Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory – Psalm 73:24 All of life is here summed up in one verse. While I am here on this earth, the psalmist gloats to the Lord, you will guide me. You will give me the direction I need for each step of the way. You will never leave …
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing – Psalm 34:10 Why do you think the psalmist specifies “young” lions? It is for the same reason that Isaiah writes, “ even the youths shall faint and be weary” (40:30). There is a vitality and …
And there they preached the gospel – Acts 14:7 “They” refers to Paul and Barnabas, who had been sent out by the Holy Spirit with the support of the church at Antioch. But what they were doing was not something that requires a special calling or gifting by the Holy Spirit: it is not the work only of …
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee – Isaiah 43:2 Perhaps you are experiencing the drowning, crushing, burning power of …
Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man – Luke 2:52 This statement is a summary of eighteen years in Jesus’ life, from the time he was twelve years old until the narrative picks back up at age thirty. This was a time of relative obscurity, but it was the majority of our …
They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away – Luke 8:13 In Luke 8, Jesus relates the parable of the sower. A man goes out to sow seed on his land. The seed falls on different …
Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might – Ephesians 6:10 You have perhaps had someone at one time or another seek to comfort or encourage you in the midst of a personal trial by slapping you on the back and telling you to “be strong.” The counsel was well-meant but not too helpful. If …
Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the LORD – Proverbs 8:33,35 We all have difficulty at times receiving instruction. But the instruction that the writer here speaks of is the godly way of true wisdom. Therefore, it is …
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines…yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation – Habakkuk 3:17-18 What a wonderful encouragement from such a dark and discouraging prophecy! While the prophet Habakkuk struggled with the fact that …
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? – James 4:1 Have grudges, or petty differences, or personality clashes been tearing at your church lately? Has your own love for the Lord, and his people, been diminished by some strife …