Month: April 2020

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you …” John 14:15-16 The main command Jesus has in mind here is “Love one another” (John 13:34). We also realize part of keeping commands means that we hold on to a command…

“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” John 13:13-14 Jesus takes the posture of a servant. But when Peter tries to tell Jesus what to do, Jesus speaks as…

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalms 37:4 Your capacity to desire certain things is a gift from God; it’s a powerful motivator. Picture two kids taking swimming lessons. One does it because he watched the Olympic Games and wants to win a gold medal when…

“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” Psalms 100:2 In our isolation we are forced away from community of any gathering. We can become angry, frustrated, bitter. This becomes fertile ground for Satan to plant his seeds of discord. What to do? Pray, praise and give thanks! God gifted that to…

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” Philippians 3:13 As long as you’re holding on to the past, you’ll never be able to take hold of the future. The past can be an unbearably…

“You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11 Pleasure is in God’s plan for humankind. In fact, God is moving us toward a destiny of pleasure and joy. Jesus is preparing a home for all who belong to him through faith (John 14:2), and, according…

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23 The book of Hebrews tells us how Jesus Christ makes possible a loving relationship between the holy God and his unholy people. Jesus has actually become our perfect priest, having made a sacrifice of himself in order that…

“And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10 There are many times in which we try, either intentionally or not, to pay for our sins. We try to follow all kinds of rules and regulations. We try to be “good”…

“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.” Hebrews 9:15 When we think of an inheritance, we usually think about something a person receives from a relative or friend who has died. The inheritance is given as part of the deceased…