2:9  If you travel by airplane, even occasionally, there is a good chance you’ve been stuck in an airport terminal at least once in your life. And if you’ve experienced that, you can attest that when you are stuck in an airport, it really is a stressful and helpless ...  Read More

June 9, 2022“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” – Ephesians 2:8 When my kids were little, I worked a long way from their elementary school, but occasionally I would make the trek and pick them up after school. I loved those days because my kids were sweet and they loved me and wanted to be with me. And because me picking t...  Read More

June 8, 2022“Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.” – Proverbs 16:19 Over the last couple of days, we have talked about the consequences of pride. We specifically want to talk about three consequences. First, pride prevents momentum in your relationship with the Lord. Second, pride hinders your relationships with other people. Today, we are goi...  Read More

June 7, 2022“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” – Philippians 2:3 I once heard someone say, “Pride will always be the longest distance between two people.” How is that true? Nobody wants to be around a prideful, egotistical person. If you believe the world is all about you, then you’ll quickly discover that most people don’t want...  Read More

June 6, 2022“The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.” – Proverbs 16:5 We have spent the last several days talking about pride and what we need to do to get rid of it. But why is it so important not to have pride? Over the next three days, we will talk about three specific consequences that come directly from pride. The first thing pride does is preven...  Read More

June 5, 2022“In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” – 1 Peter 5:5 We are not farmers, but this year, for some reason, our family decided to plant a garden. It turned out to be a great experience. There is just something amazing about puttin...  Read More

June 4, 2022“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” – Proverbs 16:18  When I was going through the process of being ordained as a pastor, I met weekly with a group of eight men. They would ask me questions and give me suggestions. What they were doing was making sure that I was equipped before they put their stamp of approval on me. Well, the time came and we were about to...  Read More