Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. Isaiah 28:16 As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, we have heard prophesies about Christ being the cornerstone in the Old Testament (Isa 28:16, Zech 10:4), and how important it is for us to establish our faith and our belief on that foundation that is Jesus Christ.   WHAT IS A FOUNDATION But, what is the foundation that Isaiah the prophet wrote about?  In Biblical times, the corners ..read more

In 1891 a train company was being sued because a person had been killed at a train crossing. The plaintiff’s lawyer interrogated the night watchman at the crossing. When asked if he was on duty he responded with, “Yes, sir.” “Did you have a lantern?” “Yes, sir.” “Did you wave the lantern?” “Yes, sir.” His testimony was so convincing that the plaintiff lost the case. Afterwards, the president of the company congratulated the watchman on his testimony, telling him it saved the company money and he would be rewarded. He asked, “Weren’t you nervous on the stand?” “Well, sir, I was a little afraid ..read more

MISUSED PRAYER MEANING? The other day, during my prayer time, it occurred to me that the Bible talks about where two or three are gathered together in prayer that those prayers would be answered.  Does that mean that two or three praying was more effective than praying on my own?   In Matthew 18:19-20 Jesus says this: “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (NIV) I know I am guilty of misunderstanding that these verses mean ..read more

We all need God’s help during our walk with Him, sometimes more than others.  Sometimes we’re broken and in need of God’s fixing.  But, do we really understand the meaning behind God’s help as described in the Bible? So what is this type of help that God gives us in our time of need?  It’s not just a helping hand, which we would be most familiar with.  This particular kind of help is described in the following 2 passages of scripture:  Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our ..read more

Many times we need to be reminded that there are promises from God’s Word that will guide us through life.  God’s promises are real and are not “maybe’s.”  They are assurances that God will do what He says.   There are times when we question the path we are taking or the decisions we are making.  Let’s look today at some verses that promise us God’s guidance and direction. Proverbs 3:6 – In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. We can’t lean on or rely on the way we see things, but we must put it before God before we can realize divine guidance. Psalm 37:23-24 T ..read more

God expects us to fruitfully invest whatever He gives us.  Often we think of God’s blessings in terms of money or material goods.  But time is also a gift of God – one that He has given all of us equally each day.  We are expected to use our time wisely.  The Bible confirms that God intends to help us make the most of our lives (and our time).  So, how does he do that?  He teaches us through His Word. First of All, what is the right attitude about our time? In Psalms 90:12, we are told to “number our days so that we might get a heart of wisdom.”  Our days are numbered, so we should as ..read more

Even as Christians, we all know that the trials we face, the demands that the world makes on us and the demands of our own schedule can wear us down. We become discouraged and maybe even angry.  But, what do we do about it?  Do we try to handle it somehow by ourselves?  Do we become resentful?  Jesus tells us that we don’t have to.  He says this: Mat 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Mat 11:29  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Mat 11:30  For my yoke is eas ..read more

In today’s world, we are not accustomed to waiting for anything.  We get upset if we wait too long in the fast food drive-thru!  Many years ago, I was put into a situation where I had to wait on God to act.  This was hard for me because I had not had to wait like this before.  So I did a lot of research on waiting on God.  There are many scriptures that address waiting on God, but I still didn’t understand the process of what God was doing while I was waiting. We’ve all heard that some people have “the patience of Job.”  But what does this mean?  Job, of course, was an extreme example of Go ..read more

Prayer and Asking We are all familiar with prayer, but sometimes we don’t have what we need because we just don’t want to ASK or know to ASK God! 1 John 5:14-15 says this– “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we askanything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” The New Testament alone has several instances where we are told to ask: (There are many other references if you care to search for them.) Matthew 7:7 – Ask and it will be given to you… Matthew 21:22 – If you be ..read more

I was listening to a Sermon last Sunday where the Pastor just happened to say after returning from a sabbatical, that he really concentrated on “being for Jesus” instead of just “doing for Jesus.“ This is a very interesting situation, but one that is overlooked in the church, or at least not talked much about.  Does our service to God, or even our other duties, overshadow or crowd out our “being” for God?  In other words, are we serving God or doing other things more than we are being with God or listening to God? The story of Martha and Mary comes to mind in Luke 10. Jesus stopped at Marth ..read more