"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." -- Ephesians 4:32Remember the story Jesus shared about the man who owed millions and millions of dollars to the king (Matthew 18:23-35)? The king said, "You're going to pay." And the man said, "I can't pay." So the king forgave him of his debt. But that man, who had been forgiven a great debt, went t...  Read More

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." – Romans 12:21Our natural instinct, apart from Christ, is to seek justice or even revenge when we've been wronged. I'm reminded of a story about a man who served as an umpire for recreational baseball games in his spare time. One summer, he was driving too fast and got pulled over by a police officer. He tried desperately to come up with e...  Read More

"Do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with partiality." – James 2:1There was a young lady from a poorer neighborhood who attended this well-to-do church, a wealthy congregation. When she approached the pastor about joining, he wasn't sure if she would be received well. So he said, "I tell you what, go home and read your Bible every single day, and then at the end of the week you come bac...  Read More

"Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all." – 1 Thessalonians 5:14Sometimes, what appears to be rudeness, inconsideration, or even malice may actually be the result of pain we know nothing about. Stephen Covey shared a story about being in a subway car where all the adults were quietly reading newspapers. Suddenly, a man...  Read More

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." – Matthew 5:7Have you ever tried merging onto a highway in heavy traffic? You're on the on-ramp, traffic is heavy, and your road is going away. You've got to merge onto the highway, but no one is letting you in. You're trying, but you're about to run out of road. So what do you do? You squeeze your car onto that highway, and next thing you k...  Read More

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6, NKJV)There's something uniquely powerful about the promises of Jesus. Unlike human promises that often come with fine print or conditional clauses, Jesus makes absolute statements. And here in the fourth beatitude, He offers a guarantee that should capture our attention: "they shall be filled."Not ...  Read More

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord.'" (Psalm 122:1, NKJV)Do you know one of the signs of physical health is having a good appetite? When you're sick, you don't feel hungry. But when someone who's been sick says, "I'm hungry now. Can we get something to eat?" you know they're recovering, getting stronger, getting better.The same is true spiritually. A sign of yo...  Read More

"Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31, NKJV)When Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness," He's talking about holy living. Let me tell you about three different levels of holy living.The first level is like when you discipline children. You teach them right from wrong by saying, "If you do this wrong thing, y...  Read More

"He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance with increase." (Ecclesiastes 5:10, NKJV)Jesus was interacting with the woman at the well, and He said in John 4:13-14, "'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water...  Read More

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6, NKJV)I was at the zoo one time and saw these big, humongous bears. They were seated back almost like they were in recliners, just sitting there with their arms out. These bears were really, really big—they'd been well-fed, let's say that.You could purchase peanuts to throw at the bears. Since we ar...  Read More

"He must increase, but I must decrease." - John 3:30 (NKJV)When I think about meekness, one of the clearest examples that comes to mind is John the Baptist. He was bold, strong, and uncompromising. He had a following, influence, and a ministry that had people flocking to him. And yet, when Jesus stepped into the spotlight, John didn’t cling to his position or fight to hold on to his platform.Inste...  Read More

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." - Matthew 11:29 (NKJV)When Jesus invites us to take His yoke and learn from Him, He describes Himself as “gentle and lowly in heart.” That’s meekness. It’s not weakness, but strength under control—strength that is submitted to the will of God.When we think about meekness, it can be...  Read More