"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." — Psalm 56:3 (ESV)The dictionary lists about 700 kinds of phobias:Acrophobia: fear of high places.Claustrophobia: fear of closed places.Agoraphobia: fear of open places.Pathophobia: fear of disease.Ergophobia: fear of work.Photophobia: fear of light.Phobophobia: fear of fear. You don’t have to be a weak person to be a fearful person. Strong people are, so...  Read More

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  — 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)Ann Landers, the syndicated advice columnist, was at one time receiving ten thousand letters a month from people with all kinds of problems. Someone asked her if there was one common denominator among all her correspondents. She said that the great overriding theme of all the letters s...  Read More

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9It is crucial to distinguish between our relationship with God and our fellowship with God. When you are a child of God, you are in relationship with God. He's your Father; you are His child. That doesn't change. A doctrine that we need to understand and appreciate is ca...  Read More

"He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." - 2 Corinthians 5:21Every now and then, somebody says, "Well, what you need to do is forgive yourself" or "You just need to be affirmed." But that misses the whole point of true forgiveness.Think about it this way: Imagine if I had a guy named Jack and a guy named Bob in front of me, and I punched Jack ri...  Read More

"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." - Psalm 103:12When God forgives, He doesn't do it halfway. Throughout Scripture, He uses descriptive illustrations to help us understand how completely He removes our sins:He removes our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:11-12). How far is the east from the west? It just continues to go. God ...  Read More

"I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man." - Acts 24:16In God's word, we see four different types of consciences that people can have:The Weak Conscience (1 Corinthians 8:7) - People may feel guilty when they should not. Often, people feel guilty about things that are not sins. Paul addressed this when he talked about eating meat sacrificed to idols. There are some areas the...  Read More

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." - 2 Corinthians 7:10The biggest thing I want you to take away from this devotion is the difference between what the Bible calls godly sorrow and worldly sorrow, godly guilt and worldly guilt.When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, what did they do? They hid thems...  Read More

"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." — Hebrews 12:14-15 (NIV)“An ancient Roman story goes: the soldiers of Caesar became dissatisfied with their regimen and rations. They could not complain to Caesar, so th...  Read More

"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." — Matthew 6:14-15Unforgiveness weighs us down in ways we often don’t realize. It consumes our thoughts, drains our energy, and holds us captive to the pain of the past. While the other person may have moved on,...  Read More

"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." — Ephesians 4:32Bitterness is like holding onto a rattlesnake. Letting go might free the snake, but it also spares you from its venom. Forgiveness may feel like it benefits the other person, but in reality, it’s the one holding on to bitterness who suffers the most.Forgiveness isn't about forgetting o...  Read More

"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice." — Ephesians 4:31A preacher once shared a story about golfing with a deacon who marveled at the preacher’s calm demeanor during their games. The deacon said, “Preacher, you’re the most even-handed person I’ve ever seen. You always smile, no matter what happens. When I hit my ball in the wate...  Read More

"See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." — Hebrews 12:15David Jeremiah, in his book Slaying the Giants in Your Life, shares the tragic story of Leonard Holt, a man who seemed to embody everything good about community life. Leonard was a hard-working company man employed at a paper mill in Pennsylvania. Outside of work, he wa...  Read More