What thoughts run your life? What do you think about in those idle moments? Are you nursing old hurts and disappointments? Do you spend your time focused on what your spouse, your children, or others do wrong? Do you feel like you’re a victim of thoughts that run rampant in your head? Is it possible that your thoughts have a bigger impact on your life than you know? Could wrong thoughts, actually be running your life and stealing your peace and joy in the process?
In the garden, Satan sold Eve a bill of goods by telling her she could be like God. In Jeremiah’s day, he spoke through false prophets who told the people that the consequences of their sin wouldn’t be so bad. False teachers and false prophets are saying much the same things today. Some propagate lies because they are misinformed and listening to the wrong voice themselves, but others have their own selfish agenda. But each one of us is responsible to rightly divide the Word of God for ourselves, to know how to study it, and to examine what we hear in light of it. When we don’t we, too, can fall prey to the enemy’s lies.
Abortion is all over the news. It’s fodder for political debates and can spark emotions on every side of the issue. As we move closer to the end of this age and the rise of anti-Christ, we shouldn’t be surprised that this continues to be a bigger and bigger issue.
But abortion is also a deeply moral, personal issue. If you’ve ever had an abortion, you probably know that. Or, perhaps, you know someone else who has? It’s possible you’re contemplating an abortion now.
What do you believe God says about your possible choice? What are your reasons for contemplating that choice? Are you simply scared and don’t know what else to do?
Are forgiveness and peace possible after an abortion or are there some sins for which we never find redemption?
Whether we’ve been there, are contemplating these things personally, or just live in this fallen world with other sinners like us, we need to know how to answer these questions.
Words and attitudes matter! Whether we’re nagging or encouraging, praising or criticizing, they matter. They matter in our relationships with the people in our lives. Words and attitudes also matter in our relationship with God. Will we be patient and faithful in times of tribulation, as well as blessing, or will our praise quickly turn to anger and bitterness? And if we realize our words and attitudes need to change, where do we start?
Do you believe Jesus is coming back soon? If so, what does it mean to live in light of that truth?
When we don’t, we may end up living like the people in Jeremiah’s time who needed God’s rod of judgment, as we will see in our Old Testament reading.
And as we dig deeper into Psalm 119, we will see how knowing and contemplating God’s Word can help us stay clear of sin and grow in our understanding of God and His will.
Solomon said that God has put eternity in our hearts. Most of us have had those times, perhaps even as a child, when we wondered about eternity and what would happen when we die. Even believers can wonder about eternity. If not where we will spend it, we wonder what eternity will be like.
Today, TV producers and movie-makers, while not focused on death and eternity in a godly way, seem obsessed with the afterlife. Movie and TV screens are full of vampires and the so-called living dead, a perversion of the kind of eternity that God places in our hearts.
But there was a time when the dead came out of their graves and the Bible says it will happen again. But instead of bodies ravaged by death and filthy grave clothes, they will receive bodies fitted for heaven.
Have you ever heard someone say, “I might as well live it up, I’m going to hell anyway?” Maybe that’s you. The feeling that our spiritual condition is hopeless and not worth the effort is nothing new. Is there hope for us if we feel like we have gone too far and that our sin is beyond redemption?
Also, read about God’s faithfulness to those who continue to follow Him even in the midst of an evil world, how our hearts can so easily deceive us, and how important it is for all of us to give and receive encouragement.
Magic, mediums, spiritists, and witchcraft, what does the Bible have to say about these things? And what about Christians and our participation in Halloween? How can well-meaning, God-loving Christians have so many varying views on that subject?
The world says, “Follow your heart.” But Is that really good advice? Is it possible that our hearts can lead us down the wrong road? What does the Bible have to say about the heart and why would we do well to heed its warnings?
Also read about God’s discipline of His children, godly friendship, and how Paul handled the need to offer constructive criticism.
These are challenging times to be a believer. There is a huge clash of worldviews. The truthfulness of God’s Word is being attacked on many fronts. Perhaps, you are being attacked personally for standing for the truth. How should a believer respond to those attacks?
Also, read about the source of our strength, the value of staying where God has placed us, and the importance of earnestness in prayer.
