“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him […]
“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I […]
“And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’ then you shall say to them: ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares […]
“And Samuel said, ‘Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you a king over Israel.’” 1 Samuel 15:17 My decisions impact much more than just me. I am not near the kind of office Saul held as king of Israel, but my […]
“I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” Psalm 119:16 This verse compelled a specific prayer of my heart: Lord, may I delight in Your statutes. Not just obeying them because I know I’m supposed to – although we are to exercise discipline to obey even when we don’t “feel” like […]
“You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live” Deuteronomy 5:33a Our God desires life for us. Real, whole, full, abundant life. Some might say that living according to the commands of God, following the example of Jesus, and walking in the sacrificial and submissive […]
“You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you.” Leviticus 22:20 This morning I’m reminded that we are to bring our best before God. He is great and mighty and glorious. He reigns on high, above all the wonders this universe holds. He humbled Himself and went […]
“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 everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good and evil.” Hebrews 5:13-14 As I read these words this morning, it struck me that […]
In Pleasant Places 