Not an Island

Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.1 Timothy 3:7 NLT There is a saying that no man is an island. It’s true. Over the last few days I have been thinking about how everything I do has an effect…

Effect and Cause

They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.Judges 2:13 NLT Sometimes things just do not go right for me. Things go wrong and I ask why, but I generally fail to make a connection with this and the things that I have done wrong. I don’t literally serve Baal or Ashtoreth…

WYDIWYG

Adoni-bezek said, “I once had seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off, eating scraps from under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” They took him to Jerusalem, and he died there.Judges 1:7 NLT In the early days of Web design, all websites were built…

Careful!

So be very careful to love the Lord your God.Joshua 23:11 NLT Careful is one of those words whose meaning has been watered down through overuse. The term ‘full of care’ carries more weight and yet it means exactly the same – ‘careful’ is just shorthand. The command ‘be very careful’ is really stressing the…

Hold on tight

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 NLT Think of a small child who gets a…

Love All

The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.1 Timothy 1:5 NLT There are many different meanings to the word ‘love’ and not every kind of love is good. The love that Paul is taking about he is…

Promises promises

Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.Joshua 21:45 NLT When paper currency first came into use everyone new that it wasn’t worth the paper it was written on. The paper wasn’t the important part –…

Grave power

But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave.Psalm 49:15 NLT It’s the words that I miss that do the damage. If I was reading a sentence where every second word was missing, I would either not have a clue about what was being said…

Better said than read

How great is the Lord, how deserving of praise, in the city of our God, which sits on his holy mountain!Psalm 48:1 NLT Words can lull me into a false sense of understanding and intention. It’s so easy to read this verse and agree with it. God is worthy of praise  – it’s obvious, isn’t…

Every Thing – Every Time

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT There are times, like now, that I feel really tired, really weak; times when I don’t feel that I can do anything. But this list of commands tells me to do everything with love –…

Do (2)

Then Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given to you?Joshua 18:3 NLT I don’t often sit around doing nothing, but I often sit around doing the wrong thing. I don’t always stand up and do something,…

Don’t Pray It – Dae It

The descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and asked, “Why have you given us only one portion of land as our homeland when the Lord has blessed us with so many people?” Joshua replied, “If there are so many of you, and if the hill country of Ephraim is not large enough for you, clear…