The closeness of the relationship between King David and the Lord is one that fascinates and ought to motivate us. When David spoke to the Lord in the Psalms, he addressed his God with such familiarity, intimacy and confidence. Meditate on his words in Psalm 86. David called upon his Lord to “bow down Your ear…hear me” (v. 1), “preserve my life”…

“Hey, what do you think about those elders? Can you believe what they’re doing? Did you hear about that decision they made? What is their problem?!” It is so easy, sometimes, to talk about others improperly, without sanction and in a hateful, divisive manner. And, to some, talking about the elders in such a manner seems acceptable. Here is a passage we…

Someone was showing me their Bible the other day and it was literally falling apart – pages were brittle, torn and falling out; the binding and leather cover were coming apart. It was being held together, in a manner of speaking, by layers of tape and glue. Now, it did not get this way just because it was old, nor was it…

God’s book of wisdom in the Old Testament (the book of Proverbs) has so much to say about how God’s people must learn to control their “lips,” “mouth” and “tongue.” Consider this wisdom. First of all, “a wise man will hear and increase learning” (1:5) and he “will receive commands” (10:8), because “the ear of the wise seeks knowledge” (18:15). Before a…

Years ago there was a teacher who offered extra credit in his class for doing various projects (what some might consider unusual projects). One of his favorites was to give his students extra credit for carrying in their pocket a little spiral (memo size) notebook. They only had to carry it for one day and he told them there was only one…

Most everyone likes a little seasoning to enhance the taste of their food. For some, it might be some mild seasoning just to bring out certain flavors. Others want the bold seasoning or let’s just say…spicy and extra spicy. What about when it comes to our speech? Most everyone flavors their speech with some kind of seasoning. There are rarely any words…

  There is nothing about the Christian life that we deserve! Nothing! We do not deserve the precious blood of Jesus being shed to redeem us from our sins (1 Pet. 1:18-19). We do not deserve to wear the marvelous name of Christ our Savior (Isa. 62:2; Acts 4:12; 11:26; 1 Cor. 1:11-13). We do not deserve the promise of eternal life…

Has somebody ever made your day…just by smiling at you? Just by acknowledging your presence with a quick greeting? Just by hugging you or giving you a pat on the back? Just by looking in your eyes and saying, “I’m praying for you”? Just by sending you a short text, email or personal message? Just by saying, “Thank you,” for  something simple?…