Honestly…sometimes, as Christians, we think things are going to be easy. After all, when Jesus saves you, it doesn’t get any better than that! The joy we feel is genuine, and lasting. But—that doesn’t mean we escape this world. Bad things can and do happen. This week, we’re talking about having enough grit to get to the glory. Romans 5:3–4 says, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” ...
Jul 07, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1856
Do you ever stop and think about the routine things you do every day? Buying detergent so you can wash your family’s clothes. Fixing a couple of boards on your deck. We even grind through staff meetings at work. All of this, of course, mixed with life, laughter, and love. But do you think about why you can do these things in our country? Primarily, it’s because of the sacrifices of our fallen soldiers—those men and women who have defended the homeland since Colonial times. Joshua 1:9 commands us...
Jul 04, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1855
From earliest times, God commanded His people to see their national home through His holy eyes. In other words, countries around the world are to follow the Lord. Of course, many don’t. Jeremiah 30:22 says, “So you will be my people, and I will be your God.” Many great civilizations have risen, but few last beyond a couple hundred years. Although history is debated, the foundations of America see a people who wanted to live holy unto the Lord. Modern America is still an ongoing experiment, but o...
Jul 03, 2025•1 min•Season 1Ep. 1854
We, as Americans, tend to relish our history—and most countries do. Famous eras and the glory of battle and all that. Americans love the beautiful land that we’ve been blessed with, as well. The Bible tells us the true source of our blessings. It points us to the One who made all things possible. Psalm 115:1 tells us, “Not to us, LORD, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” We are incredibly blessed in America for a lot of reasons. From sufficient food ...
Jul 02, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1853
Today in America, two million men and women serve in our armed forces. More than 200,000 of them are deployed to various points around the world. Joshua 1:9 reminds us, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” The Lord has told us directly not to be afraid. We aren’t even to be discouraged! He’s told us through His promises that He’ll be with us every step of the way. If we stop and thin...
Jul 01, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1852
Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be one of the original settlers in America? As a person leaving the safety of England to come to the New World and start over? Those people came here for religious freedom and risked it all. When they landed in New England, they literally put down roots as they built and planted the beginnings of an amazing experiment that is still ongoing. Colossians 2:6–7 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your live...
Jun 30, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1851
Identifying where our problems originate is one thing, but locating the Divine Healer is key in getting clear of obstacles in our lives. At each mile marker in our life journeys, God is standing alongside the road, smiling at us, and holding out His strong hand to guide us. And from the indispensable wisdom of scripture to stories of human triumphs over tragedies, He is always there reminding us we’re never truly alone. His grace and mercies begin to overshadow and overwhelm those forces that wa...
Jun 27, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1850
When fear takes control, God just crushes it. None of us are immune from feeling unsettled at times. Circumstances have a way of knocking us off balance. How we respond not only affects our lives, but those who are watching us. In the film “The Patriot,” a Colonial militia leader sees the British kidnap his son. Taking the two younger sons with him, they wait in ambush in the forest. One of the sons is rattled and crying, so the father puts his hands on the boy’s shoulders, looks him in the eyes...
Jun 26, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1849
No one is truly alone. Some people have many relatives and friends, others just a few. Occasionally, someone will have no real friends or family, but all of us interact with humans, and that over time has proven to be dicey. The health of our relationships is one of the biggest factors in how we function each day. Turmoil and chaos at home or work, or both, puts us in emotional quicksand. On the other hand, healthy relationships in our lives improve our overall health and make us more productive...
Jun 25, 2025•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1848
A really cool thing about God is that He has a solution for literally every situation, and that includes mental health. We see this especially in the ministry of Jesus, who walked the land healing people of all sorts of terrible things. One day, He encountered a man driven insane by demons. Mark 5:15 says, “They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had the ‘legion’; and they became frightened.” The “Legion,”...
Jun 24, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1847
Usually, when we’re looking for some kind of emotional lifeline to get us through the day, we only want to know what God can do for us. How do we get that peace of mind we desperately need? One component is simple obedience. At first, this sounds like a test that’s too hard. We need relief right now! Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and p...
Jun 23, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1846
Have you ever hunted and hunted for something—maybe your car keys, and you finally find them? The old saying goes (and it’s very unhelpful!) that you find them in the last place you look. There’s a lot of truth to that. It also is very relevant to our walk with Jesus. Often, we work really hard to solve our own problems, then we give in and ask Jesus for help. Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” As with every other pro...
Jun 20, 2025•1 min•Season 1Ep. 1845
The Bible tells us that King Solomon was a very wise man. He ruled over his kingdom from Jerusalem, and built the famous Temple there. He was also very human. This son of King David eventually let his wealth and power go to his head, and he began to follow other religions and almost seemed to enjoy sinning. And yet God loved him. In his later years, Solomon realized how wrong he had been to rely on his own strength. And so scholars believe that’s where the book of Proverbs was born. They come fr...
Jun 19, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1844
Do you feel like you’re falling apart today? It’s okay to say yes. Life is life, and we all have obstacles to overcome. Maybe your issue is ongoing, or maybe it’s a sudden thing. But please think of it this way: Jesus is alive and He knows who you are—and He cares about you and your problems. Colossians 1:17 says, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Jesus is not caught off-guard by problems in your life and most importantly, He truly cares for you and is able to help....
Jun 18, 2025•1 min•Season 1Ep. 1843
Do you find it hard to trust some people? Do you find it hard to trust anyone? Our society is full to the brim of people who have been hurt, wounded, and devastated. It puts up a wall and we live behind it in silence and fear. After the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the people of that captive country were free for the first time to tell their stories. One woman said that she had been driven nearly insane by the dictator’s torture chambers, but when he was gone, someone shared the love of Chris...
Jun 17, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1842
There is a common metaphor of life being like a road, and with good reason. We are in essence walking a path in life, from beginning to end. For each person, the journey is at different times joyous, grueling, and full of wonder. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” This week we’re talking about walking by faith, something us as humans find difficult to do—especially when times get tough. Yet that is exactly the moment God uses to ignite our faith, and show us things we ...
Jun 16, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1841
Noah was far from perfect, but he was a humble man, and protective of his family. He stands out among fathers in the Bible as a man who remained loyal to God, in spite of the wickedness of the world around him. Doesn’t that sound a lot like life today? Fathers who choose to follow a life of faith are surrounded by temptation and downright evil in this world, but God is pleased by our devotion, and He has a plan for each of us — even when circumstances are frustrating or difficult. Genesis 6:5–8 ...
Jun 13, 2025•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1840
Moses was the father of two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, and he also served as a father figure to the entire Hebrew people as they escaped from slavery in Egypt. He loved his people, and helped discipline and provide for them on their 40-year journey to the Promised Land. Imagine leading a frustrated, tired, hungry group of travelers through the desert—without air conditioning or handheld electronics—for four decades! So many aspects of Moses’ life story seem larger-than-life, and he was indeed a ...
Jun 12, 2025•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1839
Picture what it would be like to lose everything in one fell swoop. Your house burns to the ground. The stock market plummets, and all your money is gone. Worst of all, your children fall ill and die. Suddenly, you’ve lost not only your material possessions but your family, too. When people refer to someone as having “the patience of Job,” they say that for a reason. Job was a man of immense wealth, the richest man in the region, and was the father of seven sons and three daughters he loved dear...
Jun 11, 2025•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1838
Adam, a first-time father, looked down at his newborn son with love. Adam and his wife had made mistakes in the past and suffered greatly for it, but this child, their firstborn, was a chance to start fresh. The new family didn’t have the support of friends or relatives, but they did their best, and figured it out as they went along. When the family was blessed with another son a few years later, they were so grateful to the Lord, and excited to watch their boys grow and play together. The famil...
Jun 10, 2025•3 min•Season 1Ep. 1837
The story of the Prodigal Son is one we can all relate to. The Bible tells the story of a brash young man who leaves his home after asking for his inheritance. His loving father complies, and let’s just say the son learns some valuable lessons on his travels. Eventually, he humbles himself and comes home; he needs his father and his family. It is really a story of Jesus and us. Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” We sc...
Jun 09, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1836
A lot of us like action movies. And if they have a faith theme or element, even better. The iconic film “Raiders of the Lost Ark” comes to mind. In fact, the wild ride taken by Indiana Jones really typifies what we’re talking about this week: finding the grit to move beyond failure. As he pursues the famous Ark of the Covenant, Jones chases and fights Nazis, and his own doubts. Along the way, his physical and mental stamina are challenged like never before. Romans 5:3–4 says, “Not only so, but w...
Jun 06, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1835
Have you ever recorded minutes for a meeting? Whether you were taking notes at work or for a volunteer organization, such as the PTA at your child’s school, taking minutes and reporting on them at a follow-up meeting is an important responsibility. What ideas were discussed? How were those ideas followed up on? Who, including yourself, agreed to complete certain tasks before the next meeting? And were those tasks completed on time, and correctly? Recording minutes looks pretty mundane from the o...
Jun 05, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1834
Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ means that we don’t just sit in our houses and shut away the world. Scripture is an action item. Isaiah 60:1 says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.” If the Bible is true—if God’s story intersects with our story—then a hurting world is in need of a Savior. The pain many are enduring will have no end until they meet the God-Man, Jesus. He is our healer, and His glory fills the earth. We all have different person...
Jun 04, 2025•1 min•Season 1Ep. 1833
We “love” all sorts of things. We love a friend’s new hairdo. We love pistachio ice cream and travel to exotic places. Many times, the word itself loses all real meaning. It’s like homemade chicken soup without the chicken…and without the soup. 1 John 3:16–18 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love o...
Jun 03, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1832
As humans, we compartmentalize things. It’s in our nature to make lists, and rank priorities, and really box certain things in. We’ve got our work-life over here, and our family life over there, and our faith...somewhere else. And this can often lead us to confusion about which direction we’re supposed to go. This confusion even extends to our faith. We wonder: when am I supposed to pray, and when am I supposed to take action on my faith? Psalm 34:1 says, “I will bless the Lord at all times: his...
Jun 02, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1831
Humans tend to see the world from a me-me-me perspective: What can I get out of this situation? How can I benefit from this? It’s the same with being thankful. Not that we shouldn’t focus on all that God does for us. That’s important—even critical. But when you think about it, who should benefit most from our gratitude? The answer is: others. When we thank others and recognize the effort they took to do something for us, we should train ourselves to understand how it impacts them, not us. Thank ...
May 30, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1830
Today’s message is really about taking the long view. The human attention span is short, like really, really short. Between the world wars, Winston Churchill warned Europe that Hitler was a threat to the continent at least, but people ignored him. And then when the Nazis turned violent, the people turned to Churchill as their prime minister. Having led the country through another costly war to preserve freedom, Churchill was defeated for reelection in the last days of World War II. It’s like the...
May 29, 2025•4 min•Season 1Ep. 1829
There is a famous story in the book of John and it involves an act of amazing grace by Jesus. It changed one man’s life forever. As we discuss walking by faith this week, make sure these stories find their way deep into your memory. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we live by faith, and not by sight.” In our story, Jesus meets a man blind from birth. He tells His disciples that, incredibly, the man will be the catalyst for God’s glory to be displayed to all who know him. Jesus then puts mud on his e...
May 28, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1828
You’ve probably heard of the Ingalls family, or even met some of the clan through the Little House on the Prairie TV series, or beloved children’s books about pioneer life in the 1860s by author Laura Ingalls Wilder. The story of the Ingalls family is inspiring, whether you watch it or read it. The fun and camaraderie shared by Charles, Caroline, Mary, Laura, and little Carrie is heartwarming, and makes many of us yearn for simpler times—before technology and the hurried expectations of modern l...
May 27, 2025•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1827
