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“One-A-Week Challenge” – Week 21
“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” -- 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV In 1933, shortly after becoming President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt boldly declared, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself!” He was wrong. As long as there are snakes, we have something else to fear as far as I’m concerned! Do you know the name Eppie Lederer? I bet you do when I refer to her by her pen name, Ann Landers. The late columnist, who wrote for 47 years, purportedly received...
“One-A-Week Challenge” – Week 20
“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” -- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 nasb For much of my life I have been talking about the three “G’s” of living. Grateful, Generous, and Gracious are three words that should summarize the living out of our faith in a personal and tangible way. Being grateful is the very essence of the redeemed. Everything we have in life is a gift from God. From that initial gasp for air that draws breath into a newborn’s lungs to the final exhale from an aged body and everything in between...
“One-A-Week Challenge” – Week 19
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” -- Romans 8:31b esv The greatest security in all of creation is summed up in this verse of scripture. In the midst of this magnificent chapter of the Bible is contained, what John MacArthur calls, “a hymn of security.” It must be remembered that these verses are written to true Christians who have become identified with Christ through saving faith offered by Him to all who truly believe. The verse begins with the word “if” but this does not imply a possibility but a certainty. The better translation of this...
“One-A-Week Challenge” – Week 18
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” -- Romans 8:28 nasb Last week we learned that God’s nature is goodness. This week we read that He causes all things to work together for good. Seems logical right? Why then do we notice so many things that seem to be going in the wrong direction? Most often the problem is with perspective. We imagine that God’s purpose is for us to be on a smooth path free of turmoil. God’s perfect peace is...
“One-A-Week Challenge” – Week 17
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” -- Psalm 23: 6 ESV This week our verse comes as the closing refrain from last week’s hymn. What began with David singing, “The Lord is My shepherd” ends with “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” The eternal home of every true believer is heaven but the life of redeemed faith is not only for the future, it is for the present. A more appropriate rendering of the word “surely” is “only”...
“One-A-Week Challenge” – Week 16
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” -- Psalm 23:1 ESV This is one of the most beloved passages in all of scripture. No one knows exactly when David penned these words. Some believe he wrote it as an old man approaching physical death and that this is a hymn of reflection over his full life. Others think it came as a youth. Either way imagine the shepherd boy sitting under the shade of a huge tree, watching his flock feast on the pasture around him or drinking from a babbling brook meandering through the meadow. David begins...