William Booth

Unlike Us

There's a tendency to treat God as if He is just like us -- to think of God as if He's our peer. While we must ever cling to the fact that we're made in God's likeness we dare not overlook that He is…

Hosea 11:9 (NLT)

The Believer's Refuge

The triplets of trials, tribulations, and tragedies will inevitably come. Some come as a consequence of our own failings and foibles. Still others come because as members of the human family we happen…

God's Heart

God has no desire and takes no pleasure in the wicked perishing. Rather God's passion is that all would embrace righteousness and live. Our Heavenly Father waits and even yearns for prodigals to come…

Ezekiel 18:23 (NLT)

Bragging Rights

There is nothing that we have a right to boast in for all that we have and are is derivative - not solely due to us or solely dependent on us. Other heads, hands, and hearts have contributed to who we…

Jeremiah 9:24 (NLT)

No Accident! No Surprise!

God's proclamation through Jeremiah that He "knew," "formed," "set," and "appointed" us renders null and void for all time the notion that any of us gets here by accident. No we get here by the providence…

Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT)

Readiness & Nearness

Isaiah's call to seek the Lord while He may be found and to call upon Him while He is near is a warning to us. God is never lost nor is God ever truly distant so Isaiah's alert says more about us than…

Isaiah 55:6 (NLT)

Inextricably Linked

In this chapter Isaiah links two key spiritual truths. They are inseparable in God's economy. Each is canceled out without the other. Those truths are righteousness and peace. Peace with God is not possible…

Isaiah 48:22 (NLT)

Hands-On God

Isaiah 45:7 clearly affirms that God's hand is active in the affairs of humankind. God didn't abandon creation or His children once everything was set in motion. Thus, whatever comes our way -- the blessings…

Nourishment for the Soul

Isaiah (30:20) suggests that God offers a strange and somewhat unpleasant menu for nourishing the soul...adversity and suffering. It is through these less palate pleasing foods for the soul that God's…

There's A Place for Us

What is utterly incredible about the Isaiah call narrative (Isa. 6), often overlooked I think, is the fact that God has a created place for us in carrying out His purposes. God, who can do all things…

Abide With Me

"Change and decay in all around I see. O Thou who changest not abide with me. " The prophet Isaiah correctly predicts that the terminal destiny of all things including human pride. They pass away; they…

Isaiah 2:17 (NLT)

Choices Count

The warning given in Ecclesiastes (11:9-10) to young people about being accountable to God for their decisions underscores the fact that choices count. In those growing up years when foolish mistakes…

A False Premise

The premise that one must wait for the conditions for anything in life -- physical, spiritual, financial, social, etc. -- to be ideal, perfect, or just right is a false one. Never or should I say rarely…

An Unimpeachable Truth

It is a sad but true commentary that most of the things we pour our lives into, and spend our days doing are a waste and are to be equated with chasing the wind. Why do we chase after that which in the…

Ecclesiastes 2:11 (NLT)

The Company You Can't Choose

From my very early years I can remember my parents drumming into my head that I should be careful of the company I kept. Often a special warning was sounded when some "good" boy or girl who got into "bad"…

Proverbs 22:24 (NLT), Proverbs 22:25 (NLT)

Bringing Tears To God's Eyes

I know that God is a Spirit and, therefore, is not like humankind. Thus, God, though having the capacity to feel, doesn't weep as we do except as He did through the God-Man, Jesus, who wept. However,…

Double Standards

The writer of Proverbs notes God's displeasure with those who cheat others, who rip off their brothers and sisters. Deceit is anathema to the godly life. Integrity is its hallmark. Yet, it must be acknowledged…

Proverbs 20:23 (NLT)

Gray Hair and Grace

The writer of this proverb is right about godly living being a factor in coming to one's latter years with gray hairs. Surely walking with God makes the difference in living a long life. If godly living…

Proverbs 16:31 (NLT)

Diffusing Anger

I can never read this proverb without thinking of my beloved mother now long gone to be with her Heavenly Father. This was among the precepts she encouraged her children to live by. When I have adhered…

Proverbs 15:1 (NLT)

The Show-off

The ones who claim to know the most, i.e., the show-offs, are likely the ones who don't. Usually it is the quiet, reserved person who has the most telling insights into life's vital issues. The individuals…

Proverbs 12:23 (NLT)

Beware

Solomon's warning is right on the money. Strangely Solomon, himself, didn't take his own advice. In any case Solomon is right about not taking the power of lust forgranted or underestimating its coy seductive…

Low Points

No matter how great our faith or how strong our commitment low points inevitably come to us in our life's journey. Those dark nights of the soul find us feeling abandon, forsaken, and despondent. While…

Psalm 142:2 (NLT), Psalm 142:3 (NLT)

Turning the Table on Evil

David hits the nail on the head about overcoming evil in this petition. What he requested was a prophylactic/preventive measure, i.e., avoiding drifting toward evil and taking part in its acts. In other…

Psalm 141:4 (NLT)

Who Is On The Lord's Side?

The Psalmist draws a line in the spiritual sands of time when asserting that God is on the side of the powerless and defenseless. That obviously means that God will be their advocate and ensure that they…

Psalm 140:12 (NLT)

A Spiritual Checkup

Just as we submit to an annual checkup from a physician so also we need to submit, perennially, to a spiritual checkup from God. No one is a better expert on the nature and evidence of sin's presence…

Psalm 139:23 (NLT), Psalm 139:24 (NLT)