We need a complete spiritual overhaul to serve others because we love them as we love ourselves. We need a clean, morally pure heart (verse 10). Our intellect, emotions, and will all need God’s tuning. God is still working on us. We’re not finished products yet. Some think they’ve always been moral, upright people. They’re deceiving themselves. Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV) says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” My former neighbor’s hand

Paralyzing guilt runs on the track of focusing on our mistakes. Maybe it’s how we raised our kids, some bad habits, or the way we injured someone. We can free ourselves from it by adopting the principles David used to cope with his guilt. First, we must look up to God (verses 1–2). David did despite his adultery and murder. He cries out for God’s mercy. He has no claims on God. Neither do we. God owes Him and us nothing. He asks God not to give him what he deserves. He reques

Martin Luther experienced unimaginable faith-shaking adversity. When life became especially difficult, he would sing Psalm 46. He wrote a hymn based on that psalm, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” The message of Psalm 46 can fortify our faith. God is our help in trouble (verse 1). Trouble is inevitable in a world at war with God and with those who are His. We must overcome enemies who hate us and an endless parade of obstacles. Their united purpose is to derail us in living fo

Happiness is…. We all complete that sentence differently. In general, we’re happy when we get what we want. But getting what we want doesn’t satisfy us for long. It often isn’t good for us—especially for the long road. For example, a second dessert makes us happy temporarily, but it contributes to the doctor’s scowl when we have our next physical examination. Walking with God provides happiness that has staying power and eternal benefits. The doctor said that my skin cancer w

Most of us battle feelings of inadequacy. The LORD’s total sufficiency is the solution. It’s our choice. It isn’t automatic. He wants to be our Shepherd and take responsibility for us. Like sheep, we need close supervision and guidance to keep out of trouble. When the LORD is our Shepherd, we lack nothing. The LORD can meet all our needs. He can supply a healthy balance of activity and inactivity (verse 2). Too much or too little rest is harmful. Like furlough revitalizes mis

Comedians don’t have a monopoly on one-liners. They’re our prayers when danger leaps in front of us out of nowhere. We cry, “Help!” Usually, we put one hundred percent of ourselves in those prayers. Nothing half-hearted about them. During a crisis, King David cried, “Help, Lord” (verse 1). David couldn’t depend on others to keep their word. Time hasn’t changed much. Ungodly people still use words to manipulate rather than communicate. They lie to deceive others. They make it

In junior high school, I was playing in a basketball game during the lunch break. I stole the ball from Arthur several times. He whipped the ball at me from about five or six feet away without warning. It bounced off my knee and struck him in the face. That pictures God’s judgment. The arrows of the wicked will return aflame to pierce their hearts. Psalm 11 describes how the wicked treat the righteous in every age. The righteous are like an uncomfortable splinter in the self-

Many obscure things eventually become clear. Transparently obvious things sometimes take longer to grasp! The self-absorbed easily miss God’s glory in nature. Although human sin has marred God’s perfect creation, what’s left still eloquently testifies to His incomparable greatness. Its glories are incomprehensible. The Milky Way Galaxy has several hundred billion stars. The Universe contains at least two trillion galaxies. Its vastness is unimaginable. The glories of creation

My daughter’s security blanket was shaped like a rabbit. We named it Bun-Bun. At bedtime, Bun-Bun was a necessity. My daughter went right to sleep. For adults, security is more difficult. It’s not for sale. But we can experience it by following the principles Psalm 4 teaches. Seek the Lord First King David speaks to God before he confronts his enemies (verse 1). As in Psalm 3, he’s fleeing from his son, Absalom. David didn’t depend on his faithful men, other nations, or his c

The Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C. tells us a dense fog covering seven city blocks, 100 feet deep, contains less than one glass of water.1 A lot of problems with so little water! Similarly, a cup of worry is composed of tiny drops of fretfulness. Like fog, they block our ability to see reality. Our focus determines whether anxiety or security will characterize our lives. Focusing on problems discourages us. David composed Psalm 3 as he fled from Absalom, his son. At

When I was around eight, my father was about to punish me for some misdeed. Before he could, I ran out of the house and sought refuge in the nearby woods. About thirty minutes later, I returned to the house. It was almost empty because everyone was looking for me. My father was so glad to see me he forgot about the punishment. In a small way, I’d rebelled against his rule, and I got away with it. By contrast, no one gets away with steadfast rebellion against God’s rule. The t

The Stable Path If we keep listening to evil advice, we’ll eventually live as evil people do. They’ll tempt us to adopt the most fatal of evil attitudes, mocking. In the Old Testament, the mocker was the farthest of all evil people from repentance. On the other hand, blessed, being so happy as to be envied, describes those who detour around the evil path. In the Old Testament blessed is always associated with doing something. In verse 1, it’s choosing to avoid evil. Avoiding

God tasks Christian leaders with making more and better disciples (Matthew 28:19–20, 1 Timothy 2:2). That means developing people to become increasingly like Jesus. How do we do that in a way that glorifies God? Jesus commanded Peter to feed His lambs (John 21:15). His lambs are young children and new believers. About 30 years ago, I was entrusted with a very small key to a padlock. I lost it. I should’ve been more careful with the key. How careful are we with the lambs Jesus

I treat suffering like a poisonous snake. I’d guess you do too. But following Jesus inevitably brings suffering. That brings a faith crisis to us discomfort-avoiders. Our commitment to God’s will and ways arm wrestles our desire to flee from pain. Which will prevail? Willingly enduring suffering demonstrates what we value. Do we love our family enough to suffer for their sake? Do we love our Lord enough to suffer for His? The Christian life includes both suffering and glory.

What did you do last week that only a Christian would do? The goal of the Christian life is to love like Jesus. That means actively, self-sacrificially helping the undeserving. That’s a priority because the end is near. The judgment of which 1 Peter 4:5–6 speaks is at the door. It could appear in an eye blink. Does that reality affect your daily behavior? If, for example, Jesus returned in one minute, would He find you with an unforgiving spirit? The Bible doesn’t identify th

A church building caught fire one night. At the fire, the pastor said to the fire chief, “This is the first time I’ve seen you in church.” The chief replied, “This is the first time I’ve seen your church on fire.” Those on fire for God imitate Jesus. Being like Jesus is our destiny. God implants within us the desire to be more kind, compassionate, and loving towards others. To be such, we must daily die to getting our way in everything. Being like Jesus includes imitating His

Sometimes we’ll suffer for doing what’s right. Thereby, we imitate Christ who suffered because He obeyed His Father’s will. His suffering resulted in ultimate victory and glory. So will ours. Although He was innocent, Jesus died once to pay the penalty for the guilty. His suffering made unrighteous people like us acceptable to a righteous God who judged our sins on that cross. The best way to thank Him is to obey Him. Even if it brings suffering. Death didn’t have the last wo

God doesn’t always protect us if we walk straight and narrow. If we’re zealous to do good, Peter implies no one will harm us. Harm is used in a special sense. Doing good doesn’t eliminate physical and emotional suffering. The point is that persecution can’t ultimately damage or injure us. No matter what, our inheritance remains on reserve in heaven (1 Peter 1:4). Verse 14 implies that if we live like God’s children and are zealous for good, we usually don’t suffer for it. But

Jesus died to transform our relationships with God and others. Relationships can be both the building blocks and wrecking balls of life. How can we tune up our relationships with fellow believers? Through Jesus, we can have peace with God and others. Peace with God comes when we confess our sins and failures to God and ask Jesus to take control of our lives. Do you know why many church relationships don’t honor God? It's because two of the three kinds of “church” people aren’

In a newspaper cartoon, a woman with folded arms and a superior expression says to her husband, “A good husband is caring, strong, and sensitive. You have all but three of those qualities.” Husbands and wives are like porcupines during a frigid Alaskan winter. The challenge is to move close to each other for warmth without jabbing one another! Marriage is God’s primary character-builder. Peter instructs wives to submit to their husbands even if they aren’t Christians. Submitt