Episode 129

Commit to the LORD whatever you do,and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

When we live out our faith it impacts every area of our lives. Everything is in God’s hand. We do our best but we always remember that he is in control.

Episode 128

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.
Proverbs 10:19

Words are both alive and powerful. They can bring joy pleasure, pride, happiness but they can also bring hurt, pain, disappointment and create anger. Solomon reminds us that the wise will hold their tongue and avoid sin.

Episode 127

There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. Proverbs 6:16-19

Are we displeasing God by the choices we make? Are we displeasing Him in how we use what he has given? We look not at others and their actions but in our own hearts, our motives and our actions. We ask the Lord's help in letting go of every evil desire, thought, evil imagination that we secretly harbor against others.

Episode 126

My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. Proverbs 5:1-2

Solomon shows it all, the sweetness of the infidelity, the exposure and the ruin. Yes, we can rebuild but some of the damage done may not be repairable. We must consider the price to be paid for betrayal.

Episode 125

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
Proverbs 4:7

A man of understanding will study and apply the teaching of the Lord. Yes, wisdom is the principle thing.

Episode 124
Wisdom makes life pleasant and leads us safely along. Wisdom is a life-giving tree, the source of happiness for all who hold on to her. Proverbs 3:17-18 Contemporary
English Version
It is not wealth of substance that brings true happiness but wealth of wisdom and all wisdom begins with God.

Episode 123

Let hte wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance. Proverbs 1:5

To know the Word of God is not enough. To be aware of the scriptures and their message is at best incomplete knowledge. To hear in the scriptures refers to the active response to the words of wisdom.

Episode 122

Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalms 124:8

David knew the power of the name. He understood that far above all names the power of God’s name was unparallel. Episode 122

Episode 121

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalms 119:11

The psalmist had a treasure, one that he hid securely where it could not be destroyed. The Word of the Lord is so precious that it must be guarded and protected.

Episode 120

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
Psalms 96:11

David loved to praise God. In fact even the earth gives praise to God. Should we not also praise Him?

Episode 119

The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble.I will rescue and honor them.
Psalms 91:14-15 Living Bible

The psalmist has passed into that haven with God. Praise came not only from the lips but welled up from the inside until like a dam weaken from trying to hold back too much water,he would burst except he praised his Father.

Episode 118

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Psalms 84:11

New International Version

The Light of the Lord enables us to see ourselves, undone and unholy but the light also guides us to our Lord who will through His saving grace forgive us our sins. He will light our path that we may walk securely in this way

His anger lasts for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalms 30:5 (Living Bible)

If there were no sorrow, how could we know the pureness of the Lord’s joy? If there were no pain and sickness how could we appreciate, as David, our own deliverance and healing? If there were no challenges, no resistance to our efforts to do good how would we become both strong and bold warriors? If there were no night, how could we fully appreciate the light of the morning?

Episode 116
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever. Psalms 23:6

We cannot avoid or loose our pursuer. We have been identified and we may as well accept the fact. Goodness and mercy will find us. They will overtake us. They will provide the comfort, the encouragement the hope that we need, in this life. Let’s prepare ourselves there is no escape.

Episode 115

Perhaps you are in the valley today, injured , pained, suffering the loss of someone you love or somehow mistaking the shadow for reality. Don’t stop; keep moving forward, your valley is what you are passing through on your way to your destination.

Episode 114

Psalms 23, easily the most popular and well know of the Psalms, has spoken to the heart of men and women since the words were first written. Even those who have never seen sheep can close their eyes and imagine what it would be like to live under the watchful eye of a shepherd who faithfully and lovingly cares for the flock.

Episode 113

O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." 2 Chronicles 20:12

In a beautiful acknowledgement of our dependence on the Lord Jehoshaphat says quite honestly and sincerely, “We do not know what to do but our eyes are upon you. "

Episode 112

Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:42-43

Two thieves one to the right and one to the left and one without knowing showed for all ages why Christ came. He came for us all but He also came for each one of us.

Episode 111

But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head Psalms 3:3

The sadness and disappointment David felt when betrayed by his own son is hard to imagine but David took comfort in knowing that God, his God, his shield and the lifter of his head had not and would not abandon him.

Episode 110

… the Law of the Lord makes them happy, and they think about it day and night. Psalms 1:2 Contemporary English Version

But His delight, His pleasure and our joy is in the law of the Law of the Lord. How wonderful to study God’s Word and to mediate upon the goodness of the Lord.

Episode 109

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalms 1:3

Can you imagine, a beautiful fruitful tree growing on a riverbank. Seasons come and they go but that tree is there. When the drought comes and the waters are low the deep roots of the tree manage to somehow still draw strength out of the river. You are that tree.

Episode 108

My ears have heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Job 42: 5 New International Version

God is too great for us to comprehend or understand. We must trust his great wisdom and love. We must trust that somehow the unbelievable, the unjust, the unfair, the unbearable, will all work for our good and the Lord himself will shelter us safely in his arms because he loves us.

Tried By The Fire

But He knows the way that I take [He has concern for it, appreciates, and pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold [pure and luminous].Job 23:10 Amplified Bible

Is your life filled with challenges that you don’t understand, pain you feel you cannot endure, failures that should have been successes, and a feeling of isolation from the only one who can truly answer your questions? Take heart, God’s ways are not our ways Stand fast for in the end your life too can be a shining example of what faith, fidelity, and love of God above all else can do.

Episode 106

Does God twist justice: Does the Almighty twist what is right? Job 8:3 New Living Translation

Job knew that he was not hiding sin despite how it appeared. His frienemy, part friend part enemy truthfully stated that God does not twist justice. Bildad stated a truth and somehow drew a wrong conclusion. Things were not as they appeared. It was not because of Job’s sins that God had permitted this calamity; it was become of Job’s righteousness.

Episode 105

Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. Job 1:20

Faced with the greatest challenges and losses of his life Job chooses to remain faithful and worship God.

Episode 104

And Esther said, the adversary and enemy [is] this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. Esther 7:6
Respect may be demanded from others but only the giver can sincerely honor persons in authority. It is the gift from the heart that really matters.

Episode 103

And he brought up Hadassah, that [is], Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid [was] fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. Esther 2:7-8

Our destiny rests in the hands of God. The short term circumstances may seem unfair, unjust, and may well be so but God takes the substance of our pain and failures and weaves it into a beautiful tapestry that becomes our lives.

Episode 102

But when the attendants delivered the king's command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger. Esther 1:12

Being right is not enough, we must also have a right attitude, a right and prayful heart and be willing to act with courage but also humality.

Episode 101

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17

We have all been there before, trying to change, to do the right thing. Then it happens. We make mistakes, we fall down. Sometimes we just want to give up but this is a new day. This time is different. The Lord has given us a new determination.

Episode 100

Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!"
Nehemiah 8:10b

We have reasons to be sorrowful. We have reasons to feel down cast but in spite of what is going on around us, and sometimes even in us we ask the Lord to give us joy, that precious joy of Jesus Christ.

Episode 99
He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law. Nehemiah 8:3(New Living Translation)

The time had come for total obedience which cannot come without understanding and commitment.

Episode 98
I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works. Psalms 9:1

We learn to praise him not just when things go well but when things are discouraging, when our hearts are broken and when we don’t feel like praising him.

Episode 97
Then I said, “O LORD, God of heaven, and the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. Nehemiah 1:5-6a (New Living Translation)

Redemption always begins with the painful reality of who we truly are and where we truly are. We are people who have transgressed God’s law and who are in desperate need of God’s forgiveness.

Episode 96
Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 2 Timothy 2: 3-4 American Standard Version

We are in a spiritual warfare. The action is no less real and the results are no less critical than any war we have seen or heard about. The people of God must be ready to move with power and in authority to gain the victory that is so essential.

Episode 95
Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work. They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their aims. Ezra 4:4-5a (New Living Translation)

Why has God permitted a holding pattern? Perhaps it is not about God, maybe it is about us. Will we continue to pray, continue to believe even when we are holding our ground but not progressing? Can we allow God to build us in this time of challenge? Can God trust us to stand still and not throw our tools down in frustration and walk away? Can we serve God even when we cannot feel Him?

Episode 94

For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, "Our God protects all those who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him." Ezra 8:22 New Living Translation

Maybe not today or even tomorrow but we too will be faced with the reality of life in this world. We too must decide if we will stand for the Lord or if we will fold our testimony up and put it away holding our head down in shame.

Episode 93

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing. Ezra 1:1

God will use whomever he chooses, whenever he chooses to achieve His good end.

Episode 92

Sing to the LORD a new song. Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.... Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp. (Psalms 149:1,3) New Living Translation

What a trademark. Throughout history David is known as a praiser! What a praiser he was. His love for God was not only a matter of personal devotion it was a matter of public adoration as well.

Episode 91

Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us.
Hebrews 12:1 Contemporary English Version

God’s destiny for Akhwari that day was to be a flesh and blood reminder to everyone who takes a fall in life. Falls happen. No one is insulated from the pain this life can bring. Life is a marathon and we can’t afford to stay down . We will run this race.

Episode 90

Psalm 34:2
My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

To see the world in true perspective is to see that none of us have any right to be proud or high minded. All that we are is through the grace of God. We must honor Him for all He has done and not take credit for the Lord’s work in our lives.

Episode 89

I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging bread.
Psalms 37:25

A mature Christian shares advice on the Christian life gained from a long life of service. Every time life and circumstances knocked her down God would pick her up. and open a door. She knew God would never leave her alone.

Episode 88

And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land. 2Ch 22:12

This is the true story of Joash, the boy king of destiny.
Joash’s life is saved while other children around him are murdered. Athaliah set out to destroy the entire royal family but God touched the heart of Jehoshabetath who rescued Joash, hiding him in God’s temple for six years. When the time came he was crowned King.

Episode 87
But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!” Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the LORD.II Chronicles 20:17-18 New Living Translation
Nations as well as individuals should seek God. Abraham Lincoln is especially remember for his plea during the civil war when he asked the Senate to join him in repentance , fasting and prayer for America. “We have forgotten God.” He told them.

Episode 86
But Micaiah said, "As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what my God says." II Chronicles 18:13 NIV
The crowd is not always right and there is not always safety in numbers. There is safety in the truths of Jesus Christ.

Episode 85

The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions. II Chronicles 10:13,14

Leaders should seek out the will of God, the wisdom of God, the patience of God and perform their tasks with the love of God operative in their lives sharing that love with others.

Episode 84

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalms 133:1


Unity and peace are beautiful gifts that make life fuller and more meaningful, gifts that every family should have.

Episode 83
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. II Thessalonians 1:11

Even when captured, sent to prison, tortured, her legs and feet broken, and permanent scares left on her body, Irene Sendler would not reveal anything about her work.

Episode 82

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Proverbs 9:10 (New Living Translation)

Start at the beginning, learn to love and fear God and he will indeed grant wisdom and grant insight and understanding beyond your years and imagination.

Episode 81

When all the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard of everything the Philistines had done to Saul, all their valiant men went and took the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones under the great tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days. I Chronicles 10:11-12


The valiant are not there for the glory, they are there to get the job done. In the time of trouble God will bring forth the valiant men unafraid to risk all for the cause that God has laid on their heart.

Episode 80

He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. II Kings 22:2

Many of us face great challenges , some of us are at the crossroads of life. We know that the decision made at this point can impact us for years to come. What direction? What is the next step?