SEP. 18, 2026 God keeps His Word. "The Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it." Jos 21:43 NKJV Three times in three verses, Joshua told the people that God did what He said He would do: (1) "The Lord gave...all...He had sworn to give" (v. 43 NKJV); (2) "The Lord gave... rest...according to all that He had sworn to their fathers" (v. 44 NKJV); (3) "Not a word failed of any good thing wh

SEP. 17, 2026 Rearrange your priorities at home. "They made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept." SS 1:6 NKJV Bill Gaston was at the peak of his career when he resigned as a domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton to return to teaching at the University of Maryland. His reason was "to strike a new balance" between work and family. Galston had worked more than a decade on the ideas he hoped to see come to pass. At the White House, he

SEP. 15, 2026 Percentage giving. "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse." Mal 3:10 NIV Picture yourself receiving ten one-dollar bills from God. Remember, God is the owner, and you are merely a steward of what He entrusts to you. Looking at the bills in your hand, you say, "God, what do You want me to do with them?" God says, "I want just one of them back." You reply, "Just one? Are you sure?" "Yep. Just give me one," He says. "Well, what do you want me to do with the oth

SEP. 14, 2026 How to deal with temptation. "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man." 1Co 10:13 NKJV You should deal with temptation in the same way you would deal with weeds in a garden. You can't just cut off the tops of the weeds, because in a few days, they'll be back. Similarly, saying, "I'll just stop sinning" addresses only the externals. Another option is mowing the weeds all the way down to the ground, cutting off the shoots. Now the garden lo

SEP. 13, 2026 It's you that God wants to deal with! "Pay close attention to yourself." 1Ti 4:16 NAS Paul told Timothy, "Pay close attention to yourself." Preachers often preach to others the very things they themselves need most! If you want to know which battle they're fighting, just listen to what they're preaching. When God talks to them, they give it "an introduction, three points and a conclusion," then pass it on to others. Sometimes they're the first folks to resist a

SEP. 12, 2026 You're called to reflect Christ's likeness. "We...are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord." 2Co 3:18 NIV Our destiny has far less to do with what we do than it does with who we become. "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Ro 8:29 NIV). And it takes many different experiences to bring that to pass. Hence Paul writes: "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so

SEP. 11, 2026 You are clay in the potter's hand. "As the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand." Jer 18:6 NKJV During a prayer meeting one night, an elderly woman pleaded with God, "It really doesn't matter what You do with us, Lord; just have Your way in our lives." Adelaide Pollard, a well-known itinerant Bible teacher, overheard her prayer. At the time, she was deeply discouraged because she had been unable to raise the support she needed to go to Africa for

SEP. 10, 2026 Recall your past victories. "Remember well what the Lord your God did." Dt 7:18 NIV The ability to recall the past is one of the most powerful functions of your brain. And when you recall past victories, you rekindle the courage, joy, and sense of accomplishment associated with the victory. You can never underestimate the power of an experience to re-inspire faith. From the parting of the Red Sea to the fall of Jericho, the Israelites had numerous miracles God h

SEP. 7, 2026 Lessons from James (2) "A doer...will be blessed in what he does." Jas 1:25 NKJV North of Israel and teeming with aquatic life of many kinds, the Sea of Galilee is a beautiful blue. South of Israel is the Dead Sea, and it's called "Dead" for a good reason: There's no life in its stagnant water. What makes these two bodies of water so different? First, the Sea of Galilee has an inlet: the Jordan River flows into it. On its southern shore, the Sea of Galilee also h

SEP. 6, 2026 Lessons from James (1) "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." Jas 1:22 NKJV The book of James has 108 verses, and it outlines how we can put our faith into action. It was written by Jesus' half-brother, the natural-born son of Mary and Joseph. Apparently, James became a believer as a result of the resurrection. Paul said that after Jesus rose from the grave, "he appeared to James, then to all the apostles" (1Co 15:7 NIV). Somewhere, p

SEP. 5, 2026 Fulfill your obligation to the Lord. "We have an obligation." Ro 8:12 NIV Paul wrote: "We have an obligation-but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live" (vv. 12-13 NIV). Obligation: it isn't your favorite word, is it? That's because we interpret it in a negative light. Don't think of it as something you have to do but as s

SEP. 4, 2026 The whole world must hear God's Word. "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." Mk 16:15 NKJV In 1993, a group called AD2000 United Prayer Track came up with an innovative idea. To help realize their goal of "a church for every people and the gospel for every person by AD2000," they established a program called "Praying through the Window." The "window" referred to an area on the globe from ten degrees to forty degrees north of the Equator,

SEP. 3, 2026 Has God given you a good idea? "I will...show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." Jer 33:3 NKJV Most success stories begin as an idea in someone's mind. And God is the giver of good ideas. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights" (Jas 1:17 NKJV). God imparts wisdom and knowledge to those who are humble enough to seek His guidance. His promise is: "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show

AUG. 30, 2026 You can break that bad habit. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Ro 12:21 NKJV When we started our relationship with Christ, we began a lifelong journey of becoming the people God created us to be. In the process, we learn how to overcome our weaknesses and draw on God's strength. That often means learning to break bad habits. Some of these habits are obvious, such as alcohol and drugs. Some are not so obvious, such as gossip, jealousy, a

AUG. 25, 2026 Always do the honorable thing. "We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable. 2Co 8:21 NLT In an extensive opinion survey called The Day America Told the Truth, James Patterson and Peter Kim reported these startling findings. Only 13 percent of those interviewed believed that all Ten Commandments are still binding and relevant today. Ninety-one percent admitted that they lied regularly, both at home

AUG. 24, 2026 How to thrive in enemy territory (2) When you came to Christ, you were 'circumcised.'"' Col 2:11 NLT Before allowing His people to conquer and inhabit the Promised Land, God commanded all the males to be circumcised (see Jos 5:2). Circumcision was first introduced by God to Abraham as "a sign of the covenant between Me and you" (Ge 17:11 NKJV). The act of circumcision meant they were set apart from the surrounding nations who didn't know God and that they belo

AUG. 23, 2026 How to thrive in enemy territory (1) "I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." Jos 5:9 NKJV When Israel entered the Promised Land, there were thirty-one kings who had to be conquered. That means they'd be living in enemy territory. God told Joshua to "circumcise the sons of Israel" (Jos 5:2 NKJV). When it was done, the Lord said, "This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." The "reproach of Egypt" was the humiliation of slavery they'

AUG. 21, 2026 God is good-all the time. "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Ps 34:8 NKJV There's an old African folktale about a king and his friend. In every circumstance, the king's friend had a saying: "This is good." One day they were out hunting. The friend loaded the firearm for the king, and he fired it. But it exploded, blowing off the king's thumb. As was his habit, the friend said, "This is good," to which the king replied, "This is not good," and had his friend

AUG. 20, 2026 Put the past behind you. "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” Isa 43:18-19 NIV After falling twice in the 1988 Olympic speed-skating races, Dan Jansen sought out sports psychologist Dr. Jim Loehr, who helped him find a new balance between sport and the rest of his life and to pay more attention to the mental aspects of skating. Peter Mueller became his coach, putting him through workouts that he described as "the tou

AUG. 19, 2026 Honor God in your home. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Jos 24:15 NKJV Joe was a carpenter who worked for a building contractor. One day, the contractor said to him, "Joe, I'm putting you in charge of the next house we build. I want you to order the materials and oversee the job." Joe accepted the assignment with great enthusiasm. He studied the blueprints and checked every measurement and specification. Then he had a thought: "If I'm really in