Earth has no sorrow, Heaven cannot heal.

Earth has no sorrow, Heaven cannot heal.: Choosing Gratitude : The Bible is filled with commands to give thanks to God (Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 1 Chronicles 16:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:18). Most verses ...

The Bible is filled with commands to give thanks to God (Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 1 Chronicles 16:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:18). Most verses go on to list reasons why we should thank Him, such as “His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:3), “He is good” (Psalm 118:29), and “His mercy is everlasting” (Psalm 100:5). Thanksgiving and praise always go together. We cannot adequately praise and worship God without also being thankful. Feeling and expressing appreciation is good for us. Like any wise father, God wants us to learn to be thankful for all the gifts He has given us (James 1:17). It is in our best interest to be reminded that everything we have is a gift from Him. Without gratefulness, we become arrogant and self-centered. We begin to believe that we have achieved everything on our own. Thankfulness keeps our hearts in right relationship to the Giver of all good gifts. As for me , “I am eternally grateful for all the wonderful things God has given me and shown me—not material ...

Our loyalty to Jesus grows from His love for us. The apostle Paul was an avid first-century traveler, but he wasn’t in it for the “frequent-sailor miles.” His goal was to reach as many people as he could with the good news of forgiveness and eternal life through faith in Jesus. When some people in the city of Corinth questioned his authority, he wrote a letter describing the price he had paid to bring the gospel to others: “Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep” (2 Cor. 11:25). God gave Paul the grace and endurance to risk his life to tell people about Jesus with no thought of personal gain. Whether we receive persecution or praise for our service to the Lord, may our focus always be loyalty to Him and gratitude for His sacrifice of love.  To modern-day followers of Christ, the apostle Paul is held in the highest regard for his tireless work of teaching, church-planting, and writ...

Have faith in God,it shall be well The name “Jericho” brings to mind Israelites marching, trumpets sounding and walls falling down. It is a wonderful story of faith and victory. The story of the walls of Jericho falling down, recorded in  Joshua 6:1–27 , is one that vividly demonstrates the miraculous power of God. However, their first obstacle was the city of Jericho ( Joshua 6:1 ), an unconquerable, walled city. Excavations there reveal that its fortifications featured a stone wall 11 feet high and 14 feet wide. At its top was a smooth stone slope, angling upward at 35 degrees for 35 feet, where it joined massive stone walls that towered even higher. It was virtually impregnable. the strategy to conquer the city of Jericho was unique in two ways. First, the strategy was laid out by God Himself, and, second, the strategy was a seemingly foolish plan. God simply told Joshua to have the people to march silently around Jericho for six days, and then, after seven circuits on the...

God has given to us His Spirit to make Him personal to each of us, to give us power to live this life, and has also given us gifts to communicate His power to the world. Romans 8 gives us a picture of the true Christian life. This life is possible, and God expects it from each one of us. The flesh is still in us, but we are not in the flesh (Romans 8:9, 12-13). It is our privilege, in the Spirit’s power, to have daily, hourly and constant victory over the flesh and over sin. But the victory is not in ourselves, not in any strength of our own. Left to ourselves, deserted by the Spirit of God, we would be as helpless as ever. It is all in the Spirit’s power. If we try to take one step in our own strength, we will fail. Has the Holy Spirit set you “free from the law of sin and death”? (Romans 8:2). Will you let Him do it now? Simply give up all self-effort to stop sinning. Believe in the divine power of the Holy Spirit to set you free, and give yourself to Him to do it. He will n...

God knows your story See, Grace's story is nothing more than the tale of Hannah (which means Grace) and her rival, Peninnah, or Penny for short. We find the story  in 1 Samuel 1 through 1 Samuel 2:1-21. Each year, Elkanah would take his two wives, Hannah and Peninnah, to Shiloh to present a sacrifice to God and worship the Lord at the Tabernacle there. And every year it was the same for Hannah: the same insulting comments from Peninnah; the same emptiness that her husband could never fill. She walked away with her deepest longing unmet. She desired children, yet God had not opened her womb. To make matters worse, Peninnah taunted Hannah concerning her barrenness. Although Elkanah loved Hannah and was very kind to her (1 Samuel 1:5, 8), Peninnah’s unkindness on top of her natural grief was too much for Hannah to bear. Hannah cried out to God about her situation. She promised the Lord that if He would give her a son, she would dedicate him to God as a Nazirite (a man set apart...

A great woman of loyalty. In a time where they believed the Gospel was only for the "Jews" a "Gentile" chose God. Ruth is more than a love story, its a story of faith and loyalty. The story of Ruth foreshadows the glorious act of salvation. The story of Naomi’s family and the way it endured is a universal theme. Even Ruth, a foreigner from the despised Moabites, could move God’s plan towards fulfillment. Ruth has special significance for Christians: Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:2-17) lists four women, and Ruth is one of them Ruth is an example of how God can change a life and take it in a direction He has foreordained, and we see Him working out His perfect plan in Ruth’s life, just as He does with all His children (Romans 8:28). Although Ruth came from a pagan background in Moab, once she met the God of Israel, she became a living testimonial to Him by faith. Even though she lived in humble circumstances before marrying Boaz, she believed ...