Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. —I Chronicles 16:11 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. —I Chronicles 16:26 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. —Romans 1:28 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God… He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.” —Psalms 10:4, 6              Pride… the letter “I” is right in the middle of the…

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. —Romans 1:11-12 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” —Romans 1:16-17              Oh, today, let us encourage each other by the gift of faith our…

And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord Almighty was with him. —I Chronicles 11:9 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance! —Acts 28:31 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. —Psalm 9:1 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. —Psalm 9:10 A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord. —Proverbs 19:3              Brothers and sisters, fellow followers/disciples of Jesus, we cannot do anything that brings righteous fruitfulness without our Lord.  Jesus…

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?  You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.  You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.  Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! —Psalm 8:3-9…

My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart. —Psalm 7:10 He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. —Proverbs 18:22              Oh, how blest I am!  My shield, my protector is God Most High.  I am safe in Him now and will be with Him forever.  This life is so short.  We are but a morning fog soon gone, a single breath breathed (Job 7:7), a mere handbreadth (Psalm 39:5), like a withering flower, like a fleeting shadow (Job 14:2)… but then I will be with Him which is far better.  Even as the Apostle Paul said— “For to me, to…

The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. —Acts 26:4 I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities. —Acts 26:11 Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. —Acts 26:16  I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so…

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. —I Chronicles 4:9-10 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. —Psalm 5:3              Jabez’s prayer included— What was the result of his prayer?  We are told that God granted him his request.  Oh, my Lord God Almighty. …

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”  The Plot to Kill Paul. The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot… But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.  Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” So he took him…

Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” —Acts 23:1              What is “the duty to God” that Paul said he had fulfilled “in all good conscience to this day?”  In Acts 20:24 he told us that “I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”  Paul’s task was “testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”  That’s what he lived for.              How about you and I? …

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.  Not so the wicked!  They are like chaff that the wind blows away.  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.  For the Lord watches over the way of the…