In 1 Peter 1, Peter is trying to explain to his fellow brethren the amazing glory of the word of God. One of the best parts of the word of God is that it tells us about salvation. It explains to us how God was able to take away our sins and establish His kingdom. God’s plan of salvation was of great interest to those who came before us. The prophets would search to see what clues they could discern from the word of God. The angels too were longing to see how God would bring salvation to mankind. Read the rest of this entry »

During a terrible ice storm, the electricity went out in my small town. Since my parents had a generator and small heater units, some of my family and friends gathered at their house to keep warm. Without a television or gaming system, we had to revert to a more primitive forms of entertainment: a puzzle. We worked long and hard on this large puzzle. It tested my patience quite a bit. But I was excited to see the end result. Unfortunately, this was not a brand new puzzle. We were all quite upset to find out that the puzzle did not have all the pieces! Read the rest of this entry »

Here in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wants the Christians there to know the importance of the members there being one body. It is not good for them to be divided or jealous of one another. Instead they need to work together. Paul wants them to understand that, just as in the human body each part is interdependent on the others, in the church, each Christian is interdependent on all the others as well. We were created to work together, so it is dangerous for us to neglect our role within the body. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a poster in a classrom that reads: “Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your character.” That poster makes a strong point about the importance of each and every aspect of our life. Each thought we have, every action that we take has long term consequences. That is why we need to be so careful in everything that we do. Read the rest of this entry »

“You can not get up from the table until you finish your green beans,” the mother said to her son. “I don’t want them. They are yucky!” the son insolently replied. “They are good for you, and you need to eat them. You have to clean your plate.” Unfortunately for the mother, the battle of wills had just begun. This scenario of mother and child has happened countless times. For many children there are always some parts of their dinner they do not want to finish. They want to pick and choose what they eat. Often times its vegetables, and they ignore the part of dinner that is healthiest for them. Read the rest of this entry »

What we think is what we are. Our actions and our words all flow from the thoughts that we have. There have been many times where people say something, and then say, “I should not have said that, I did not mean it,” when they realize they have been mean. The problem is not in what they said. It is in what they thought. The words could not have come out if they did not originate in the mind. Our mind is the starting point, so it is important to control what we think. With that in mind, the question that we need to ask ourselves is this: what am I thinking? Read the rest of this entry »

It is amazing how the Lord has simplified our task for us. Everything that we do, everything that we say, it all comes from within. There is no secret knowledge or special skills that we need. Jesus tells us that all evil actions, all sinful behaviors come from within us (Matt. 15:18-19). The inverse of that is true as well. Whatever righteousness acts we perform also comes from the heart. This is what he means by the “springs of life” flowing from the heart. Read the rest of this entry »

It is important for us to remember the things the Lord has done for us. James tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). It is amazing how simple it is for us to take this for granted. There are so many blessings that are in our life that there is quite a bit that we will allow to fade into the background. Once there, we might forget that God has indeed dealt bountifully with us on many occasions. Read the rest of this entry »

Of all the conditions of a man, this one is quite possibly the saddest. This poor man knows God and is even willing to ascribe to some of who He truly is. He is not however willing to wholly follow God. There is some part of his life that he is not willing to sacrifice. In the preceding verses, Paul lists different sins that such men allow to run rampant in their life. Some may even use godliness to further their own selfish desires instead of using it for what it was intended. Read the rest of this entry »

The life of a soldier is a difficult one. He must go away from his home, and his life focuses purely on the war effort. He spends countless hours training himself for the life or death struggle before him. Every day he must look for a way to improve himself. He may have some time for recreation here and there, but for the most part, his life revolves around the task at hand. Read the rest of this entry »