"God is always perfectly holy. The word holy means “sacred” or “set apart”. In the context of God, it emphasizes the separation of God’s goodness from evil or sin, from living in the Spirit or living in the flesh. Likewise, God calls us to be holy, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 PETER 1:1...

"We bless the LORD by living for Him. To bless God is to praise His name in thought and action. When we do, God is blessed because our lives are working for Him. The LORD’s way in our life is committed to truth. Satan is the father of lies, so he loves deceit in any form and relishes in it. But t...

"The LORD saves us! That is not something that we hear very often if we only watch the news and go about our business, never taking the time to read the Bible. But when we do stop, or are forced to consider what God has done for us as people, we are confronted by the truth of God. The LORD is not...

"When I came to know the LORD, my soul was relieved. I had been assured of the salvation that God had secured for me to be with Him in heaven forever. John 14:1-3 came to mind, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it w...

"Over the years there have been many musicians who have played the Psalms to their own style of music. While the melodies written are beautiful, that’s not what makes it remarkable. The words do the work, because they are words that God, through His Holy Spirit has given us. The Psalms are given ...

"The Psalms are designed to express the challenges each of us face in our life, and how God is greater than these challenges. We are not perfect as people, we are not able to be holy or completely helpful. Most of us believe that the best we can do is to do our best, and the effort of doing our b...

"The Psalms are given to us to meditate and pray. When we put that into practice, we learn much about God and how to interact with Him. In fact, one of the most asked
questions I receive as a pastor is: How should I pray, or how can I know that I am talking
to God? The truth is God has already an...

"There are prayers for specific things in the book of Psalms. Many are focused on praise, some for mourning, others cry out for help in times of trouble, but Psalm 140 is asking God for deliverance from evil. Evil is so subtle and pervasive that it is hard to catch, hard to see, and hard to track...

"Proverbs is an amazing book of wisdom. King Solomon is the principal author, though not the exclusive author. He asked God for wisdom to rule His people, and this book is the fruit of that prayer. There is a vast difference between human wisdom and the wisdom of God. Proverbs was written to give...

"What is the difference between obeying orders and taking advice? Many associate the book of the Proverbs with taking God’s advice. Others see the commands of God in the Proverbs and hear God giving us orders to live by. The truth is that God’s advice is never wrong, neither are His orders. How w...

"What does righteousness mean? When defined in the Bible it means, “right with God”. So someone who is considered to be righteous is right with God. This is a great place to be in our life. But there are many who do not care. Again, this is where taking God’s advice is a problem because we need t...

"“He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction” (PROVERBS 13:3). This was written about 3,000 years ago, and we continue to struggle with the same problem. Today, internet forums and social media almost seem deliberately built against such wise...

"There is a lot said now about how we think. Culture has involved itself in the way we work together. The recent advent of the Internet has been a real game-changer in the way we build business and work together in communities. This world is a very interesting place. God knows this world. The LOR...

"One of the great wrongs in life is to brag about how right you are. There is nothing worse than boasting about yourself. First of all, to boast about yourself is a sign of bad character. Next, when we boast, we assume that we know what is going to happen, and yet often what happens is just the o...

"Proverbs is a wonderful book that offers truths about life, the world, and the way God works. It is not wisdom from man, it is wisdom from God. When we choose to live our lives to follow God and know His presence in this sin-cursed world, we are given an amazing opportunity to gain and live in G...

"The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes says that he was the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Those words have led many to believe that the writer must be Solomon. It seems likely to assume that it was Solomon, given the things that this author said and did. Ecclesiastes is a record of his resear...

"Many who have much seek to have more, more than they need. And some who are wealthy have difficulty giving money to those who need it. Quite often giving is done with a requirement so that the person doing the giving will get something in return. The problem is: that is not really giving. Jesus ...

"There are many things in our lives we cannot control. We spend much of our life trying to take control by doing what we desire. Ecclesiastes 8 tells us the truth about the things that we cannot control. Wisdom is often understood by our reactions to life. That is why it is always best to come to...

"A signet seal was an ancient signature, a way to identify yourself in the ancient world. It was uniquely carved for each person. You would carry your seal wherever you went, it was a sign of not only your approval but who you were. Solomon uses the signet seal as an analogy with loving his wife,...

"Isaiah is the first major prophetic book. Isaiah lived about 740 years before the birth of Jesus Christ and he ministered as a royal prophet under the kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Jewish tradition tells that Isaiah was chased down by King Manasseh and his body cut in two while hiding...

"When a vinedresser plants an orchard and diligently cares for it, he expects that the grapes will be a good harvest. But what if it is not? What has happened to the vines to cause the grapes to become bad? God uses this analogy to describe the work of Judah. God has a personal relationship with ...

"We seem to hear about near death experiences more frequently today. In the late 1980s and ‘90s, I worked on a daily, live television program where, on a few occasions, we would have a guest come on who would share their experience or encounter. One thing I could never fully understand was the pe...