Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north, south, east and west. All the land you see I will give to you and your offspring forever (Genesis 13:14b, 15 NIV).
Lot, Abram’s nephew and traveling companion, had just parted company. He had chosen a well watered land. And Abram was now standing … Read the rest
Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard that I have spoken against this place and its people … and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord (2 Kings 22:19 NIV).
“Because your heart was responsive!” Can God … Read the rest
The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram! (2 Kings 13:17b NIV).
The first thing to note is that God has given the arrows of victory into your hands. You need to act with it now. They are meant to be used.
In this passage, Elisha the prophet asked the king of … Read the rest
But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9 NIV).
If this call never came! What would have happened? Think about it. Hope would die; killed instantaneously and without mercy.
“Where are you?” Most of us would dread such a call from God. It is true that He calls out to … Read the rest
Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man (Genesis 2:22 NIV).
“He brought her to the man.” This is a simple truth to be remembered. It was God who brought the woman to man. There is a solemnity about … Read the rest
Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need (Psalm 79:8 NIV).
We need to think much about this. Especially when we find certain kinds of illnesses or afflictions of both body and mind continue to torment families from generation … Read the rest
But they took their stand in the middle of the field. They defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory (1 Chronicles 11:14 NIV).
Sometimes, it so happens, that all desert you when the enemies come. So it happened with David and Eleazer, one of David’s mighty men.… Read the rest
Then the Lord shut him in (Genesis 7:16b NIV).
This is the secret of survival when the floods arise. To be shut in inside the ark by God. How thoughtful of God to have shut the door of the ark!
We do see husbands who are thoughtful of their wives closing the doors of the … Read the rest
This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them (Ezekiel 37:12b NIV).
This is God’s response to those who say that their hope is gone. He is not going to be challenged by the fact that your bones are dried up. … Read the rest
Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple (Psalm 65:4 NIV).
There is a dwelling place of God. We have not seen it yet. But we have little sanctuaries built here on earth where we meet … Read the rest
When I act, who can reverse it (Isaiah 43:13b NIV)?
We need to be sure about Who is on our side? Let us for a moment forget about our wins and losses. Let us set them all aside. Let us also forget those on our side and those against us.
Let us bring the equation … Read the rest
I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing (Ezekiel 34:26b NIV).
There is a season for showers. We think more about them when they are delayed. We are much concerned when it does not come in its scheduled time. Then we long for it. Every little cloud in the sky … Read the rest
Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders (Numbers 13:2 NIV).
God sends us to explore only those things that He has already given to us. That means that even though it is not in our hands now, … Read the rest
You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence (Psalm 90:8 NIV).
With God there is forgiveness. There need be no doubt about it. But for that a person needs to seek God’s forgiveness.
Before doing that he needs to be made conscious of sin in his life … Read the rest
O Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, who shields my head in the day of battle(Psalm 140:7 NIV).
“Is the Bible really relevant to our times?” This is a question that rises in the minds of any sincere Christian at some point of his life. Entertaining such a question in your mind does not mean that … Read the rest
Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well (Ecclesiastes 11:6 NIV).
There are sure laws of success. One of them is listed here. This law calls for effort on … Read the rest
But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned” (Genesis 21:12 NIV).
Do not be so distressed. What was born out of your human decision has to be got rid of. … Read the rest
Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried (Genesis 47:29z, 30a NIV).
Jacob has given us a great example in his dying moments. He is looking ahead in expectation. Though now in circumstances not of his choosing, he … Read the rest
There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope (Hosea 2:15a NIV).
There need be no doubt in your heart: God can create good out of the trouble you are passing through now. For Achor means trouble.
The valley referred to here is the place … Read the rest
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14 NIV).
There is nothing on earth that can be compared with the glory of the Lord. Yet without realizing this, the nations of the world, try to glory in what they have … Read the rest
“Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord. “Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?” says your God (Isaiah 66:9 NIV).
This is a question that we need to give careful thought to. It reveals one important characteristic of God’s dealing with His children.… Read the rest
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies … Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised (Proverbs 31:10,30 NIV).
A wife of noble character. She is a young man’s dream. No scheming of his can bring him … Read the rest
He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth–the Lord God Almighty is his name (Amos 4:13 NIV).
Look at the myriad works of God. He forms the mountains. They are a tower of strength. Full … Read the rest
Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel (Amos 4:12 NIV).
This is a direct challenge. It calls you to prepare to meet your God. He is going to strike in greater judgments than so far seen. The … Read the rest
“I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord (Amos 4:11 NIV).
What greater mercy can God show you than let you escape from His judgment? Others were taken away when He struck. … Read the rest
Be sure! This is a wise advice. Many do not know for sure what is their situation in life. They live in … Read the rest
Whoever found them devoured them; their enemies said, “We are not guilty, for they sinned against the Lord, their true pasture, the Lord, the hope of their fathers” (Jeremiah 50:7 NIV).
When you sin against God you lose God’s protection on your life. You are then an easy target for the enemy. They fail not … Read the rest
Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you (Proverbs 20:22 NIV).
The message in this verse needs no explanation. It is crystal clear. Yet is it that simple when it comes to real life? Do we follow this principle when we are wronged? It … Read the rest
For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy (Exodus 20:11 NIV).
The number “seven” is usually associated with completion or perfection. This idea primarily comes … Read the rest
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us.” (Exodus 32:1a NIV).
God has His own reasons to allow delays in our lives. These delays are sometimes not easy to accept. Because we are … Read the rest
