Enjoy the View Jeff Olson Psalm 148:1–6 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Psalm 148:3 Sunsets. People tend to stop what they are doing to watch them . . . snap pictures of them . . . enjoy the beautiful view. My wife and I watched the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico recently. A crowd of people surrounded us, mostly strangers who had gathered at the beach to watch this nightly phenomenon. At the moment the sun fully slipped below the horizon, the crowd broke out with applause. Why do people respond like that? The book of Psalms offers a clue. The psalmist wrote of God ordering the sun to praise its Creator (Ps. 148:3). And wherever the rays of the sun shine across the earth, people are moved to praise along with them. The beauty that comes to us through nature speaks to our souls like few things do. It not only has the capacity to stop us in our tracks and captivate our attention, it also has the power to turn our focus to the Mak...

It Matters What You See Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not (1 John 3:1). Our opening scripture begins with the word O“Behold,” which means, “See!” The same word is used in 2 Corinthians 5:17; it says,“Therefore  if any man be in  Christ, he is a new  creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Now that you’re in Christ, you ought to “see” that all things are now new. If that isn’t what you’re seeing, it means you’re looking at the wrong thing. You’re not supposed to see the old, weak, sickly, poor and struggling “you”; that person doesn’t exist anymore. You must see yourself differently now. The word “see” is akin to the Hebrew word “chazah” in the Old Testament. It means to see from a spiri...

READY FOR JUDGMENT DAY -REVELATION 20:1-15 KEY VERSE: "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them" (Revelation 20:11). Many live as if they would not give account for their actions and conducts in this world. Driven by selfish interests, they act as if they no longer have a conscience. They defy constituted authority; they trample on the rights of other people. And most times, they get away with their actions. But it will not always be so: a day of reckoning will eventually come once you shut your eyes in death. On that day, there will be no hiding place for anyone, irrespective of class and status, material well-being and popular acclaim. Once the judgment throne of God is set, all men that ever lived on earth, both small and great, would heed the inescapable summons to appear before God and be judged. All will stand before the Great White Throne to account for their a...

In Him You Have Peace He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1). Luke 21:25-26, Jesus said, in the last days, there’ll be perplexity of nations, men’s hearts failing them for fear. We’re living in a day when there’s so much fear. There’s terror within and without. There’s so much darkness, wickedness, and peril. In spite of all these, the words of the Master in John 16:33 are profound and comforting. He said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that  in  me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Notice the expression, “that in me ye might have peace….” This means that it makes no difference the extent of darkness, wickedness or terror in today’s world; in Christ, you have power over every crisis. You don’t have to care about the enemy and what he will, and can do; the adversary isn’t a factor! You’re in Christ; and you’re ther...

At Home With Jesus Amy Boucher Pye John 14:1–4 I go and prepare a place for you.  John 14:3 “There’s no place like home.” The phrase reflects a deeply rooted yearning within us to have a place to rest, be, and belong. Jesus addressed this desire for rootedness when, after He and His friends had their last supper together, He spoke about His impending death and resurrection. He promised that although He would go away, He would come back for them. And He would prepare a room for them. A dwelling-place. A home. He made this place for them—and us—through fulfilling the requirements of God’s law when He died on the cross as the sinless man. He assured His disciples that if He went to the trouble of creating this home, that of course He would come back for them and not leave them alone. They didn’t need to fear or be worried about their lives, whether on earth or in heaven. We can take comfort and assurance from Jesus’...

SIGHT AND VISION TEXT: JOHN 4:35 BIBLE TEXT: "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest"  (John 4:35). People see many things but take notice of few and often ignoring the most important. Multitudes of sinners are seen every day around us and we hear the sound of the Master's voice urging, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."  (Mark 16:15). Our passage indicates how wrongly, Jesus' disciples saw the sinners around them. To them, those sinners were normal people and had ample opportunities to repent of their sins and be converted at a convenient time. They did not see any urgency in preaching to them for their salvation, yet the Lord saw the field as ripe for harvesting. Reinhard Bonnke said, "Preaching the Gospel is like plugging into a power socket. The Gospel can't be used until it is s...

Today’s Scripture "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13, NKJV) The Greatest Love of All In our culture today, so many people are confused about what love is. We love pizza, movies and sports, but we also love our family or spouse. If we look to the Word of God, we see God’s definition of love. First Corinthians 13 tells us that “love is patient and kind. It does not envy nor boast. It is not proud. It is not rude. It does not seek its own way, is not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not rejoice in evil, but rejoices in the truth. Love believes, hopes and endures. Love never fails.” This is how God responds to us, and this is how we should respond to the people in our lives—with patience, kindness, hope, humility and love. Scripture tells us that God is love, and His character never changes! Today and every day, know that God loves you with an everlasting love. He ...