“Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in…Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.’ And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good… And they said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’ So they strengthened […]
“And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Faith requires courage. Being assured of what you hope for, believing what you can’t yet see—this isn’t easy. It can be scary to […]
“The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’” John 12:12-13 Reading this […]
“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service” 1 Timothy 1:12 How amazing it is that our Lord would judge us faithful. That in the midst of our sin and our weakness, He would see a vessel through which His glory […]
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” John 11:5 Jesus loved them. So He waited. Instead of rushing immediately to the home of His friend who was sick and on the verge of death, […]
“Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down […]
“And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds […]
“Showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” Titus 2:10 Our actions, our speech, our reactions should adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. They should be outward evidence that what we believe—what Christ has proclaimed and Scripture reveals—is true and beautiful and life-changing. “For the […]
“For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.” Titus 1:7-8 In this list of qualifications, one phrase stood out to me this morning: “a lover of […]
“So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Behold, the man!’ When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, ‘Crucify him, crucify him!’” John 19:5-6a “Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him.” John […]
In Pleasant Places 