• Transformation by Renewal

    Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Background: Romans follows the same pattern of other epistles written by Paul, beginning with a strong doctrinal statement (Romans 1-11) followed by exhortations of how we should “therefore” live as Christians. Doctrine and duty go together. This is the fourth “therefore” in Romans, and this one is of dedication…

  • Dwell in Safety

    Psalm 4:8 “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.” Background: All the psalms in book 1 (chapters 1-41) are attributed to David writing them (with the exception of 1, 10, and 33). Psalm 3 was written as a morning psalm when David fled Jerusalem after his son, Absalom, had taken over. It is believed that Psalm 4 was written during the same events making this month’s verse considered an evening psalm because of the verbiage. How many of us have lie in bed at night unable to sleep because of something going through our mind? Obviously, at two…

  • Come Boldly

    Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Background: The early church faced persecution and began to waver between standing firm for Christ and falling back to the Jewish religion. The temple still stood and all the priestly ceremonies occurred daily. The writer of Hebrews asks his readers to evaluate their faith and what Jesus Christ had to offer. These second-generation Christians were being seduced by false doctrines. It may seem like they were at a standstill, but in the Christian life, if you do not go forward, then you are going…

  • Be of Good Cheer

    John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Background: John wrote this book to prove that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Chapter sixteen takes place the night before Jesus Christ’s crucifixion when He is preparing the disciples for His immediate, yet brief, departure. Verse 33 is the triumphant conclusion of this chapter as Jesus gave the disciples His farewell. Jesus did not sugarcoat the reality that we will have tribulation. The Greek word for tribulation has the idea of stress or pressing.…

  • Power, Love, and a Sound Mind

    2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Background: When Paul wrote the epistle or letter we know as 2 Timothy, his life had drastically changed. Abandoned by his friends, he writes what is known to be his last letter to Timothy. It was a more personal letter to encourage his young colleague, his “son” in the faith, who is facing challenges to remain fearless in the suffering and faithful in the ministry. One of the top struggles for men and women is fear. It is not surprising that the most repeated command in…

  • Order My Steps

    The ladies ministry at our church has a challenge this year at our winter event in January of memorizing a verse selection each month. I am writing devotionals for each one, so I wanted to share here. Those who attended our event received each month’s verse on a card. I had designed them specifically for the event but will share with you too! Psalm 119:133 “Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.” Background: The book of Psalms is an “irreplaceable devotional guide, prayer book, and hymnal of the people of God” (W. Wiersbe). Psalm 119 is the longest psalm (and chapter of…

  • Hurry, Hurry, Hurry…Wait.

    Hurry, hurry, hurry! With it being a Monday morning as I post this, I wonder how many of us are thinking about allllll we have to do this week? Our culture and probably every other first world country lives such busy lives. So much to do, no time to do everything. It especially seems spending time with the Lord each day gets written at the bottom of the list often not getting done. My recent Bible study in Acts 24 reminded me that as humans we have always found time to do what we make a priority in our lives. Paul had been taken as a prisoner, and Felix, the governor…

  • To Every Thing There is a Season

    “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 My family, close friends, and church family know about this season of life I am going through, but I wanted to share with the rest of my friends. It was hard at first to tell people because you really don’t know what you will face when you are diagnosed with cancer. So I know to some of you, this is a surprise or you had no clue. Well, that is because I have not given any clues, only answering occasional comments made on Facebook when asked by those who have heard. Cancer…

  • Hearts Still in Egypt

    “And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” Exodus 17:3 Could you imagine being in a leadership position where you led a group through trials and troubles and even extricated them from slavery, but they did not want to follow your lead any longer? And as a slap in the face, they want to GO BACK to their former slave owners. This was what the Israelite people declared to Moses. Why? Why would someone choose to live in bondage? Because…