When we do as Jesus advised us in yesterday’s verse, remain in His love and walk in obedience, there is a natural offshoot: Jesus finds joy in us, and we find joy, as well. People who commit crimes and run instead of facing the consequences always have to look over…

Have you or someone you know gotten all enthusiastic about something, such as an exercise plan or diet, couponing, or a new hobby? In the beginning, we’re all in, diligently focused and on track, but as time goes by, keeping up with it becomes difficult. Our initial excitement dims, it…

When my girls deliberately did things they knew they shouldn’t, it bothered me a lot more than when they made innocent mistakes. I remember my mom telling me before I went out with friends, “Remember Whose you are.” In other words, I’d made a commitment to Christ; the way I…

Does this verse kind of give you the shivers? I realize participation trophies are a big things—everyone gets rewarded whether they win or not. On one hand, that seems kind; no one is left out. But on the other hand, there’s no real benefit to scoring the most points or…

HYMN DAY! “Children of the Heavenly Father” was originally written in Swedish by Caroline/Karolina Sandell-Berg, who was known as the “Fanny Crosby of Sweden.” After losing her beloved father in a drowning accident, she wrote hymns to cope with her heartache, and many of her 650 hymns were used in…

If you chop off a branch and toss it aside, it will wither and die. Without being attached to the life-giving vine, it can’t survive. Once we’ve received Jesus as Savior and committed ourselves to Him, trying to live like the world becomes a frustrating, sad, lonely existence. To experience…

I’ve never grown grapes, but we have a peach tree in our backyard. In the Spring, when leaves start to appear, we trim off the branches that have died over the winter. The tree is healthier without those dead portions. Then we watch for the blossoms. The little tree is…

Jesus’s choice to lay down His life at Calvary was in direct obedience to God the Father. He had the ability to resist. God’s power was His power because the Father and the Son are one. If He’d wanted to, He could have squashed those soldiers with a flick of…

The ruler of the world was coming to claim Jesus’s physical body. The ruler of world thought he’d won when Jesus released His last breath. The ruler of the world was wrong. Yes, Jesus would go to the cross, but not because of anything the ruler of the world said…

HYMN DAY! John Henry Yates, a shoe salesman in New York in 1855, wrote this wonderful hymn, “Faith is the Victory.” A glorious victory that overcomes the world! That is our faith. 1 Encamped along the hills of light, Ye Christian soldiers, rise And press the battle ere the night…