After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” Mark 9:28-29 (NIV, 1978) I remember sitting in a seminary workshop in Atlanta several years ago. The class was to be an intensive study

Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” Exodus 4:2 (NIV, 1978) In a recent chapel message, I reminded our students at Adult & Teen Challenge that if they ever sense the Holy Spirit questioning them about an action, a word, a motive, an attitude or

For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. Romans 7:22 (NIV, 1978)

He who walks with the wise grows wise, But a companion of fools suffers harm Proverbs 13:20 (NIV, 1978) King Solomon, reputed to be the wisest man in the world, spoke of the importance of surrounding oneself with people of character, integrity, and wisdom. Millenniums later his counsel from the

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,  neither are your ways, my ways,” declares the Lord.                                                 Isaiah 55:8 (NIV, 1978) I grew up in a place and time when having a semi-private telephone line shared with a neighbor was the norm. To compare it to today where we not only

I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV, 1978) Those unfamiliar with the Bible or the promises of Jesus often cannot grasp the attraction to Christianity if, as it

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.                                Philippians 3:13 (NIV, 1978) What is the

I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you and open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Revelation 3:8 (NIV, 1978) Students of Scripture may recognize the above verse as words spoken

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV,