Living By The Word

  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7) My human mind often lacks knowledge and understanding, but I know where to find them. I have a personal relationship with the omniscient (all-knowing) God who is not only the beginning but the source of all wisdom. And God has promised to freely give of His wisdom to those who in awe “fear” (utterly respect) Him and trustingly request His guidance in a world of deceit, confusion, and lies perpetrated by Satan. The LORD is faithful to His Word and He hears and answers the prayers of believers according to His sovereign will and perfect timing. Each day, let’s humbly ask God to help us to shun worldly foolishness and to seek His divine counsel that we might live faithful and fruitful lives that speak volumes of His goodness, grace, and glory.

  “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (I Timothy 6:10) There is nothing wrong with riches, but having great wealth tends to generate attitudes of pride which God hates. The Bible teaches believers to trust in God, not in uncertain worldly riches. We are cautioned to avoid amassing earthly wealth at the expense of neglecting to develop a personal, faith-based relationship with the LORD that is essential for salvation. Realizing that all we have is God-given, we overcome haughtiness and prideful thinking by humbly serving the needs of others, giving generously, and putting the eternal God of the universe above the passing things of this world. Almighty God should be our first love and our highest priority!

  “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Romans 5:1). Worldliness is at odds with Godliness; the two simply do not mix. The world is full of discord and dissent, but peace and tranquility are of God. Scripture says “that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4). When lost sinners are saved by the grace of God, however, they are redeemed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ and restored to fellowship with a righteous, holy God. Reconciled to God through faith in Christ and clothed in His righteousness, believers become God’s friends (His adopted children, in fact) rather than His foes and are at peace with Him. Despite man’s futile efforts to achieve it, genuine peace in the world is impossible until Jesus, the Prince of Peace, returns to establish His millennial kingdom and rules and reigns on earth. However, t...

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” (Jeremiah 31:3) When I think of the most precious provision that God has made for my salvation and the heavenly home which He is preparing for me, my heart sings out to Him songs of sincere praise and thanksgiving. My Savior Jesus Christ first loved me and gave Himself that I might have abundant and everlasting life and spend eternity in His presence when my earthly walk with Him is finished. As I look forward to the eternal riches that He has promised those who love Him, I am grateful for the earthly blessings that my God faithfully provides every day. I rejoice to count myself among those who dearly love Jesus and, in my human frailty and dependence upon Him, seek to humbly and obediently serve others to honor and glorify my God. My mind cannot even begin to imagine the eternal joys that await those who have placed their faith and trust in Chri...

Indwelled by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation, the followers of Jesus Christ cannot be demon-possessed, but we can be demonically influenced. Scripture instructs Christians to "...be filled with the Spirit." Believers tap into the awesome power of the Holy Spirit with us by surrendering every aspect of our lives to God's sovereign control. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to have complete authority over our lives, we are no longer vulnerable to the evil influences of Satan's demons that seek to wreck our lives. Give is all to God and trust Him to guard and guide you!

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) God does not abandon His children in times of hardship and trial, but faithfully goes with us through the storms of life. We must trust that our troubles are temporary and that God is using them to accomplish His will and bring about an ultimate benefit or blessing for which we will praise and thank Him. No matter what circumstances we must face in life, the followers of Jesus Christ can rest assured that one glorious day God's good work in us will be complete, we will be like our LORD, and we will spend eternity in His loving presence.

  I am richly blessed because of the presence, the peace, and the power of God in my life. The LORD is my strength, my safe haven, my salvation! From this gracious, faithful God alone all of my bountiful blessings flow, now and throughout all of eternity.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10) Today, I pray for a pure heart that is repentant, humble, faithful, compassionate, loving, and Christ-centered. Heavenly Father, help me to guard my heart..."for out of it spring the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23) Give me a godly heart that embraces the truth of Your Word and reflects my love for and devotion to Jesus Christ and the guiding presence of Your Holy Spirit within me. In Jesus' most exalted name, I pray. Amen!

"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13) As believers and children of God, we can be forever grateful for the faith that has given us access to God's grace, the hope of eternal life that is our assurance in Christ, and the love of God that flows through us into a world of hatred as the highest expression of our salvation.

  That's Grace (October 3, 2024) "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians" (Ephesians 2:8-10) Repentant sinners are not saved by good works; they are saved for good works that serve other people and glorify the gracious God of all creation. There is no more precious gift than the salvation that is offered to everyone by the grace of God alone. But the only way to receive God's all-sufficient grace is through faith in Jesus Christ, who died, was buried, and rose again that whosoever will might be saved! We should praise and thank God every day for the eternal salvation that is offered everyone and given as a priceless gift to believers exclusively on the basis of what Christ has done for for us, not because of anything we can do. ...

I am praising God for the miracle that He worked in my life exactly 27 years ago today. On October 1, 1997, dying of an incurable heart condition at age 46, I was blessed to receive the heart of a Greensboro, NC, teenager who had graciously become an organ donor. Today, at 73, I am living a full and active life still powered by my strong and healthy transplanted heart. I am a blessed man because of the grace of God and a caring 16-year old boy whose heart continues to enable another to live more than a quarter of a century after His tragic death. On this birthday of sorts, I am thankful, of course, for the new physical heart that I received on that day 27 autumn seasons ago. But I am most grateful for the new spiritual heart that God gave me when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and received His most wonderful gift of everlasting life. As the result of my salvation, I have the hope of someday meeting this young man in heaven and thanking him personally for extending my earthly life...