I think we have all seen the basketball game with the half court shot at the buzzer that wins the game, or the “walk-off” home run in the crucial baseball game, or the seemingly impossible kick to win the soccer match, and the thousands of spectators in the stadium jump to their feet and cheer.

This is the image I envision when reading Luke 15:7, “..there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”

I can see the saints and angels jumping to their feet and cheering when someone who has rejected Jesus for years, drops his or her resistance and accepts Salvation.

Dear Lord, it is amazing to know that those in heaven cheer for the salvation of those on earth. Help us remember to do our part in helping those who are lost become saved. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Who is the better athlete, the record 100 yard runner, or the record marathon runner? We cannot really say, because to be the record holder in each takes the best, but these races are different and require different qualities.

In a similar way, we each have a different set of challenges in life, requiring different qualities and efforts to handle. We are each running different races.

Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us, ” let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith”

Though God has set a different race for each of us, keeping our eyes on Jesus and His teaching will bring us all to the same finish line.

Dear Lord, Help us keep our eyes on you as we run the race you have given us, so that we may stay on the right path to our eternal goal. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Occasionally you run across a passage in the Bible that just delivers a crystal clear message.

Proverbs 11:24 is one of these. In the NLT version it says, “Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.”

I think it is significant that the passage doesn’t get into the details of what percentage to give, pre-tax or after tax, or to evaluate how much of the recipient’s contributions are used for administrative costs, etc. It describes a mindset of generosity. With this mindset, God will provide more than you started with.

Proverbs 11:25 goes on, “The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”

I was reminded recently of an expression that sums this up. “You can’t out-give God”

Like the parable of the three servants in Matthew 25, If we do well with what God gives us, he will give us more.

Dear Lord, It is so difficult for us to counter our fear of not having enough. This fear can lead us to be stingy with the gifts you have given us. Help us overcome this fear, be generous, and put our trust in you to provide what we need and more. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

If you are like me, sometimes you may find it difficult to figure out what direction God is pointing for you; What is he calling me or you to do.

Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 1:11,12. “So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him.”

I think what Paul is telling the people of the church in Thessalonica, and what God is telling us through this text, is that God has a calling for each of us and he is prompting us to pursue it. We need to listen for this prompting in a state of faith. I think what the last part of this text is telling us is, when we do this, it brings glory to God and it feels right to us. We know we are doing what God wants for us.

Dear Lord, As Paul prays, we also pray that you will enable us to live lives worthy of your call, give us the faith to receive your prompting and the power to accomplish your will. Thank you that when we do this, we will know that we are following your calling for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Many of us have had occasions in life where things looked so bad we had no idea how they could ever work out well. Then as time progressed, things changed and worked out. I like the expression, “even when we can’t see a way God can make a way.”

In Mark 10:27, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

We need to remember that no matter how bad things may seem to us, “all things are possible with God.”

Dear Lord, help us to remember that you can always make a way for things to work out for us. Help us put our trust in you and believe that with you all things are possible. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.