“What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:9 Life can change in an instant, challenging our beliefs and upending our emotions. Being in the wrong place emotionally takes us to the wrong place spiritually, and sometimes, even the wrong place physically. When that happens, the Lord pursues us[...]
“Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 1 Kings 19:7 We often hear, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” That’s not true. God never gives us more than He can handle. Life can seem overwhelming when we look at our circumstances without taking[...]
“And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life…” 1 Kings 19:3 Even God’s most faithful and courageous servants struggle with being afraid at times. Never underestimate the force of fear. It can quickly spiral into anxiety, despair, or hopelessness. Such was the case with Elijah, even though he[...]
“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.” Hebrews 2:1 There’s no such thing as being at a standstill spiritually. We’re either making progress in our relationship with Jesus or we’re drifting away. As[...]
“and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5 There’s an old preachers’ illustration of a church awarding a “most humble” badge to one of its members, then taking it away because he put[...]
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3 Selfishness doesn’t have to be taught. We all have an innate desire to put our wants and needs before anything or anyone else. So it’s completely against human nature to[...]
“Therefore encourage one another and build up one another…” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Over and over, the Bible emphasizes the importance of spending time with other Christians as a source of encouragement. But encouraging one another isn’t about lifting each other’s spirits. Paul is talking about something much deeper than our emotions.[...]
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 It’s human nature to love those who love us, and to be kind to those who are kind to us. But what about when someone mistreats or provokes us? We said[...]
“This I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:17 Jesus’ command to “love one another” sounds elementary in theory, but it’s often more difficult in reality. Maybe that’s because we’ve bought into the world’s definition of what love is and how it behaves. It’s made out to[...]