Have you ever had a small child run up to you, tug your shirttail, and say, “Watch me!” Little ones (and sometimes “not so little” ones) like to be noticed for what they do. Jesus was different. Oh, the wonders He performed! But none of it was meant to call…
These words were spoken by John the Baptist, referring to Jesus. John wanted those around him to realize who Jesus was and why He’d come. The people would have understood a reference to a lamb; they sought forgiveness by shedding the blood of an unblemished lamb. Jesus, the Lamb of…
Have you ever stopped to consider that there is more than one way to see? We see things with our physical eyes, but we also “see” intellectually and morally. Because people haven’t seen God Himself with their physical eyes, they have a hard time “seeing” Him with their knowledge or…
The first book of the Bible starts, “In the beginning…”, and it shares God’s creation of the world and mankind. One of the first books of the New Testament begins in similar fashion, giving reference to One who was there before time began. In other words, One who was not…
Look what happens when we ask for His wisdom and discernment and then exercise it: We become filled with the fruit of righteousness! We grow more Christ-like every day! And our lives become an orchestra of praise that brings glory to the One who designed us to do good works…
Verses 9-11 are all one long sentence, but I’ve divided it up. This follows our instruction to rely on God’s wisdom and discernment for our love to abound. When we rely on His wisdom rather than the world’s (which is foolishness in His eyes!), we can determine the excellent things…
HYMN DAY! This is more contemporary, but I love the words to “He Who Began a Good Work in You” by Jonathan Mark Mohr (and sung by Steve Green—you can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsynL7m_1VE. The chorus has spoken assurance to me many times in my life. He who began…
Verses 9-11 are Paul’s prayer for the believers in Philippi; they are my prayer for myself, my children and grandchildren, and all future generations. The way the world defines “love” and the way God defines it is very different. The world’s love is often for self-gratification; God’s love, on the…
Philippians is one of my favorite books in the Bible. There is such depth of knowledge and practicality in Philippians. The certainty we find in verse 6 always gives me the good kind of shivers. God makes good plans for His children. When we give Him the reins of our…
I shared earlier this week that I spent too many years tangled up in the chains of worry. Worrying was a horrendous habit with devastating side effects. God healed me of that burden, and I’ve tried faithfully to choose trust instead of worry, but now and then my humanness sneaks…
