“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. “

Decorating for Christmas is usually a sensory experience. Christ’s first coming involved all the senses, too.

Most of us have trouble waiting, especially for Christmas. Even more challenging is our wait for the second advent of Jesus.

Advent includes some looking back at the promises and prophecies of God. But Advent also always prompts us to wait and to hope for something yet to be revealed. 

Every leader gets plenty of criticism. But when the words of warning come from God himself, all who love him must take notice.

God’s direction seemed harsh to the prophet, and his ways sometimes seem difficult to us, too.

We are to do everything we can to encourage one another to stay the course, to endure whatever suffering comes.

Every church and every faith-based nonprofit needs volunteers and donors who will stand in the gap for the people God has called us to love and serve.

When we think of WWE, we easily associate The Rock with someone strong. The term applies to the one who saves us, but then the Bible uses a far different word for him, too.

We do well to remember the Lord is not silent—and it behooves us not to be silent, either!

“Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.”

The name of this holiday helps us focus hearts and minds on the divine source of every good gift that comes from above.

Gratitude changes everything. It moves us from the floor of pity to the pinnacle of praise.  And lifting up God pulls us up as well.

Have you ever lived in the shadow of an unpredictable power structure or leader? Take a glance at what the prophet told his people who faced a similar situation.

I don’t remember making an intentional decision about having friends of different generations, but I am blessed beyond description because of the younger and older friends in my life.

God repeatedly provided for his children in the wilderness. “But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.”

While scent has become a good marketing tool, that is not what the writer of Proverbs 27:9 had in mind.

“Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart.”

God, the master gardener, has executed a perfect plan that bears fruit and a harvest that brings flourishing. Our job is to grow where we are planted and find our strength and vitality only in Jesus.

What the world desperately needs to see is the church in full bloom living out the ways of Jesus that he taught us in the Gospels.