The psalm writer pledged to keep [his] tongue from sin, but it sure isn’t easy for us to do that! Using our words wisely takes great and constant effort. In fact, the New Testament book of James says that while people can train wild animals, no human being can tame...

Jesus taught that our neighbor might be the person least like us—consider the parable of the Good Samaritan. We are called to be like the Samaritan rather than the religious leaders who passed by their Jewish countryman who had been beaten, robbed and left for dead...

Sometimes after we read the newspaper or watch the news, we feel painfully aware of the enormity of the world’s problems and the hopelessly inadequate resources to solve them. In our own lives we can experience similar feelings. Our problems seem enormous, and our...

Matthew 6:33 New International Version 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. The Good Shepherd refuses to tolerate wolves roaming freely among his sheep. In contrast, the preceding story of Barnabas...

Peter reminds us that we have everything we need to live the Christian life. Everything! We have this because, as believers, the Spirit of God lives inside of us. He gives us comfort, strength, conviction, hope, and encouragement. He never leaves us. He never turns...

How many times have we learned and relearned the lesson that we have to be careful how we respond when we’re asked to do something? If we say yes too quickly, we find that we must somehow set aside the precious time needed to complete the requested task or disappoint...

If we believe a true Christian ought not to experience adversity, then the moment our lives fall apart, so does our faith. We begin to question a fundamental issue: “Am I really a Christian? After all, if I were really following God, then this wouldn’t happen to me.”...