I don’t know if you noticed that this week’s images featured sunrises over different settings: a lake, mountains, the rolling prairie, a beach, and an ocean. I wanted to plant pictures of God’s beautiful creation in your mind. God crafted this world in such a way that we would see…

We are saved from eternal separation from God by proclaiming our faith in Jesus Christ. See Ephesian 2:8-9 for confirmation. If it were up to works, none of us would get into heaven; we could never do enough! But if we truly love Jesus, the things we do and say…

HYMN DAY! “Because I Have Been Given Much” was written by Grace Noll Crowell in the midst of the Great Depression. When you view the words against the backdrop of financial devastation and emotional despair, they become even more meaningful. 1. Because I have been given much, I too must…

When I was little and tried to blame someone else for my poor choice, my mom would say, “When you point your finger at somebody else, there are three fingers pointing back at you.” (Yes, I checked my hand to see if she was right.) (Yes, she was.) We’re very…

We live in a time when society proclaims that some lives have value and some don’t. Some people’s voices are cheered and others’ disdained. People are placed into classifications based on appearance, economic status, popularity, age, gender, and countless other qualifiers. These kinds of actions and attitudes only cause division…

As I said on Tuesday, I’ve personally experienced the justice and mercy of the cross. Because I’ve received mercy, I know how to give mercy. As receivers of God’s mercy, we’re expected to extend mercy to others. Showing favoritism for any reason is never merciful. Let me see with His…

Speaking and acting covers our interactions with others. We are free to behave however we please. We are free to say whatever we want to. But we will be judged for the things we do and say—most especially those things that grieve the Lord. As His children, we are to…

“God of Mercy, God of Grace” might not be familiar to you. This was originally a poem written by Henry Frances Lyte, a pastor in Ireland in the early 1800s. The words were put to music by Conrad Kocher in 1838, and were published in The English Hymnal in 1906.…

James reminded his readers of something they should already know. Jesus instructed His followers to love their neighbors…and by neighbors, He meant anyone with whom His followers came into contact. Love must serve anyone in need. That James gave this reminder tells us his readers weren’t really abiding by the…

James is pretty direct with this command: Do not show favoritism. Apparently he’d received word that the wealthy were being given preferential treatment in the houses of worship, were offered the nicest seats while the poor were relegated to the back of the room or even the floor. James was…