Here’s a promise that should capture the heart of every addict: “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” (Psalm 32:1-2). Notice the four-part process of redemption.…
Eve gets a bad rap. The story goes like this: But let’s look a little closer. What was Adam doing when Eve took of the forbidden fruit? Here is it: “She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6). Adam was more culpable than Eve. I base…
In the classic 1942 movie, Casablanca, Rick said, “Remember, the gun is pointed at your heart.” Captain Renault replied, “That is my least vulnerable spot.” The Bible has a lot to say about our hearts. And it’s not all good. Jeremiah declared, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know…
During a difficult battle, we read this: “King Saul had declared, ‘Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening, before I have full revenge on my enemies.’ But Jonathan had not heard his father’s command, and he dipped the end of his stick into a piece of honeycomb and ate the honey. After…
Let’s talk about the thief on the cross. Was he a bad guy? Apparently. But on the cross he met Jesus, who promised him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Think about it. If the man had not been a thief, he may have never found paradise. What God allows, he…
The trigger that no one talks about is being tired. We are at greater risk when we are tired. God declared, “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:9). Rest is essential to the maintenance…
There is a great promise for those who follow Jesus. He told the repentant thief, “Today, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). What is “paradise”? Is it the same thing as heaven? Sort of. John Wesley called paradise “only the porch of heaven.” He saw it as the gathering place of the…
There are five basic triggers to acting out: boredom, loneliness, anger, stress, and tiredness. Let’s talk about the first one – boredom. Soren Kierkegaard said, “Boredom is the root of all evil.” Scripture weighs in: “The backslider gets bored with himself; the godly man’s life is exciting.” Boredom comes at a price. A study of…
God has created each of us with the capacity to make bad choices. The Bible says, “In the past, he let all nations go their own way” (Acts 14:16). C.S. Lewis explained, “If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil…
In May of 2024, a bird photographer named Phoo Chan captured a once-in-a-lifetime photo of a crow landing on an eagle in mid-air. The amazing thing is that the eagle seemed unfazed. As some of the largest birds of prey, eagles are harassed and heckled by small birds all the time. How do they deal…