Guard your heart. Protect your passion. Be careful what you devote your life energy to. Make it count.

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Most people are familiar with the Golden Rule: "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you." (Luke 6.31) We think of it as applying to our treatment of other, which it does. But, it also applies to our relationship with our heavenly Father:

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The test of character is how we handle a crisis. Consider this crisis and how one man handled it:

"When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep." (1 Samuel 30.3,4)

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Fighting for hope. It's like treading water. We haven't lost hope, but depression and discouragement challenge our grasp of it. We've in a dark valley, and hope seems almost impossibly high on a mountain above.

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A life of gratitude is a healthy life in the truest sense. Those who "Bless Yahweh ... bless His holy name ... And forget none of His benefits" (Psalm 103.1-2) are those He has promised He will pardon "all your iniquities ... heals all your diseases ... redeems your life from the pit ... 

It's easy to cheer for the underdog. We have an affinity for the sports team that goes up against the seemingly superior, heavily favored team. And that might have something to do with our fascination with the famous battle between David and Goliath, recorded in 1 Samuel 17.

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Things are not always as they seem. An ordinary task just might be prelude to something much greater.

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The scene was dark, desperate, and depressing. It appeared to be the final act of a great drama.

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What's new? How often have you asked, or been asked, this question? It is anticipated that life is a discover of new things.

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You have likely heard the saying that "the handwriting is on the wall." It has a historic and biblical basis (Daniel 5).

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It's reassuring to know God is in control, because we live in a world that is out of control. Political maneuverings. Military aggression. Environmental disasters.

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"Wait" might just as well be spelled "weight" for some of us. For those of us who are easily impatient, waiting is a heavy burden. But, good things come to those who wait.

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There is no God like our God, and there are specific reasons why.

"O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart" (1 Kings 8.23)

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Our Father welcomes us into His presence, but not without important prerequisites.

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Silence is golden, perhaps because it is so rare. The siren calls of our age easily drown out silence. Urgent text messages. Email notifications. Blaring news reports. Pervasive social media. Words about silence seem foreign to our eyes and ears.

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It's a sobering and important truth. There are only two kinds of people in the world: those who will live eternally in the kingdom of God, and those who will be destroyed for all time in the lake of fire. There is no third alternative. It obviously, then, is the highest priority for every person to choose the better fate. If only every person realized this urgent need and priority.

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Few things generate as much anxiety as opposition. Someone is at odds with you, whether because of jealousy, resentment, or unseen spiritual warfare. Regardless of the cause or source, it stings and stirs up unpleasant emotions.

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Estate sales are a big deal where we live. The possessions of those who have died or been moved to a care facility are made available to the public. Often the sale offerings are items of sentimental value to their recent owner, but little material value to prospective buyers. But, shoppers come in hopes of finding at least one item of value.

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Visiting the church for the first time, a couple heard a guest speaker that day teach about the kingdom of God. Not being especially convinced of the priority of the kingdom of God message myself, I visited them in their home the next week. Much to my surprise, they were fascinated and intrigued by the message, and had a multitude of questions concerning it. They had discovered the valuable treasure of the kingdom of God, and were instrumental in my discovery of it as well.

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Tears in a bottle. That's a descriptive phrase.

"You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?" (Psalm 56.8)

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