Today's Verse: The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. ~Proverbs 28:1 What comes to your mind when you think of a lion? Lions have been labeled the king of the jungle. They are considered fierce, strong, and relentless. They are fearless and tactical hunters. They instill fear into the hearts of their prey. Peter describes a lion as a predator that walketh about, seeking whom it may devour. Solomon uses the boldness of a lion to describe t

Today's Verse: Arise, Barak, and lead….. ~Judges 5:12b The Bible contains the historical account of insignificant and weak people whom God used to do great things. Someone said, “The men who conquered the world were men the world could not conquer.” One of these seemingly insignificant men was Barak. Barak is presented to us as a man of faith. “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae....” (Hebrews

Today's Verse: And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. ~2 Kings 2:12 Are you a person with focus? Do you find yourself getting easily distracted? It is a term that is used to describe a focused person is “eagle eye.” When we say, “He has an eagle eye,” we mean that a person has a keen focus on his objective and will not bec

Today's Verse: But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. ~Micah 3:8 Algebra is an advanced and abstract study of mathematics. Algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols (Wikipedia). As a student works through complex equations and word problems, the ultimate goal is to arrive at the answer. The answer is a result that is

Today's Verse: And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words? ~2 Kings 1:7 Our church has been blessed by God with weekly visitors for many years. It is a blessing to look out among the congregation and see many new faces. Oftentimes, I will ask one of our core leaders, “Do you know who that man or woman is?” They will reply, “Which man or woman are you referring to?” I then try to distinguish the visitor by whom they mi

Today's Verse: And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. ~1 Kings 20:13-14 Most of us can think of a time in our lives wh

Today's Verse: I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; ~1 Corinthians 1:4-5 Corinth was a large and thriving city during the first century. It was a city where idolatrous practices and sin abounded. God placed this city on Paul’s heart to plant a church there. God worked mightily through Paul’s ministry — many were saved and baptized, an

Today's Verse: So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. ~1 Kings 19:19 Among the many topics the Bible addresses, one of the important ones is leadership succession. Leadership succession is when the leader of a ministry carefully selects and develops his eventual replacement. Leadership succession is critical for making sur

Today's Verse: And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. ~1 Kings 19:3 Fear is when we are afraid of someone or something that we think will cause serious harm to us. Fear will quickly take over every aspect of our life. Fear is the opposite of faith. Everyone has a fear that can overcome them. I believe that fear is one of the devil’s biggest lies that he uses to sideline us from the

Today's Verse: As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. ~Joshua 14:11 Caleb was an amazing man. At 85 years of age, he told Joshua, “I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now....” The typical conversations of men who live to be octogenarians go something like this: “When I was y

Today's Verse: Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity. ~1 Timothy 5:1-2 When I was growing up, my father, elders, and teachers in school placed a strong emphasis on respecting other people. The age we now live in has morphed into barbarism, crudeness, and disrespect. Sadly, we find disrespect in our Christian homes and even in our churches. Disrespect is an indicato

Today's Verse: And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. ~Judges 7:4 Has anyone ever told you that you have “too much” or “too many”? “Too many” implies more than necessary or more than is required. The Isr

Today's Verse: Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. ~1 Peter 3:7 I recently read how UPS (United Parcel Service) handles an average of 20.1 million packages per day. This is substantially more than FedEx, which averages more than 16 million packages per day. A percentage of these shipped goods falls into a categ

Today's Verse: Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. ~Acts 20:31 Whenever we enter into a contract, purchase real estate, purchase insurance, incur a debt, or agree to a medical procedure, we want in writing the terms and conditions of what we are getting into. We want full disclosure of what are agreeing to, the risks, exclusions and limitations. We do not want any surprises after the fact, or

Today's Verse: Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? ~Daniel 3:14 How important is truth to you? Truth consists of absolute facts that are essential for our belief and behavior. What we believe determines how we behave. Truth is pure honesty. Truth is authenticity in the representation of facts. The opposite of truth is falsity and lies. This morning,

Today's Verse: And the LORD said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. ~Joshua 8:18 Spears were ancient weapons that were used in battle for many years. In the hands of a skilled warrior, a spear was a deadly weapon that could take out many foes. On one end of the spear was the sharp tip that could pierce. The other end could be used as

Today's Verse: And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. ~Esther 3:2 We have certain gestures that we exercise in public to acknowledge another person. For instance, when someone is introduced to us, we extend our hand for a friendly handshake. When we enter the presence of someone of great stature and importance, we slightly bow to show

Today's Verse: Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. ~Matthew 9:38 One of the necessary traits of leadership is the willingness and ability to solve problems. Problem solving can be tedious and can require much attention. This morning, we see a problem that we are to pray about. It is a problem of such magnitude that every Christian is a vital part of the solution. We see the concept of missions. Missions is simpl

Today's Verse: And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. ~Matthew 8:26 A hurricane is a major storm that is categorized into levels 1 to 5. A storm is classified as a hurricane when the winds reach 74 miles per hour or more. The highest category of a hurricane is level 5, where winds are more than 157 miles per hour. We are told that Jesus and the disciples experienced a gr

Today's Verse: And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. ~Joshua 5:12 A few years ago, I had the privilege of completing a missions preaching and survey trip to Taiwan and the Philippines. I booked my stay in the Philippines where I lodged the very first time I visited in 2008. Since I was there last, the hotel had done