We’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. —Hebrews 12:1-2 MSG Five times, the Bible compares becoming like Jesus to running a race. You’re running this race right now, and ...

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob…saying, “God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”? . . . God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside ...

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. —1 John 4:12 If we want lasting change, we must fill our lives with love. Why? Because love can change the unchangeable. Love is the most powerful force in the universe, ...

“Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” —Genesis 41:38 We can’t judge our potential by our circumstances. God may be shaping us to do something powerful in his service. For example, Joseph spent much of his young adulthood as a slave in Egypt after his jealous brothers ...

“I have had enough, Lord,” [Elijah] said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” —1 Kings 19:4 The prophet Elijah was one of the greatest prophets of all time. But at one point in his long labor of resisting Israel’s evil queen, he got burned out. He told the Lord, “I quit.” ...

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” —Genesis 12:1 God told Abraham to leave the place and the people he was familiar with and go to completely unfamiliar territory. it took tremendous faith and courage for him to say ...

They delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. —Psalm 1:2 NLT The psalmist speaks of the person who is blessed, fortunate, and happy. He meditates on god’s word day and night. to meditate is to think deeply about something, to go over and over it so that it sinks ...

We all go through several stages when we change. stage one is not thinking about changing. not thinking about it at all. we can get locked into denial, rationalizing our behavior because we want to stay there. We can all relate to this at some point on our journey. Stage two is thinking about changing. we read ...

Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness. —Psalm 86:11 It’s hard sometimes to find rest for our souls. We may hit a season with tremendous challenges in it, and our hearts are naturally troubled. Yet God promises us a peace beyond our circumstances. In Psalm 145 the psalmist says, “The ...

“It is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” —1 Samuel 17:47 Teenage David overcame gigantic Goliath with a slingshot and a few stones. But before he overcame Goliath, he overcame an even bigger enemy: discouragement. First ...