Despite several attempts to get The Living Word back and going on a daily basis, life is just not cooperating! So rather than constantly apologize I'm officially switching the show to a "sporadic" schedule with the intent to go back to daily as soon as possible.
Have you ever been in debt to the point where your debt almost feels like a heavy load that's attached to you with chains? Finally paying it off comes with such a sense of freedom! Sin is the ultimate debt, because we can never pay it off on our own. But Jesus has paid it off for us, and with that comes the ultimate freedom. We should ask ourselves, then, why would we ever choose to reattach those chains? But we do.
Today's selection, Galatians 5:1 from the NJKV encourages us to stay free:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
This is a good verse to bring to mind when we find ourselves tempted to act against God in any way and, in so doing, choose bondage over freedom.
God bless you!
Background music provided by and copyright Craig Anderson (dub4k.com).
Becoming a Christian does not suddenly place an invisible bubble of protection around us, although we all wish it would and many are suprised when it doesn't. Instead, God gives us the strength we need to deal with the storms of life that so often rage around us and helps us to find peace in the midst of mayhem, comfort in the center of chaos. As singer Scott Krippayne so beautifully puts it, "Sometimes He calms the storm and other times He calms His child."
Today's selection, Psalm 27:5 from the NJKV gives another perspective:
For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
When we find ourselves distracted and distraught by life's turmoils, remembering this verse can help us put our focus back on God and the peace and strength He gives us to handle our challenges.
God bless you!
Background music provided by and copyright Craig Anderson (dub4k.com).
One of the hardest lessons life teaches us is that there are very few people, if any, in whom we can fully place our trust. The true test of trust, of course, comes during those times when we are at our most needy, when we have the least to offer in return. Who can we turn to in those times? Who can we depend on to be there for us, to care for us, no matter what? Today's selection, Isaiah 25:1a,4 from the NIV offers a simple answer:
O LORD, You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
When it seems like nobody cares any more, we can bring these verses to mind and realize that the only One who really matters always will.
God bless you!
Background music provided by and copyright Craig Anderson (dub4k.com).
It's easy to think of the Bible as just a book...a collection of stories, but if we take the time to read it we quickly realize that it's far more than that. Despite the fact that it consists of 66 books written by 40 authors over the span of thousands of years, it delivers a timeless message that is interwoven throughout its pages. Today's verse, 2 Timothy 3:16,17 from the NJKV, hints at the richness of this message:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
This is just one thing of many that helps us understand that the verses that make up the Bible are far more than just words on a page.
God bless you!
Background music provided by and copyright Craig Anderson (dub4k.com).
