Planted with Him

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

Romans 6:5 (NIV)

If we have, as it were, shared his death, let us rise and live our new lives with him!

Tongues of Fire

They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them…

Acts 2:3

There were any number of forms that the fire from heaven could have assumed, but in the wisdom of the Almighty, tongues was the symbolic form…

The Heart of an Honest Worshipper

O God, you are my God,
 earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
 my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
 where there is no water.

The Striving Spirit

But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father — the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father — he will testify about me.

The Baptism of Hope

In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…

Acts 1:5

We each need hope. In the midst of a sea of changes and challenges, we need a beacon of light that says we shall endure the situation, that life will get better. We find the…

The Sustaining Spirit

All of this I have told you, so that you will not fall away.”

John 16:1

The Lord knows that we are susceptible to doubts and fears. Just as a burning ember removed from the fire quickly cools, when we are left alone we lose our spiritual…

Sharpening One Another

As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

I just returned last night from our church’s spring men’s conference in the Black Forest. The truth of these words, how one man sharpens another, resonated through my…

The True Vine

I am the true vine and my Father is the Gardener.

John 14:1

We have little appreciation for the majesty of God until we have learned our place in the universe. We are naturally self-centered beings and even if we seek to rid ourselves of our…

Compassionate People

Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;
 the LORD delivers them in times of trouble.

The LORD protects and preserves them — 
 they are counted among the blessed in the land — 
 he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.

The Habit of Looking Up

Be not far from me for trouble is near, and there is no one to help.

Psalm 22:11

The psalmist identified two problems — the presence of trouble and the absence of help. He was surrounded by his enemies and there did not seem to be…