cannyben

“It was by faith that Moses left Egypt and was not afraid of the king’s anger. Moses continued strong as if he could see the God that no one can see.” Hebrews 11:27 (NCV) There is a strong belief in our culture that if it feels good, do it. That influences every one of us, whether we want it to or not. But when you allow yourself to be manipulated by your moods, you are living your life according to your feelings. But God wants you to live a different kind of life—a life of faith, not just a life of feeling. The truth is, I don’t always feel like doing the right thing. I’m sure you don’t either. But God can give you the kind of faith that persists above feelings. If you look around, you’ll see that successful people do things they don’t feel like doing. They get tired of going through the motions and want to do things differently. They do the things that other people aren’t willing to do. You can’t be an Olympic athlete unless you spend the extra hours training. You can’t be a master m...

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 Many people ask God to guarantee their success before trying what he has asked them to do—but that’s not faith. Faith always requires risk. Faith means you obey even when you don’t understand. For example, forgiveness never seems like a good idea before you do it, but it’s one of the greatest tests of your faith. When someone hurts you, it may not feel right to forgive that person; it may not appear just. But forgiveness is always the right choice, regardless of whether you understand it. That’s how it works with God too. Faith is doing what’s right even when it seems absurd. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding” (HCSB). You never know the whole picture, but God does. The Bible gives a great example of this in the story of Gideon in Judges 7. Gideon took 300 Israelites to battle 135,000 enemy soldiers. The odds were 450 to one...

“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:4-5 (NLT) No matter what you’re going through, you can live with hope. That’s the consistent good news of the Bible. Today, we’ll look at: God always treats you with grace and mercy. Peter wrote to those who were already believers, “All honor to God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again” (1 Peter 1:3 TLB). Peter didn’t just say that God is merciful. Peter praised God for his “boundless mercy.” The more you understand God’s mercy and grace, the more you—like Peter—will be amazed by it. It’s completely undeserved. It’s totally unmerited. It’s not something that you could earn or work for. It’s just a free gift. God’s mercy is based on his love for you. And you can’t ...

“You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit.” 1 Peter 1:2 Many people in our broken world ask why things don’t seem to go right. They want to know, “Is there hope?” Hope is essential. You and I need genuine hope—not just optimism. Optimism is psychological; it’s based on the way you think. Hope is theological; it’s based on who God is and his relationship with you. Optimism is positive thinking. Hope is passionate trusting. The book of 1 Peter is a letter of hope. Peter wrote it to Christians who were suffering persecution in the Roman Empire. In the first seven verses of 1 Peter, God gives five roots of radical hope. The first root of radical hope is this: God chose you before you chose him. The Bible says, “You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit” (1 Peter 1:2 GNT). Your salvation is no accident. Long before you chose God, he chose you. You were his idea. Before God...

“I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are—high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean—nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.” Romans 8:38-39 No matter how bad life gets, you can rest in one important truth: God won’t stop loving you. You’ll have things go right. You’ll have things go wrong. But God’s love will never end. You can count on that. In fact, that truth should be one of the most important sources of joy in your life! That’s good news. When you put your hand in God’s hand, he grabs it and won’t let go. God holds on to you with all he has. You’ll have times in your life when you’ll want to let go of God’s hand. You’ll want to give up your commitment to Christ when times get tough. But God won’t let go o...

We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 You and I do foolish things from time to time. We make mistakes. But nothing you’ll ever do is beyond the capacity of God to use. You may make mistakes, but God doesn’t. The Bible says it like this in Romans 8:28: “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose” (GNT). When you make a foolish mistake, God promises he can use it for good. The promise is for people who come to God and say, “I want to live for your purpose. I don’t always get it right. But I want to do the right thing. I want to trust you, and I want to follow you That’s a reason for joy. But, you’ll still make bad decisions. You’ll still mess up. But God can fit it all into his plans. There is no plan B for your life. God knew all the mistakes you’d make before you were born. He also knew he’d fit those mistakes int...