THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING TO GOD’S WORD “So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.” —Luke 8:18 Dear Father, I want to hear what You have to say. That is what is important. You tell me that if I listen to You, then You will give me more understanding. I am trusting You for that. Oh, that I would truly listen to what You have to say and do so in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the…

GREAT FORGIVENESS BRINGS GREAT CAPACITY TO LOVE! “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” — Luke 7:47 Those who understand that they have been forgiven much will love much. But those who think they have been forgiven little will love little. As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ we need to understand that we have been forgiven an eternal debt— one we could never pay off… never! How grateful should we be? It is truly astounding that Jesus paid that eternal debt for us and now “Everyone who calls…

DISCIPLE! After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. —Judges 2:10 One generation is all it took for people to “not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.” One generation! One generation who acknowledge the Lord and knew what He done apparently did not take the advice to “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your…

CLING TO HIM! Rather, cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now. —Joshua 23:8 Cling to what is good (Romans 12:9). Don’t cling to deceit (Jeremiah 8:5). Nor cling to worthless idols (Jonah 2:8). Cling to His Word (Luke 8:15). Cling to your faith in Christ (I Timothy 1:19). A child clings to their mom’s leg for security and comfort. A grieving couple clings to each other for comfort and encouragement. Soldiers cling together in the heat of battle. A man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife. Clinging… we are to cling to the Lord God Almighty. Are you clinging to…

I LOVE HIM! “But be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.” —Joshua 22:5 We are to love God, walk in His ways, obey His commands, hold firmly to Him and serve Him with all our heart and all our soul— with all our heart and all our soul! How many times in God’s Word are we reminded of this? (Deuteronomy 4:29; 6:5; 10:12; 11:13; 13:3; 26:16; 30:2, 6, 10; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30,…

FORGIVEN! Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you…

THE SCRIPTURES SAY! But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.” Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” —Luke 4, 8, 12 The priority communicative importance is not what you or I have to say. The priority communicative importance is what the Lord God Almighty has to say to us. We must understand that everything stands or falls on the revealed Word of God, the Bible. All that we can intimately know about God comes through what He says and…

DEARLY LOVED SON And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” —Luke 3:22 Jesus is the Father’s one and only dearly loved Son, given on the cross as a propitiation for our sins that we might know God now and have eternal life. (John 3:16; I John 2:2; John 6:44; I John 5:11-12). The more we understand who Jesus is and what we posses in Him the more amazed we will become. We will be like Christian and Hopeful in Pilgrim’s Progress enjoying Beulah Land. https://youtu.be/W2zQwXwnLxI?t=2043 When we understand more and more who we are in Jesus and what we…

THE TROUBLER “Why have you brought trouble on us? The Lord will now bring trouble on you.” —Joshua 7:25 Sin—rebellion and disobedience to the will of God— not only affects ourselves, but also those around us. The context of the verse above was when Achan took spoil that Israel had been told not to take when Jericho fell. He took of the spoil— a beautiful robe from Babylon, 200 silver coins and a bar of gold weighing over a pound. He coveted them and took them. What was the result of his sin? When the Israelites fled before Ai in defeat 36 men lost their lives. This was all because…

HOLINESS The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. —Joshua 5:15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy” (I Peter 1:15-16). We are told to “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). “This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has…