All of us have our challenges living the Christian life. Some have difficulty truly believing God’s power to control things affecting their lives, others become proud of themselves and believe they can handle everything without God.

The apostle Paul had some problem in his life which he called his “thorn in the flesh.” The Bible does not tell us what this was, but he describes the affect in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 “So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me” NLT

So whatever this “thorn in the flesh” weakness God allowed to affect Paul, it was there to weaken him and remind him to put his hope and faith in God’s power, not his own. For others of us, our “thorn” may be a lack of confidence, but in the same way, our hope, faith and confidence should be put in God’s power to bring us through our challenges.

Dear Lord, it is a great source of peace and joy to know that You are the power in our lives. Help us remember this when we are weak or troubled, and put our hope and faith in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen

David in the Bible appears to be a bit of an impulsive person; The type of person that has an idea, and just gets right after it, without lots of thought and analysis. This works for him in some cases, like striking down Goliath in the famous story of David and Goliath, but not so much in the story of Bathsheba, another man’s wife, whom David pursued and ultimately married after having Bathsheba’s husband killed.

However the one thing David always remembered was to return to God. He would go off track, but always come back, repentant.

Psalm 51:1-3 he says, “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.” then in verse 17 “You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”

And after his confession and repentance, in Psalm 52:8-9 he says, “But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s unfailing love. I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people.”

So like David, no matter what we have done, God is always there to take us back, when we come with repentance. How great a reason to “praise Him forever,” like David.

Dear Lord, forgive us for our failures to do your will, no matter what it may be, our sin separates us from you, and we are truly sorry. Thank you that through Jesus’ sacrifice we can be made right with you again. Praise to you Forever! Amen.

I continually am amazed at the information that is available on the internet. So many things that we used to have to search for to understand, or we just had to accept the information was not available. Now we have maps, pictures, reference material, training courses, phone books, news, connection with longtime friends, video conversations…just amazing. Unfortunately, this amazing technology also creates new opportunities for deception and temptation.

In The Living Bible translation of Matthew 6:22-23 Jesus says, “If your eye is pure, there will be sunshine in your soul. But if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires, you are in deep spiritual darkness.”

As I read this I could visualize those links on many internet sites sometimes referred as “click bait,” teasing you to look at the latest gossip, scandal, lewd photos and behavior. What a waste of our thoughts, and a “clouding of our eyes” these things are. As tempting as some of these headlines may be, we need to take a second and determine if our reasons for reading the story or looking at the pictures is right.

What a great image it is, however, to have “sunshine in our soul” as the verse says; The result of keeping our eyes and thoughts on all the great things God has provided.

Dear Lord, the blessings and opportunities you provide for us with modern technology are amazing. Help us keep our focus on the amazing benefits which provide “sunshine in our souls.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I am sure Christians of the first century who heard the teachings of the original apostles expected to see Jesus’ return in their lifetimes. I imagine they would be surprised if they knew at the time that we would be reading the teachings of Paul, Peter, and the other apostles 2000 years later, and still be waiting anxiously for Jesus’ return.

I sometimes wonder why we don’t have prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ellijah and John, today. But in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 Paul writes, “Do not smother the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at those who prophesy, but test everything that is said to be sure it is true, and if it is, then accept it.” Maybe we do have prophets today; we just call them teachers, pastors, and authors.

John describes a test for prophets in 1 John 4:1,2. He writes “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God, for there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God.”

Dear Lord, thank you for those who teach us your word and help us in our walk with you. Help us to be wise to know your truth when it is taught. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There is a popular business book called “One Thing” and the author’s main point is that in order to succeed we need to focus intently on one thing. If you are old enough to remember the Billy Crystal comedy movie, City Slickers, there was a tough old cowboy character, “Curly,” played by Jack Palance, who had a famous scene where he said, holding up one finger, “The secret of life was one thing…., you have to find out what that one thing is for you.”

In the account of Mary and Martha recorded in Luke 10, Jesus came to visit sisters Mary and Martha, and while Jesus was there, Martha was busy with all the activities of hosting Jesus’ visit, but Mary sat and listened to Jesus teaching. This upset Martha who told Jesus it was not fair that Martha was working hard on all the arrangements while Mary sat listening to Jesus and not helping. Jesus’ answer was, Luke 10:42,43, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

There is only one thing we also need to be concerned with, and that is following Jesus. When we keep this as our focus we stay on the right path. Following Jesus is, as he said in Matthew 22, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Dear Lord, You have given us the incredible gift of Salvation through Jesus’ Christ. Help us remember that this is the one thing that matters most. In His name we pray. Amen.