From: December 1, 2014
Psalm 120 is the first of the fifteen “Psalms of Ascent,” that were read or sung by the Jewish worshipers as they climbed up to the Temple mount in Jerusalem. Today, worshipers still read these 15 psalms as they climb the 15 Southern Steps to the Temple mount. Psalm 120 begins with the appropriate place to take our troubles. Not to ourselves, to worry about them. Not to our friends, to complain. But to our God in prayer, who is able to help us. Perhaps this should always be our first step in worship. “Lord, I give You my troubles, now let me stand before You unburdened, so I may truly worship You.”
From: December 1, 2013
These same three “desires” were the weaknesses that Satan targeted in the garden and the wilderness. The first Adam and his wife fell to the temptation that the fruit was good to eat, pleasing to the eye, and would make you wise like God (Gen.3:6). But the second Adam, Jesus, did not succumb to Satan’s 3-way temptation in the wilderness (Matt.4). Satan still uses these same three temptations. But living in the power of Christ, we can overcome.
From: December 1, 2012
This is a question of love. What/whom do you love with priority? This world or the Father? You can only have one first love. Those who love the Father first do not live by worldly cravings, but by a redeemed desire to please God.
From: December 1, 2011
A fool trusts himself while a wise man trusts God. Isn’t this the best definition of a fool? It’s also the root of sin. The attitude that says, “I will.” The wise person bends their will to God’s. Becoming wise we must root out all vestiges of self-will and fully submit ourselves to God.