Interacting with others can be challenging, but God's Word offers wisdom to help us grow and strengthen our people skills.

Parched souls must redirect their thoughts from their present circumstances to the past works of God. Our ability to meditate is key to watering the parched soul. Let me give you two principles and four tools for meditation.

There is no question that life’s circumstances can contribute to a parched soul. With that in mind, here are two simple things that I want to remind you of today concerning the life circumstances affecting your soul.

Heat exhaustion carries many parallels to spiritual exhaustion. A lack of spiritual hydration (the Word) and increased exposure to the elements (our worldly culture) can leave a person in a dangerous spiritual condition.

How do we limit screen time while giving mom or dad a chance to take a necessary phone call, get some work done or rest for a few minutes when needed without the house being burned down? As parents, it is our responsibility to ensure those times with limited parental involvement are promoting the physical and spiritual well-being of our children.

As I have worked with people over the years, I have seen direct improvements in their feelings of depression, guilt, discouragement and fear as their knowledge of God (i.e. theology) has grown. I’m afraid too many people are sleeping through theology class and wondering why they think, behave, and react the way they do. Too much is at stake. By God’s grace, may we stay alert this week and learn more about our wonderful God.

I have heard many well-meaning Christians say that the only thing we need to read is the Bible. But is this true? It is true that God has completely revealed Himself in the Bible and that the Bible ought to consume the majority of our reading energy. However, there are beneficial reasons for us as believers to read deeply, widely, and consistently.

John 16:33 gives us full disclosure to our righteous lives here on earth. It says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” God’s full disclosure of life here on earth eliminates the element of surprise and enables us to focus on four right responses to the inevitable suffering of the righteous.

Now that everyone is working from home due to the global pandemic, Christians may be wondering what it might look like to engage co-workers in a remote setting. As someone who has been forced to work remotely since March 2020, I’ve had to figure out what ministry in the workplace looks like now.

Last week I encouraged you to think correctly about God when you survey your past, and that means to focus on Who God is while you review what happened to you. Below are two suggestions to help you clarify your view of God as well as two questions that enable us to categorize our past correctly.

With everyone in the house “stuck” together, the close proximity makes spending meaningful time with your spouse a challenge. What can you do? Here are a few helpful tips for spending time together during a pandemic.

Our past is powerful! Whether good or bad, it affects our present day lives. It is imperative that we learn how to respond right to our past, and the Bible teaches that it is possible to do this. I’m going to take the next few posts to help us respond right to our past with a series I’m calling “Finding Hope when We Look in the Rearview Mirror of our Lives.”

Prayer is the premier opportunity to address both the physical and spiritual needs of our children. But where to start? Here are a few things you can use to fuel your prayer time for your children’s spiritual wellbeing.

The Great Commission is not just a command to give the gospel. It is also a command to make disciples! I have found that a lot of churches are filled with Christian spectators, rather than disciplemakers. Each of us should evaluate our own life and ask the question, “Am I watching others do the work or am I personally doing the work?”

Because each marriage contains two selfish people who fundamentally desire their “own way” (Isaiah 53:6), conflict between a husband and wife is inevitable. When those conflicts surface, we often encounter one or both of the following temptations: to respond to the conflict in a fleshly manner or to reconsider our marriage vows. Fleshly solutions never solve spiritual problems between two selfish people. Instead, commit to God and your spouse that you will strive to deal spiritually with every sinful issue that surfaces in your marriage.

No task is too small. Even giving someone a cup of water can convey love. Jesus himself said as much. But if we are honest with ourselves, some things do seem too small. They seem beneath us. Humbling ourselves with small and seemingly unimportant tasks in service to others doesn’t mean we ourselves are small and unimportant. On the contrary, in Christ’s economy, it means we are great. And we are never more faithful in following Jesus than when we serve others.

Our lives often resemble the congestion of a busy highway—people passing by us at lightning speed, while we tightly grip the steering wheel of life trying to make sure we stay in our lane and don’t crash into anyone on our way to our intended destination. But God put us on this earth for the purpose of touching people and sharing with them the good news of the Gospel on our way to Heaven, our final destination. How do we do that gracefully without it feeling like we are just crashing into people as we fly through life? By merging into their lane of life with the use of some good on-ramps, or relationships.

What is a biblical approach to servant leadership? There is no greater picture of true servant leadership than the Lord Jesus Christ. A careful reading of the gospels reveals that Christ’s leadership was characterized by radical acts of service and leadership.

How do we handle what can sometimes be the mundane or depressing routine of life? Might I suggest that, in the midst of the ordinary, we look at the extraordinary that God has provided? What could be more extraordinary than the miracle of Christmas? The miracle of a virgin giving birth to God in the flesh—the Incarnation.

God didn’t come to this world to congratulate the successful and high-five those who have their lives together. He came for those walking in darkness—they have seen a great light. Not “O come all ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant”—otherwise none of us could be there. No. Christmas is for the faithless, joyless, and defeated. How is this possible? Through a baby.

If someone asked you, “Why is Jesus’ virgin birth important?” what would you say? You may not give that question much thought outside of December so I would not blame you if you struggled to come up with a good answer right away. Allow me to provide two reasons for your consideration that I hope will help equip you to answer this question.

Just like the original recipients of this important letter known to us as 1 Peter, we live in the shadow of the end of all things. This should enable us to get a proper perspective on difficulties we encounter for our faith and witness for Jesus. It must motivate us to a distinctive Christian lifestyle. We need to be vigilant, prayerful, and supportive of those in the Christian community, showing love and exercising the gift we have been given.

It’s easy to forget that government is a gift of God’s grace. But how—as subjects of a greater King who deserves and demands our primary obedience—are we to relate to our government? Are we to be revolutionaries, or patriots, or conscientious objectors, or constant complainers? Peter’s first letter gives us three principles for an attitude check which speak to the heart of our relationship with government.

Many of our times spent in the Word of God end without fireworks, no great illumination or a life-changing thought that comes at the end of our Bible reading. We read the Bible, but we didn’t feel that our life changed greatly because of it. We had high hopes of learning wonderful things only to have our heart made sick because our hope was deferred. One author said it this way, “It is possible for a person to attentively read the Bible and walk away feeling the time was spectacularly ordinary.” Do you ever struggle with the fact that your devotions are often spectacularly ordinary?

The path to joyful endurance, even over long periods of tribulation, is hope. When the heaviness of your trials begins to weigh you down, take a few minutes to reflect on what Christ has done for you in the past, is doing for you in the present and will do for you future. Hope in these things and the joy of the Lord will lift your soul.

Just like the original recipients of this important letter known to us as 1 Peter, we live in the shadow of the end of all things. This should enable us to get a proper perspective on difficulties we encounter for our faith and witness for Jesus. It must motivate us to a distinctive Christian lifestyle. We need to be vigilant, prayerful, and supportive of those in the Christian community, showing love and exercising the gift we have been given.

It’s easy to forget that government is a gift of God’s grace. But how—as subjects of a greater King who deserves and demands our primary obedience—are we to relate to our government? Are we to be revolutionaries, or patriots, or conscientious objectors, or constant complainers? Peter’s first letter gives us three principles for an attitude check which speak to the heart of our relationship with government.

Many of our times spent in the Word of God end without fireworks, no great illumination or a life-changing thought that comes at the end of our Bible reading. We read the Bible, but we didn’t feel that our life changed greatly because of it. We had high hopes of learning wonderful things only to have our heart made sick because our hope was deferred. One author said it this way, “It is possible for a person to attentively read the Bible and walk away feeling the time was spectacularly ordinary.” Do you ever struggle with the fact that your devotions are often spectacularly ordinary?

The path to joyful endurance, even over long periods of tribulation, is hope. When the heaviness of your trials begins to weigh you down, take a few minutes to reflect on what Christ has done for you in the past, is doing for you in the present and will do for you future. Hope in these things and the joy of the Lord will lift your soul.

Many think salvation is just about heaven and it doesn’t affect life now. However, our salvation should affect us tremendously. The key question I want to pose to you is: considering your beautiful inheritance in Christ, what ought you to do? The answer: set your hope fully on the future grace brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. But how are you to do so? Peter specifies two ways: preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded.

Shortly after Beneth and I were married, we came home one Sunday night after church to find two men robbing our home. As we walked in the front door, they were climbing out of our dining room windows with our a number of our belongings. That break-in shook us up and brought fear into our lives, fear that created a number of conversations between us regarding Proverbs 21:31…

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7)

Affliction makes you cherish your relationships. You begin to value your relationships more. Your heart is encouraged that you have people you can lean on in times of trouble and people who genuinely love you and are delighted to support you…

How do you feel after thirty minutes of watching the news? Relaxed or anxious? Angry or peaceful? Encouraged or discouraged? Does God seem more or less prominent in your thoughts? Are you more encouraged to live in lockstep with biblical principle, or do you find yourself pulled in the other direction? These are important diagnostic questions to consider, because they address how our viewing habits affect our spiritual health…

Last week, we began looking at the disease of bitterness that Hebrews 12:15 talks about: “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”

We talked about tracing the root of bitterness and recognizing that those who are bitter are often blind to their own sin…

By now, most Americans are familiar with the symptoms and severity of the COVID-19 virus. Like many of you, our family has read up on information relating to this disease to determine the early warning signs and symptoms. We have tried to be diligent, careful, and wise in our interactions with people to prevent our catching this virus. We understand the risks and potential dangers and are therefore changing the way we behave…

How do we handle it when God throws what is perceived as a curveball our way? When we watched the ball drop and brought in the year 2020, I don’t think anyone said, “By the end of the month of March, I will be quarantined at my home and mandated to stay away from church and work.” That’s not how most of us think; we make plans based on our normal routine and activities. How do we respond to the “loss of control” that has come our way?

Spiritually strong marriages do not occur naturally or accidentally. They require focused attention on obedience to God in the things He has required of us in marriage. Today, I’d like each married couple to think of the following three things. May they be a help to each of us as we strive to have spiritually strong marriages that glorify God…