“Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:14 NLT).

November 21, 2019

REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR THE SICK An often overlooked resource in the modern church. Having available modern medicine, we forget the benefit of prayer and laying on of hands. Yet, the Bible says that having the elders in the church pray for you and anoint you is the proper response when you are sick. In

“The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” (Psalms 118:6 NLT).

November 19, 2019

HOW BIG AND HOW LOVING IS YOUR GOD? Why should the child of God fear anything? What is so great or terrible that it should trouble the believer’s heart with anxiety? Let us join with the apostle Paul who asks the rhetorical question, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31).

“My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?” (James 2:1 NLT).

November 18, 2019

FAVORITISM HAS NO PLACE AMONG THE FAITHFUL The apostle James wrote that believers should not show favoritism to some over others. He especially had in mind those who were favoring the rich over the poor. He said that showing favoritism exposed not only their evil motives, it was actually committing sin.   This instruction continues

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” (James 1:2 NLT).

November 17, 2019

MOVING TRIALS FROM THE SAD COLUMN TO THE GLAD COLUMN James described the spiritual mindset that the Christian should have when facing trials. What is this mindset? “Great joy.” Not happiness, which is based on external happenings, but “great joy,” which comes from within and is the fruit of the Spirit for the believer that

“Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right” (Ezekiel 33:17 NLT).

November 16, 2019

WHEN A PEOPLE ACCUSE THE LORD OF WRONG When a people lose their fear of the Lord and begin to lift their own judgments above His, that nation will not long survive. The prophet Ezekiel warned the people of Judah to repent. Yet they responded by accusing God of injustice rather than repenting themselves. Today,

“Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking.” (Hebrews 12:25 ESV).

November 15, 2019

DO YOU LISTEN TO THE ONE WHO IS SPEAKING? Have you ever refused to listen to the Spirit of Christ? Has He knocked at your heart’s door and been refused entrance? Consider those in the Old Testament who refused to obey God when He spoke. What became of them? And now, Jesus, the One who

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT).

November 14, 2019

CAN MY DADDY SEE ME NOW? Who is this “huge crowd of witnesses?” They are those who have already run life’s race “by faith” as Hebrews 11 has listed. They have already crossed life’s finished line and have now joined other believers, who the author of Hebrews here visualizes either metaphorically or literally, as now

“He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward” (Hebrews 11:26 NLT).

November 13, 2019

THAT FAITH WHICH CHOOSES ETERNITY WITH CHRIST OVER TEMPORAL THINGS The book of Hebrews teaches that it was “by faith” that Moses chose to be identified with God’s people rather than remain as the adopted son of Pharoah’s daughter. Moses was further commended for his faith in that he considered it better to suffer for

“Son of man, with one blow I will take away your dearest treasure. Yet you must not show any sorrow at her death. Do not weep; let there be no tears” (Ezekiel 24:16 NLT).

November 12, 2019

DO YOU LOVE THE LORD MORE THAN THESE? The Lord gave the prophet Ezekiel, whom He often referred to as the “Son of man,” a prophecy concerning the coming death of his wife. He further instructed him not to mourn for his wife because he was to be a sign to those who would see

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23 NLT).

November 11, 2019

HOLDING TIGHTLY WITH UNWAVERING HOPE Christian hope is confident hope. For Christian hope is based on the promises of God. Since this hope is anchored to God’s promises we can be assured that our hope will not be disappointed. So rather than hanging on to the temporal things we can see, let us hold tightly