"Then the LORD said to Joshua, 'See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city wi

"Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel." -1 Chronicles 21:1 In the Old Testament, David instructed Joab, the commander of the army, to take a census. This wouldn't normally have been a noteworthy event, except for the fact that David suffered enormous consequences by taking this census. God gave David a choice of three punishments: three years of famine throughout Israel, three months of fleeing from his enemies, or three d

"For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." -Isaiah 43:19 Has God recently done something new in your life? Often when we're going through the drudgery of life in what can seem like a wilderness, we need Him to do something new. When we're stuck in a rut we can't wait for God to show up. When we've worked hard but haven't seen any results or whe

"What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law! For you remove the key to knowledge from the people. You don't enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering." -Luke 11:52 Jesus was very popular among the religious leaders of his day. However, it was not a positive popularity. The Pharisees, because their power was threatened by Jesus, were the ones who plotted to kill Him. The scripture says they hated him - they wanted nothing more than to put Him a

"Your boasting about this is terrible. Don't you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough?" -1 Corinthians 5:6 Have you ever gotten involved in something only to realize a lot of it was hype? Marketing, promotion, and a large number of people believing in something, (even thought it may not be true), can make something ordinary seem remarkable, resulting in unrealistic expectations and false reality. It's the stuff celebrity o

"But Jacob said, 'Swear to me first.' So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright." -Genesis 25:33-34 What is a birthright? According to WordNet online dictionary, it is "a right or privilege that you are entitled to at birth", or "an inheritance coming by right of birth". Did you know God gives each of us a birthright as His child

"What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me?" -Psalm 116:12 Recently I went to my school for the beginning of the semester's classes. Students were everywhere, hurrying to class and hanging out in the student courtyard. As I was walking to the bookstore to buy some of my books, I walked past two men, one with a cardboard sign and the other with a megaphone shouting, "Repent! Judgment is near! This is a corrupt generation!" As I walked past the two men

"When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. 'Do you understand what I have done for you?' he asked them. 'You call me "Teacher" and "Lord,'" and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.'" -John 13:12-14 Feet washing. Hmm. Could you imagine washing people's feet every time they came to your house? Even though the thought of it today ca

"Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, 'These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.'" -Matthew 20:11&12 Have you ever been passed up for a promotion? Have you ever seen someone less qualified than you get promoted or receive a blessing? Has anyone ever received something you thought you deserved? These types of situations can be difficult. We can question God's goodness in thes