Luke 5:27-28 (NLT) Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth.  “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him.  So Levi got up, left everything, and followed Him.   What’s the difference between a player and a fan?  Football season is underway,…

  Ephesians 3:17-19 (NLT) I pray that you may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.   We fill our minds with…

Image courtesy of The Preacher’s Word     Proverbs 23:7 (NLV) For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.   The Preacher’s Word this morning atypically sounds like a self-help blog.  Ken Weliever quotes James Allen as saying “man is the master of thought, the molder of character, and maker and shaper of…

Philippians 1:9-10 (NLT) I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.  For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.   There are many things that matter:…

Psalm 37:7 (NIV) Be still (silent) before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.   How often does the Bible tell us to slow down and spend time with God?  This ‘be still’ is particularly interesting because, in the original Hebrew, it means to be so astonished that you can’t speak.  Awestruck.  Speechless.   Have…

1 John 2:1-2 (NLT) My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father.  He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.  He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins…

Romans 5:3 (NLT) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials for we know that they help us develop endurance.   Romans 8:28 (NLT) And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.  …

Psalm 51:17 (NLT) My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.   My Bible’s study notes for today’s Psalm say “God is pleased with a humble heart that looks to Him when troubles crush and penitently pleads for mercy when sin has been committed.”  …

            Ephesians 4:29 (NLT) Don’t use foul or abusive language.  Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.   I apply this verse to my life all the time!  In the margin of my Bible, in big…

  Image courtesy of morguefile.com   Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT) – Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others.  Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.   When you read this verse, does any part of it resonate (or…