"...How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him..." (1 Kings 18:21)

Whoever said there are no absolutes was sorely mistaken. Black or white! Right or wrong! Hot or cold! God or Baal!

How many times have you wanted to shake someone and tell them they have to make up their minds—either serve God wholeheartedly or don't bother trying.

God is merciful, God is love, God is full of compassion and grace. BUT, God is holy; He is a jealous God. He will not tolerate gray. He will not tolerate mediocrity. He will not tolerate lukewarmness. He will not tolerate half-heartedness in a relationship with Him.

God is drawing us to a level of relationship with Him like never before. It is one of singlemindedness . . . sold out, submitted and consecrated to Him. He is preparing His Bride for His soon appearing by...

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

Very little else can be said about our verse today. Paul, in his letter to the Church at Philippi, clearly defined a Godly thought life. The mind seems to be the arena that the enemy attacks through the most. He plants seeds in our thoughts, and then it is up to us what we're going to do with them.

Will we allow the enemy's seeds of "stinking thinking" to take root and grow, or will we cast out those seeds before they can ever take root?

Our flesh wants to entertain gossip, slander, lies, etc., but we have authority through the shed blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and Master to...

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Have you ever given any thought to how important timing is to God? God not only has a "reason" for everything He does, but He has a "season" for everything He does. We tend to do things on the spur of the moment, but God works with design and with purpose, yet that is so hard for us to comprehend in our finite minds.

In God's infinite plans, He has laid out an intricate plan. Everything God has declared must come to pass as He has said it will. He doesn't act according to our timetable.

Think about the prophets of old. They listened, declared the Word of God, and then waited for the coming of the Messiah.

They waited . . . and waited . . . and waited!

But although God's word had been spoken and the prophecies recorded, the manifestation of God's plan was not to be for many years; generations passed before the prophesied Messiah was born. ...

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . ." (Galatians 6:14)

Paul was bold in his proclamation of faith, not wavering, but holding fast to that which he believed with all his heart.

Why? Because he truly embraced the cross of Christ and all it stands for—His sufferings, His death, and our salvation through a crucified Redeemer. As a matter of fact, Paul was so far from being offended or ashamed at the cross of Christ, that he desired to glory in nothing else and it was his determination to preach the cross till he drew his dying breath regardless of the cost to him personally. Paul knew that without the cross there would have been no redemption, no joy, and no hope.

How do we compare today? Are we offended or ashamed when someone asks us about our faith? Do we find our solace and comfort at the foot of the cross where our sins were washed pure in the crimson flow? Do our lives show that we "glory" in the cross of Christ by esteeming nothing or no one higher than Him and regarding His sacrifice as the most important gift ever given to us?...

"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (I Peter 5:10-11)

We were never promised a rose garden. Suffering is as much a part of the Christian's life as faith; it comes in different ways and it produces fruit in our lives.

When we think of "suffering" we immediately think of physical pain. Although that is one aspect of suffering – a very REAL aspect of suffering – it is not the only one. It also has to do with feelings, passions, impressions, pressures, and sensations. Suffering has everything to do with discomfort, disappointment, disillusionment. But even amidst all this, suffering can be our most cherished friend.

Enduring suffering will make you perfect, establish, strengthen,...

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

We've all been there! The bills are due and there's not enough money; the children are sick, the car won't run, there's not enough groceries to feed the family, the garden didn't produce the yield expected, those that owe you money don't have it to pay back, the bank account is depleted, the utilities are about to be turned off, everything that could go wrong is (or has) gone wrong.

At this point we have two choices. We can do as Job's wife advised and curse God and die, or we can keep our eyes fixed on our Provider and choose to "rejoice in the Lord, [and] joy in the God of my salvation." It's a hard decision, but it is OUR decision nonetheless....

"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (2 Timothy 2:19)

As a child I can remember when I did something wrong, I would run and hide or try to keep the thing I did wrong from my parents. I knew that I had disobeyed them and was ashamed, hurt, and afraid of the consequences I knew were about to befall me. But even as a child, I knew there was no place I could hide that my parents could not find me, or if I attempted to hide the object I broke or ruined or whatever I'd done wrong, somehow they always found out. It was a fact of life, no doubt about it.

In a child's eyes, parents are the ultimate authority, the ones they love the most and the ones they fear the most. Many times we, as Christians, act the same way in the eyes of our Heavenly Father....

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)

The dictionary has many meanings for the word "press" some of which include "to use force or weight, to push, to squeeze, to apply pressure, to exert great effort, to stress, to plead insistently". To press in the context of today's verse is to use strength to push your way toward a specific goal, that being the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

There's another type of "press" that we need to be constantly aware of also. A missionary from Kenya visited our church a while back and made a profound statement, "What is birthed in prayer must be sustained in prayer!" In other words, when you realize a victory in response to prayer, you must keep that victory bathed in prayer. You can't afford to let up simply because you have the victory!

How many times we, as Christians,...

"I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah." (Psalm 143:6)

If you have ever been through the desert, you have an idea of what a "thirsty land" looks like. The ground is parched, cracked, and its cries for water are nearly audible!

Our hearts are much like that desert ground, nearly audibly crying for the presence of the Lord. Without Him, the heart is parched, cracked, and dry and non-productive.

Today, in your devotional time, reach out to the Lord and allow your thirst for Him to grow in intensity as never before. The stronger the thirst, the more of Him it will take to quench that thirst. The more of Him you have, the less room there is for the world and its baggage.

Stretch forth your hands unto Him. Allow your thirst for Him to drive you closer day by day! Remember, "in His presence is fullness of joy" ....

"And Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." (2 Corinthians 7:10)

There is a vast difference between admitting or confessing your sin and feeling true sorrow for your sin. In fact, in light of this verse, we may have unconfessed sin our lives.

A heart that is truly seeking the Lord will feel a sense of sorrow for sin. We can look at the children of Israel for an example. Exodus 33:4 contains a key word – "mourn."

"When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments."

The children of Israel were a very expressive people. When they celebrated, they really celebrated. When they mourned, they really mourned. The word "mourn" in this verse speaks expressly about wailing and lamenting with great sorrow. Why were they mourning? Because they...