“I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.” (Isaiah 48:10) [NLT] There are several possible reasons for Christian suffering that are distinct from the reasons for the general suffering experienced by everyone: “5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?…
How are we influenced?2 Peter 2:6-8 NIVif he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous…
Matthew 6:16 – “16 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do,for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” INTRODUCTION Conversations are “give and take,” and friendships and relationships take time together. • Praying through Scripture to know…
History Nehemiah prayed and fasted Nehemiah 1:4-6a 4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. 5 Then I said: “Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him…
“‘Now, bring me a musician.’ While the musician played, the Lord’s hand came on Elisha.” (2 Kings 3:15) [CSB] Moab’s Rebellion Against Israel (2 Kings 3)• Israel: (v. 1-3)Descendants of Jacob AKA IsraelKing Joram• Moab: (v. 4-5)Descendants of Lot’s son, MoabKing Mesha• Judah: (v. 6-7)Descendants of Jacob’s son, JudahKing Jehoshaphat• Edom: (v. 8-10)Descendants of Jacob’s…
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, (Proverbs 6:23) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalms 119:105) For you are my lamp, O LORD, and my God lightens my darkness. (2 Samuel 22:29)…
Walking with God is not a brisk 2 mile walk as we would think in today’s ways. Walking with the Lord is a lifetime walk. Where you go, he goes. Where he goes, you go. Colossians 2:6And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. So, this…
Lukewarm ChristiansRevelation 3:15-18 NKJV15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’— and do not know that you…
John 13:1-15 (HCSB)Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. Now by the time of supper, the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s…
Genesis 3:1-24 [HCSB] The temptation and the fall of man Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from…