The sun rose this morning.  That’s no surprise.  It rises every morning without fail, chasing away the darkness and heralding a new day with its light.  An everyday miracle.  Every single day, light conquers darkness. Yet it is so familiar we often fail to be amazed. 

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2). …

What I love about the commandments of God is that they are accompanied by blessings over and above our initial act of obedience. This is true of thanksgiving. While it is right to be thankful and it often makes us feel good, the act of thanksgiving also releases substantial power into our lives — the kind of power that shifts things. …

At times, most of us wrestle with doubts about God’s love, approval and acceptance, myself included.  Is it possible these doubts are created by our use of faulty weights and measures?  For, if we use defective scales to weigh our worth or our success, then we set ourselves up for an inaccurate reading of our true value.  If we believe that we do not “measure up,” this will be the way it will be measured back to us!  

Although at times we struggle to understand, God allows us to go through different seasons in our life, and He makes use of them to accomplish His purposes for us.  Each season is a distinct experience that brings its own lessons and opportunities. There are seasons of poverty and of prosperity, seasons of struggle and blessing, grief and rejoicing, toil and rest. 

We all need a boost of power at some time or another – not just for our phones, but for our lives.  Yet others are carrying around a surplus of power that begs to be shared.  It helps to remember that if we have relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we are connected to an eternal power source.  We are “plugged” into the One who holds us – and everything in the universe – together by His strength, wisdom, and will. 

The Christian life is not solely dependent on our own efforts and willpower.  Isn’t that good news?!  Yet, of course, our effort and willpower are required, in the measure we can muster, but this isn’t a solo act.  This life of faith is a partnership between us and God, and He takes the greater role.

At the end of the day, another question to ask is not whether you have a dream, but does the dream have YOU?!  Endless dreams may run through our minds, entertaining us now and again with their sparkling personalities and exciting potential.  But if we don’t allow them to take hold of us, they will never see the light of day. 

Flowers hold out the hope of heaven our hearts long for. Too often overlooked as frivolous or sentimental, flowers actually are profound and defiant symbols of joy and delight. They are light shining in the darkness, beauty made alive …

Throughout the pages of His Word, God declares His great love for us. The Bible has even been called a love letter from God. Over and over again, He says it and He shows it, because He wants us to know it. This isn’t a love that watches over us from afar; this is an up close and very personal kind of love that God has for each one of us. …

‘Tis the season to be thankful. … What would life be like if we carried our thankfulness into the next day or the next week? What if being thankful wasn’t assigned a certain day on the calendar, but filled all the days of all the year?

On a recent flight, I opened my Bible, preparing to take some time to read and pray God’s Word. As I turned to the page before me, I glanced out the window and saw the textured folds of the landscape below. I was captivated by the scene …

Do unto others as you would have them do to you (Matthew 7:12).  This is perhaps the most widely known of Jesus’ teachings, and most people would agree it is foundational to a healthy moral code.  ….  Yet sometimes we fail to execute this simple principle.  We lie, cheat, steal, hurt, judge, accuse and ignore the others around us when we would never want to be treated this way ourselves.  How can this be?! I believe a key to this instruction lies in the verses that precede it. …

The branch needs the “life force” of the vine to be sustained and to flourish. Likewise, we are sustained and we flourish when the life force of Jesus flows through us.

But then Jesus dares to point out the obvious: “apart from me, you can do nothing” (verse 5), and my pride is wounded!

Truly, hanging on in faith, believing for something before you can actually see it is so very hard to do. If I think a thing, want a thing, believe a thing, I kind of expect it to be just around the corner. …

Putting our trust in someone (or something) else to lead us doesn’t always work out the way we had planned.

Consider the story of God’s people leaving slavery in Egypt as found in the book of Exodus chapter 13, verses 17-18 (ESV): When Pharoah let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people round by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.”

Home is an atmosphere, an environment that has a huge influence on our lives. Home is more than just a place; home is a deep and powerful feeling.

Psalm 23 illustrates a wonderful picture of the kind of person God is by using the analogy of a good shepherd. … [And] it also can reveal what kind of people we are!

… the shepherd walks with the sheep through the darkest valley, and the shepherd lays out a table for the sheep in the presence of their enemies.

The path appeared to glow in the morning dusk, creating a beautiful scene. I thought to myself how lovely it would be if our path in life was so clearly marked.