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Billy Graham once said, “Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and his will for us.” When we believe we’re meant to live a perfect life, there is a sense of a mandate to be flawless. It’s good to desire holiness and perfection, but the angst that comes from failure to attain them often generates anxiety, stress and fear that we aren’t right with God. We’re never at peace, and we can’t enjoy the fullness of the presence of God and a hunger satisfied because we think our perfection is up to...

The Lord appeared to Abraham one day and gave him an incredible command: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1, NKJV). What an amazing thing. Suddenly, God picked out a man and told him, “I want you to get up and go, leaving everything behind, your home, your relatives, even your country. I want to send you someplace, and I will direct you how to get there along the way.” How did Abraham respond to this incredible word from the Lord? “By faith Abraham...

Jesus tells us, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24, NKJV). Indeed, the scriptures tells us from cover to cover that once the Lord forgives our sins, he wipes them from his memory. “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25). “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your...

In Exodus 12, we see that on the door of every Israelite home, the blood of a lamb was stricken on the two side-posts and lintel. This was to protect God’s people from the passing angel of death. When the day came, a multitude of Israelites marched out of captivity, including 600,000 men plus women and children. “On that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:41, NKJV). In the next chapter, “Moses said to the people: ‘Remember this day in which you went out of...

If you are suffering, it may be that God is working things out for you in his own way. It is most often the sovereign work of our God unfolding a master plan known only to him. Through all the suffering of God’s people, he is at work. Study your Bible, and you will discover these same patterns in the lives of all of God’s people. In case after case, when God began to fulfill his promise, the roof seemed to cave in first! Think of Daniel and the three Hebrew children. They gave themselves to a life of holiness...

Peter said, “[We] are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5, NKJV). I see in this a prophecy that in these last days God is once more going to reveal his keeping power to his people. Christ prayed to the Father concerning his disciples, saying, “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12)....

Old Testament saints knew God in a way we know very little about. They knew him as the Lord of hosts! God is referred to by this name more than 200 times in the Old Testament. This majestic title resonates throughout the psalms. – “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalm 46:7, NKJV). – “O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty like you, O Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds you” (Psalm 89:8). – “Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer” (Psalm 84:8). – “Who is this King of glory? The Lord...

A thrilling Old Testament story in 2 King 6 best illustrates what it means to be kept by the power of God. Ben-hadad, king of Syria, declared war on Israel and marched against them with a great army. As his forces advanced, he often called his war counsel together to plan the next day’s strategy. However, the prophet Elisha kept sending word to the king of Israel, detailing every move of the enemy troops. In fact, on several occasions, the Israelites escaped defeat because of Elisha’s warnings. Ben-hadad was furious and assembled his servants. “Who is revealing our plans to...

David tells us in the psalms that it is God who makes wars to end and adds, “Be still and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10, NKJV). The Hebrew word for ‘still’ is raphah, which means to cease, let alone, become weak, feeble. It is from the root rapha, which means to mend and be made thoroughly whole by the hand of a physician. How thoroughly consistent the Word of God is. He brings conflict to an end. Until he finishes his work, we are to stop our self-righteous efforts, trust everything into his hands, confess our weaknesses and...

When Jesus was born, it was epic. The magi were heading to the place where Jesus was. They’d come to worship him and bring him gifts. One of my favorite descriptions of their arrival is in verse 10 of the Message paraphrase: “They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!” I want a life like that. I want to be in the right place at the right time. We only get there one way, though: by being obedient to God. What happens after the Christmas story is epic as well. King Herod learned about the...

God’s ultimate goal for all his children is abundant life. He never intended for us to go through life focused on our sins and failures. The good news is that we serve a God of absolute love and mercy who desires to bring his children into a place high above all turmoil. However, we cannot take our place with Christ in the heavenlies until we are fully identified with his death and resurrection. There can be no breakthrough into ascension life without experiencing death at the cross. The Holy Spirit has put within us a knowledge that we can never...

Our failures constantly test us. I do not mean that Christians who fall back into old sins and turn back to the world are being tested. No, those believers face a shipwreck of faith. I am talking about believers who are growing in holiness and are set on following the Lord. Peter gave them a warning: “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked” (2 Peter 3:17 NKJV). Some of you may have taken a fall in spite of all the progress...

Nothing honors God more than trusting him in the face of difficulties. How quickly we forget the miracles and past blessings. In Psalm 106, Israel testified about the incredible miracle as the Red Sea caved in upon the Egyptian army, drowning every soldier. “The waters covered their enemies; there was not one of them left. Then they believed his words; they sang his praise” (Psalm 106:11-12, NKJV). Sadly, the next words that follow are “They soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel”(Psalm 106:13). We cannot trust our faith to past experiences; we are too forgetful, and...

Shame is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety.” Feeling ashamed can take us in one of two directions: restitution and redemption or perpetual defeat. It can be a force for good that leads to healthy living, or it can knock you down and keep you there. Let’s consider today how guilt and shame can work together to become a strength that propels us forward. For example, we see King David who, at the height of his power, blew it in a spectacular way. Married himself, he seduced Bathsheba, wife of the...

After the mountaintop experience of the transfiguration, Jesus came down the mountain and was immediately met by a man who was in trouble (see Matthew 17:1-21). I often have to gently let new believers know that they may be feeling on top of the world, only to get home and be assailed by unwanted thoughts or doubts about their salvation. Many times when we have enjoyed a tremendous spiritual victory, Satan is just around the corner. You go on a wonderful Christian retreat and experience the movement of the Holy Spirit, only to come home to a problem or a...

It’s often hard to do things we don’t want to do without motivation or accountability. Always going it alone without support and encouragement means all the motivation has to come from the inside. It also means there is no one around to keep us accountable. When I can’t keep up with my grandchildren, it’s usually because I’ve been allowing myself extra slices of pizza and chocolate cake. If I’m alone and feel a bad attitude coming on, I only affect myself. On the other hand, it will catch on like a virus and will have to be addressed as soon...

“They shall utter the memory of your great goodness, and shall sing of your righteousness” (Psalm 145:7 NKJV). We cannot deny God’s call to praise him in all his excellencies, but we are especially called to praise him for his goodness. Note that the Psalmist insisted on an abundance of praise in memory of the Father’s goodness; they sang the Hebrew for abundant utterances, “to gush out like water rushing from a fountain.” In Psalm 107:8-9, David wrote, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!...

Jesus didn’t mess around when he talked about fear. His core message was “I, not your fear, am in control.” Are fear and anxiety part of our God-given makeup? Oddly, yes. Fear alerts us to danger, and anxiety is our physical response to those alerts. Life from birth to grave is filled with such moments. While on earth Jesus felt the anxiety of those to whom he ministered. His words about fear were designed to not only calm them but also to help them grow in their spiritual walk. We are all plagued by fear at one time or another....

Hopefully, you know a little bit about Peter from the gospels. He was kind of ahead of the curve when it came to bragging and arguing about who was the greatest with the other disciples. Obviously, he didn’t get what Christ was about in the beginning, but we’re all a work in progress. Christ eventually made Peter into this excellent apostle and man of God. Peter preached the first sermon of the Christian era. Did you know that God anointed him so much that when he preached thousands came to faith during that first sermon? When you think about it,...

We must once and for all understand what Christ did for us at the cross. He forever took away the sin which separated us from God; from here on, we will always have the right to enter his presence without hesitation. We are accepted in God’s sight. There is not a single thing in his heart against us! Stop and consider the sublime efficacy of Christ’s blood. We are fully pardoned because the cross cleared us in God’s eyes. We may lose sight of that, but God never does. The veil was torn to allow us to enter directly into...