"I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys." (Song of Solomon 2:1)

The Rose of Sharon and Lily of the Valleys, named to remind us of the beauty and sweetness we find in His relationship with Jesus. The rose, fragrance sweeter than honey, chief of flowers. The lily, preferred by our Christ as clothing even above that of Solomon in all his glory.

Sharon is probably where the best roses grew and in most plenty; some have termed it the "rose of the field" depicting the gospel of salvation for all. A common salvation, that whosoever will may come and gather the rose-buds of privileges, comforts, sweetness, fragrance, that grow in the covenant of grace.

He is not a show rose, not one to be locked up in a garden, but one in whom all may come and find comfort.

He is a lily for the whiteness, and a lily of the valleys for sweetness. For when we are walking...

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)

Fear, the enemy of our faith, is knocking on the door of our hearts in its attempt to kill, steal, and destroy our confidence in God's protection.

Recently, I've had an opportunity to learn first-hand the difference between fear and faith. They are direct opposites; one cannot live in fear and in faith at the same time, just as it cannot be night and day at the same time. You either live and move and have your being in fear or in faith.

Fear erodes the foundation of faith, quickly and thoroughly if not soon recognized and dealt with. During these uncertain times, it would be so easy for us to fall prey to fear, causing our focus to turn from God to the uncertainty of the future. But, our future IS certain, whether...

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8)

We live in a world of change. People and things are constantly changing. However, even though we are surrounded by an ever-changing environment, God never changes. Actually, we can't even talk of what God "has been" or what God "will be" because HE IS. To say that God is unchanging is to say that He never differs from Himself.

Because God cannot change, His promises cannot change. Because God cannot change, His purposes cannot change. Because God cannot change, His provisions cannot change. Because God cannot change, His personality cannot change. Because God cannot change, His Word cannot change. Because God cannot change, WE must change.

How can you change? In what ways do you see God moving you into position for change?

Spend some time today and ask Him how He would have you change....

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." (Hebrews 11:13)

Faith is a strange thing. It carries us through rough times, allows us to build hope on nothing but a promise, gives substance to the things for which we are believing God, and provides an avenue for total trust in God in areas that we may otherwise be weak. Faith is a small word with a big meaning.

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews has been called the "Faith Hall of Fame" by Bible scholars simply because it is written testimony of the patriarchs and their unwavering faith in the God whom we love and serve. Many of our forefathers believed God for things He had promised to them, yet some of them died not having received the promise. But, they never stopped...

"So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will show forth thy praise to all generations." (Psalm 79:13)

The Lord has been good to us. So very good! All that we ever need, He's been there to supply. He washed our sins away. He turned our darkness into day. He has abundantly blessed us.

Many people have memories they hold dear to their hearts about a grandparent holding them on their lap and telling stories. These dear elders took every opportunity afforded them to pass on family history, telling of the days past. Very often they would include in their storyline the rich heritage of God's love which abounded in their own home as they were growing up. They would plant a seed of hunger for the things of God into the life of that precious youngster sitting in their lap.

Now, however, many of us who were once that youngster have children...

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Fear is one of the strongest emotions to control. Fear comes in many forms. It causes nervousness, timidity, procrastination, intimidation, tears, laughter . . . and the list goes on and on. Fear can even cause physical problems AND physical problems can cause fear.

Fear is a tool in the enemy's hand, but we have the ability to stop it for if we didn't, the Lord would never have told us to "fear not."

God has given us the remedy for fear. "Be strong and of good courage." Keep your attitude right, your eyes fixed on Him rather than on the situation or circumstance that would bring you fear.

God promises never to leave us nor forsake us. What more assurance could we ask for? What better way to free us from fear? If we don't have to worry about Him turning His back on us, then what could possibly cause us to fear? If our God is for us and not against us, whom shall we fear?...

"And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments" (Daniel 9:4)

The New International Version translates Daniel's confession as "O Lord, the great and awesome God . . ."

There was a pastor who had been married several years with no children. They had applied for adoption and finally the call came . . . there was a perfect, beautiful baby girl waiting for them. They were thrilled, to say the least. This little girl soon became the apple of her daddy's eye and could do no wrong. Everywhere he went she was with him and, of course, each little thing she learned he showed off. One day they were in line at a fast food restaurant and she had just learned how to say the word "awesome." But when she said it, she assumed this cherub-like...

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2)

The Psalmist, through the picturesque words penned at a time when he was awesomely aware of God's presence, was probably speaking about the 'hill' on which the temple was built, Mount Moriah. When he was at a distance, he would look toward the sanctuary, knowing that from his help came, from the secret of his tabernacle. He knew his help and strength came from the Lord . . . he had no doubt.

We must all encourage our confidence in God with the fact that He made heaven and earth, and He who did that can do anything. He made the world out of nothing, and by a mere spoken word the world was created.

Regardless of your situation today, a mere word spoken into your circumstance can and will make a way where there seems to be no way. Not only is He our Waymaker, He's the source of our strength, He's the strength of our life, He's holy, wonderful, marvelous, glorious, magnificent and righteous, and mighty!...

"But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." (Romans 14:10)

As humans, it is so easy for us to get caught up in everyone else's wrongdoings and neglect to see our own errors. We all struggle with this problem to one degree or another—it is doubtful that any of us are exempt.

A familiar Sunday School song gives us cause to stop and consider: "Be careful little hands what you do . . . be careful little hands what you do. For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little hands what you do!"

Oh, if we, as adults, would only take a few minutes to meditate on this simple truth. Take care for what we do, pay attention to our own faults and stop being so quick to judge others. Be careful . . . what we do.

How many times have we been misjudged or our actions misinterpreted? Once, twice, a few times, or many times? It is easy to assume we've been the wronged more than once in our lifetimes. But the question we need to ask ourselves is this…How many times have we misjudged someone else or misinterpreted someone's actions? ...

"Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified." (Psalm 40:16)

After they had gotten the ark situated and the tabernacle built, the Levites assumed their work was done and began to walk off. David immediately stopped them, telling them that their work had only just begun. You can hear the Levites complaining to David: "But, David! We just walked miles with the ark on our shoulders; we've prepared and sacrificed thousands of animals to the Lord. Aren't we done yet? And besides, there's no veil or Holy of Holies!"

David told them, "No. I didn't restore the Levitical office only to have the ark abandoned here like it was abandoned in Shiloh. Put your ephods back on. Get out your psalteries and harps again. Some of you can go eat lunch, but the rest of you are staying right here!"

The...