And God will open wide the gates of Heaven for you to enter into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:11 NLT

No, scripture has not contradicted itself. Yes, just as Jesus said, the gate to Heaven is narrow (Matt. 7:13-14). The road that leads to Heaven is very small. The only way to gain eternity is through the Son

So Solomon finished building the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. Then one night the LORD appeared to Solomon and said, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices." 2 Chronicles 7:11-12 NLT

If you are much of a Bible scholar, you will know

God said: "At times, I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or I might command locusts to devour your crops, or I might send plagues among you." 2 Chronicles 7:13 NLT

If you read yesterday's thought, you will recall that Solomon had built the Lord a temple. God was pleased with Solomon, because Solomon had constructed the temple

God said: "Then if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

Okay, you already know this verse. God promises to hear from Heaven and heal our lands, if we will humble

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" Matthew 14:31 NIV

Are you ever tempted to doubt?

I remember one time when I was asked to rappel off of a tall training wall as a part of a leadership class I was taking. I put on all the safety gear, went to the edge of the wall, and

Be merciful to those who doubt Jude 22 NIV

Yesterday we looked at the life of Peter, how that even a man of such great faith can have periods of doubt. Today we share another verse about doubt. May I suggest to you that doubt, by itself, is not a sin.

In the book of Jude, we are told to be merciful to those who doubt. Get it? God does provide

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Acts 19:25 NIV

This passage of scripture has always perplexed me a bit. How could they keep praying and singing in the midst of such trials?

As we have looked at the issue of doubting, which I do believe is a part of the normal

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10 NIV

I heard from a reader recently. She has been a Christian for a long time, but lately she has been dealing with doubts. She struggles to see Christ for who He is. She believes in Him, but the situations and trials of life has caused a

Then, as the LORD our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. Deuteronomy 1:19 NIV

Have you ever wondered why God chose the path He has for you?

Maybe your life has seen only smooth sailing. You have

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:17-18

.......and though the bird feeder falls to the ground, yet I will

How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds! Proverbs 1:17 NIV

Birds are too smart for that, are you?

If you are going to catch birds with a net, you don't won't them to see you laying out the net. If they do...you won't catch many birds.

In the Biblical days of Solomon, bird hunters would spread a net on the ground, baited with

All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name. Acts 10:43 NIV

If you don't know it yet, you can receive forgiveness. Oh, you're exactly right if your thinking that I don't know your past. I don't. And, thankfully, you don't know mine.

You could be reading this from prison right

Again He asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?" Luke 13:20 NIV

Jesus didn't know how to put it into terms they could understand. He wanted to. It was just to wonderful for words.

Have you ever wanted to describe something to someone, but you just couldn't come up with the right description. Anything you said would just pale in

Once when Jesus was praying in private and His disciples were with Him, He asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" Luke 9:18 NIV

I love big cities. I spent the weekend in Chicago recently. When I think of crowds, I easily think of Chicago or New York, another big city I love. I think of Macy's at Christmas...now that's a crowd.

I found myself

That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Mark 4:35 NIV

This week we will look at a very familiar passage of Scripture. I hope we glean new insight into who God is, who Christ is, and who we are as we relate to these insights.

Notice the verse says that Jesus said "to His disciples". We need to

Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with Him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Mark 4:36-37 NIV

If you want to be a disciple of Jesus, then you need to accept Jesus, just as He is!

The disciples got into the boat by

Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Mark 4:38-39 NIV

"Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

Jesus, don't you care that my heart is

He said to His disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:40 NIV

"No, faith. How can you say we have no faith?" I wonder if the disciples ever asked Jesus that question. After the storm was calmed, and the shock and amazement wore off, I wonder if they started to think about what Jesus had asked, "Do you still have NO

They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!" Mark 4:41 NIV

Oh, to simply trust the Lord! What a marvelous way to go through life.

I know that intellectually. I know that experientially! I know that in my heart! Oh, but to live that truth everyday, there is the challenge!

The disciples were

It is harder to win back the friendship of an offended brother than to capture a fortified city. Proverbs 18:19 TLB

This series will help us with the times we offend people. Hopefully you don't need this. If not, you can catch us next week for another series. Chances are, however, that your life is much like mine and you find yourself with

When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle." 1 Samuel 17:28 NIV

I wonder if David was

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Romans 14:19 NIV

What do you do once you have offended someone? Obviously there will be times when offending someone is unavoidable. Some people easily misunderstand what others say. Some people just seem to carry their feelings "on their shoulders".

Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11 NIV

Are you aiming for perfection? That should be the goal of the believer; to be like Christ in all that we do. That is especially true in how we relate to others. Since the