Salvation is far from the wicked NOT because God is withholding it. Salvation is for every person who confesses, repents, and asks to be saved. But the truly wicked, those who revel in the darkness, often refuse to confess and repent. There are some we wouldn’t necessarily consider wicked, but…

John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word…” From the very beginning, the Word was in place. The Word was, it is, and it will always be. Thus when things around us are changing, we can look to the Word for our security. When arguments ensue about right and…

The Lord is near. Do you know how I know that? Because His Word says He is, and He is Truth. The promise is smack in the middle of my life verses, Philippians 4:4-8 (verse 5b…”The Lord is near.”) Do I always feel like He’s near? No. But every time…

HYMN DAY! “I Need Thee Every Hour” by Annie S. Hawks (the verses) and Robert Lowry (the refrain) is so comforting. He is near to the weak and weary, near to the happy and blessed. Rest in Him; He is near. 1 I need Thee ev’ry hour, Most gracious Lord;…

A few years ago I released a devotional which I titled In the Morning When I Rise. (I’m sure you’re familiar with the song bearing a similar title, and it’s completing phrase, “Give Me Jesus.”) Starting our day by looking to Him puts our focus where it will do us…

Have you ever begged God to explain a situation to you? Some things are just so hard to understand, and quite often we aren’t given an explanation. When I’m in a “Why? Why?” place, I think about the story of a man who awakened one morning to discover that a…

In the early 1980s, Michael Martin Murphey released a song titled, “What’s Forever For?” The final lines of the chorus ask, “And if love never lasts forever, tell me what’s forever for?” Kind of a melancholy thought, isn’t it? Well, let’s turn it on its ear. There is a love…

Fashion trends change. Friend circles shift. The definitions of morality and acceptability are constantly modified by society. People say, “This is MY truth,” and they stand by it. In other words, people are fickle. But guess who is never fickle? (That was a rhetorical question.) There really is only One…

HYMN DAY! Charles Wesley wrote some of our most well-known hymns, and “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord” is one of my favorites. God the Father and Jesus the Son deserve our praise and adoration. Blessed be His name! Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing, Blessed be the…

There is so much unrest in this world. Wars. Persecution. Violent outbursts. Unselfishness and maliciousness and all means of evil seems to be in every direction I look. I find anger welling up at what’s happening and also at my helplessness against it. Think how different our world would be…