This Thanksgiving season, remember that God knows exactly what you need.
We can enjoy scary movies because we know they're not real. But not everything that's dark and scary is that way.
How do you know when your values have changed? Our values are set—and reset—by our hearts and our minds. Yet, they are not totally undetectable. What you value can be seen in how you operate.
In creation, we hear a familiar refrain. And God saw that it was good. Each part of creation was perfectly designed and implemented.
The jealousy of Jesus’ disciples is exposed. They find a man who is driving out demons in Jesus’ name. The problem is not what he is doing, but who he is—or isn’t.
Selfish ambition and jealousy are from the devil, and as popular today as they were in Jesus’ day. Not only do they add to the suffering of our fellow man, but it also hinders the proclamation of the gospel.
“The struggle is real.” Many people recognize that life in this world is already chock-full of challenges and problems. Each day can be a struggle. Today, God’s Word opens our eyes to a fierce struggle for followers of Jesus.
Have you ever needed help? Sometimes admitting that we need help is more painful than a root canal. And asking someone else for help? Out of the question! Why is that?
When children identify heroes and role models, they quickly begin to pick up on the habits and mannerisms of the people they admire. They show they are followers by imitating the behavior they see and hear.
Do you ever feel the pressure to make people happy? Do you ever tell supervisors and co-workers what you think they want to hear? Do you ever nod along with friends or family—even when you know they’re flat-out wrong?
What do you want from God? We know that the correct answer includes a host of spiritually-minded matters, but does that really capture our prayer life well?
Sometimes, all you need to know is that someone is standing by your side. Today, we are reminded that the Lord Almighty is the one standing by the side of all his people.
Do you ever feel too busy to spend time in God’s Word? At times, we feel an intense pull to many other tasks and relationships.
Today our focus is on the basics—the necessities of life. In the fourth petition of the Lord’s prayer, we ask God to give us our daily bread.
Working with authority behind you makes a big difference. When you don’t have authority on your side you are always wondering if you have the support you need.
Everyone dies. No matter how rich or poor, no matter how powerful or downtrodden, no matter how successful or how much of a failure they seemed to be, every single person dies.
The problems we find in our Scripture readings may be unfamiliar to us, but they are not unrelatable. In our Gospel reading, experienced fishermen face their greatest fear—an overpowering storm.
People have used military might, political power, or the promise of temporal happiness to expand the kingdom of God. These tactics may make the kingdom of God appear to grow in its sphere of influence, but it is a hollow development.
The center of everything worth seeing is Christ. He defeated and has locked up the one whose head he crushed, but whom we see so often in the temptations that surround us and rise within us.
How do you read the Law? This may sound like a question for lawyers or judges, but it’s one every single person ought to be able to answer.
One plus one, equals two. It’s a mathematical concept we have taken for granted since we learned arithmetic. But today we celebrate what we cannot comprehend. Our God tells us that he is One.
Israel had three annual pilgrimage festivals—the feast of Passover, Tabernacles, and Weeks. The Lord timed his outpouring of the Holy Spirit with this third pilgrimage festival which was celebrated seven weeks and a day (or fifty days) after the Passover Sabbath.
Something is easier to understand if you have someone explain it to you.
We must strive to reflect the love of Christ and his obedience to his Father in our lives. This isn’t optional or merely for overachievers.
Jesus says I am the true vine…You are the branches. Of course, we cannot help but see that the branches are totally reliant upon the Vine for everything. So it is with Christians.
I am the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Yet as we consider this relationship, it’s a bad bargain for the shepherd!
If you have anxiety, you’re not alone. But what do we do about it?
In the season of Lent, we see Jesus taking our place in his passion—the Valiant One fighting for us on the battlefield. Today’s struggle is against temptation.
Do you ever have doubts? Do you grieve? Are you ever envious of those who chose the path of evil and seem to get away with it? Honest Christians admit having moments of each.
We’re shown that salvation can only be a gift of God, never a work of man.
Jesus did not need to be baptized to cleanse himself of sins. He was baptized to connect himself with sinners and also connect sinners with his righteousness.
The star is really an Epiphany symbol. The star is important because it led wise men to see the Savior of nations. On Epiphany, we rejoice in God’s grace to all his people.
More often than not, big New Year’s promises are broken. Big plans become big flops. In our Gospel reading, we meet two individuals who had big hopes—but not in themselves.
Tonight we celebrate a light shining in the darkness—the love of God’s heart taking on human flesh and being revealed to us for the very first time.
With the pressure to be perfectly obedient taken away from us, we rejoice, pray, and give thanks because God has given us everlasting and adaptable joy. Rejoice in the Lord!
As we make our preparations for Christ’s second coming, the message of John the Baptist lifts our eyes to the coming Christ.
Advent, as a whole, is a season of anticipation, contemplation, and preparation. We must first contemplate our trespasses and failings and then prepare to meet Christ our Savior.
Whenever you come to the end of a major period of time, it’s appropriate to look back and reflect.
Jesus tells us who we are. We are not his cannon fodder, his salesmen, or his associates. We are his trusted servants.
Today, we hear God’s warnings to people who mistake his patience for carelessness.
This is what we mean when we say we're Bible-believing Christians at River of Life.
