Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” John 20:27 REFERENCE John 20:24-29 God has an expectation of you; He expects you to believe Him, to believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him diligently. God expects you to rely on His promises, irrespective of your circumstances. He expects you to have faith. Faith, put simply, is your conscious, deliberate reliance on what God says even though it is unseen in the physical realm. Jesus here rebuked Thomas for...
…The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. Psalm 19:9-10 (NLT) REFERENCE Psalm 19:7-11 (NLT) No words or adjectives will be sufficient to adequately describe the virtues and excellent qualities of the Word of God. The Psalmist here tries to extol the beautiful qualities inherent in the Word. Compared to the Word, other things will fade and pass, but the Word will forever remain. There is nothing that outlives the Word of God; everything in life got its existence from the Word of...
Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible. Luke 1:36-37 REFERENCE Luke 1:13-37 In the history of mankind, there has never been a virgin birth apart from the one God orchestrated to bring His Son into the world through the Virgin Mary. This is a clear reminder that there is absolutely nothing impossible as long as God is involved in the process. What impossible situation are you facing in life today? There are several...
When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel. Nehemiah 2:10 REFERENCE Nehemiah 2:1-10 Nehemiah had been raised by God as a reformer, a restorer, and a rebuilder of broken humanity. God had given him favor with the king, with the governors of several regions, and with the Treasurer General of the province. He had kept him from perils and dangers in his journey to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and to restore hope to the broken people of...
So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:4 REFERENCE Nehemiah 1:1-11 & Nehemiah 2:1-3 At its political peak, Babylon invaded Jerusalem, ransacked the city, destroyed King Solomon’s temple, and took the inhabitants captive. After decades of slavery and captivity, the Israelites were granted leave to return to a desolate and derelict Jerusalem. The gates and walls were burnt and weakened from years of neglect; the homes had been razed to the ground and farmlands overtaken by weeds. The...
This is a faithful saying and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. Titus 3:8 REFERENCE Titus 3:1-8 In this Epistle of Paul’s to his son in the Lord, Titus, he charged him to set in order the requirements for the pastoral office for his immediate audience and for the body of Christ but went further to lay down the lifestyle that should mark those who are believers in Christ. It is very easy to think that...
And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Matthew 25:15 REFERENCE Matthew 25:14-30 The first thing that strikes you about this parable is the ‘seeming imbalance’ in the way the master shared the talents amongst these servants; it looks almost unfair, but in his foreknowledge, he did it according to each person’s ability. Like the master in this story, God gives us talents in proportion to our abilities; these talents can be likened to our God-given gifts. Both servants with...
The end of a thing is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Ecclesiastes 7:8 REFERENCE Ecclesiastes 7:8 Guess what? We are in the final month of the year; the countdown to year-end has begun. God has been faithful; so, if you are reading this, pause and thank Him for His love and mercy towards you. We are at the beginning of the end, and King Solomon, by inspiration said that the end will be better. Have you witnessed a marathon race before? The runners start the race all huddled together, but...
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest - Matthew 11:28 REFERENCE Matthew 11:28 To everyone who labors and is heavy laden, Jesus gives such a person an invitation to come to Him, because in Him, you can find rest for your spirit, soul, and body. Being heavy laden is synonymous with carrying a burden, a care, it means you are troubled or facing a difficult situation that is weighing you down (emotionally, spiritually, financially, physically, maritally, or otherwise). You don’t need to look too far in the world we...
Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. - Acts 12:5 REFERENCE Acts 12:1-12 Prayer is powerful; we all have personal testimonies of the power and the efficacy of prayers in our lives. Despite the fact that we know the power of prayers, it is shocking that many people often go days unending, carrying burdens that they do not pray about. The hymn writer wrote, “Oh what peace we often forfeit and what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” We forget...