Was your cup filled today? If the words of God had special meaning for you, please share your reflections in the comments section at the end of each post. We would love to hear Christ's impact on you.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV) In this verse Jeremiah talks of trusting the Lord. You see, in Chapter 17 of Jeremiah, He convicts Judah of its sin. To see this, you only need look at the opening vers

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13 ESV) Every good thing that happens inside us is a gift from the Holy Spirit. The grace that is given so that we may come to faith, the conviction of sins so that we recognize our depravity, and the desire to change our minds in the repentance of our sins, all gifts of the Holy Spirit who manifests them in our hearts, minds, and soul

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) Many Christians do not realize how self-deceiving the heart is. (1) It is inherent to human nature. As Jeremiah wrote, we are desperately sick; our hearts are deceitful. The mystery of self-deceiving [2] originated in the Garden and was infused into humanity through the rebellion of Adam, if you can call it rebellion. Adam willfully ate without thinking about God. He did not

“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.” (1 Peter 2:22 ESV) The perfection of Christ is a deep and necessary understanding for the Christian and for those seeking Him. One question I often hear is, “How could one man pay for the world's sin in only a few hours on a cross?” The answer is that Christ, the Son of God, is sinless perfection. He alone is worth more than all of creation by leaps and bounds. Peter tells us of the simplicity of this statement. In

"To all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." (John 1:12-13 EVS) It is all about God, who He is, and what He has done. In a world of “my rights”, we do not have a right to be adopted by God. Adoption by God, unlike adoption agencies that spurn Christians, requires one to be reborn in the Spirit to become a child of God.

Compassionate Lord, Your mercies have brought me to the dawn of another day. Vain will be its gift unless I grow in grace, increase in knowledge, ripen for spiritual harvest. Let me this day know You as You are, love You supremely, serve You wholly, admire You fully. Through grace let my will respond to You, knowing that power to obey is not in me, but that Your free love alone enables me to serve You. Here then is my empty heart, overflow it with Your choicest gifts; here is

“The Lord of the Sabbath!” “On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but th

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14 ESV) O my Lord, how great your majesty. When you read David’s writings in Psalm 139, you should feel humbled. We forget how small we really are as humans. We are a finite part in God’s massive creation. As far as the universe stretches, it belongs to God. With advances in science and discovery in galaxies and universes, we are beholding the breadth of G

“All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established;” (Isaiah 54:13-14 ESV) There are many messianic prophecies in the writings of Isaiah. This one tells the generation of Isaiah that they shall be taught by the Lord and He shall establish their righteousness. What is amazing about this text is that it was quoted by Jesus, who often quoted the prophets, especially Isaiah. When we peer into th

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” (Hebrews 11:1-3 ESV) We will all, at some point, especially if we engage unbelievers with the gospel, be asked what faith is. Can you rationally explain what biblical faith means to someone who has n

“And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish,” (Jonah 1:17- 2:1 ESV) There are two Old Testament books that I believe model our human lives best. The first is The Book of Job, and the second, The Book of Jonah. Job shows our ability through the cross to suffer in faith, and second our propensity to question God. The first is good, t

“And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.'” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to th

O God, May Thy Spirit speak in me that I may speak to Thee. I Lord Jesus, great high priest, Thou hast opened a new and living way by which a fallen creature can approach Thee with acceptance. Help me to contemplate the dignity of Thy Person, the perfectness of Thy sacrifice, the effectiveness of Thy intercession. O what blessedness accompanies devotion, when under all the trials that weary me, the cares that corrode me, the fears that disturb me, the infirmities that oppress

“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.” Luke 4:1-2 (ESV) Chapter 4 takes us from the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness as He confronts Satan to Jesus reading Isiah 61:1-2 in the synagogue in His hometown and proclaiming that He was the promised Messiah that Isiah was speaking of. Then

“ But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.'”(Matthew 9:14 ESV). This verse shows how much Jesus values and welcomes even the smallest, inspiring believers to feel cherished by Him. Scripture tells us that Jesus told the apostles to let the children come to Him, as they were preventing them from reaching Jesus. Christ blessed the children and went on His way. In those days, the neglected and the aban

“And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7 ESV) In chapter 12, the author of Ecclesiastes writes of human life coming to an end. We are created from dust (Genesis 2:7), and we will return to the dust from whence we come. Whilst we are still here, we should remember that fact. We will all die, some earlier than others, but regardless of age, the life which was breathed into us and the spirit God gave us will ret

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15 ESV) A mist in the wind. That is what we are: a mist; our lives are finite. We, believers, are a light on the hill in

You whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:9-10 ESV) Isaiah is one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament. His prophecies surrounding the birth of Christ and announcing the coming Messiah are ones almost all Christians know. Isaiah’s vision gives an idea of the glory of God, and he was used by God in

“Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” (Romans 16:25-27 ESV) Paul uses Chapter 16 to bri

Compassionate Lord, Your mercies have brought me to the dawn of another day. Vain will be its gift unless I grow in grace, increase in knowledge, ripen for spiritual harvest. Let me this day know You as You are, love You supremely, serve You wholly, admire You fully. Through grace let my will respond to You, knowing that power to obey is not in me, but that Your free love alone enables me to serve You. Here then is my empty heart, overflow it with Your choicest gifts; here is