Tag Archives: what does the bible say about

January 28, 2026 · 6:06 AM

Source Or Supplement

Is God your source or your supplement? In 1 Samuel 15 God sent King Saul to defeat the Amalekites. Instead of destroying everything the way he was supposed to, he spared the king, the best sheep, oxen and calves. When God sent Samuel to rebuke him, Saul said they spared them in order to sacrifice them to God. If you listen to Saul in this passage, he never rejects God. He believes in God, talks about God, uses the right lingo with the prophet, but only obeys selectively. It becomes clear that God is only a supplement to his life. He only does what is right in front of the prophet and only calls out to God when he needs something. Because his heart never fully committed to the Lord or His ways, he was rejected by God as king.

If you fast forward a few chapters to 23, you’ll see David, who was a man after God’s own heart. The Philistines had attacked a city and robbed them of the grain. Immediately David goes to God in prayer to find out if he should go after them. The Lord told him yes, but his men were afraid. Instead of being swayed by the opinions of others, he double checked with God. He went and fought the Philistines and rescued that city. God was not an accessory in David’s life or someone he prayed to in emergencies. David prayed, praised and sought the Lord often. He didn’t do much without inquiring of the Lord first. God was the source of his life. He wasn’t perfect and even sinned greatly. The difference in these two men was how and where they positioned God in their lives. One was rejected, the other was elevated despite his sin.

In Habakkuk 3:19 we see the prayer of another person who lived with God as their source. It says, “The Lord God is my strength [my source of courage, my invincible army]; He has made my feet [steady and sure] like hinds’ feet And makes me walk [forward with spiritual confidence] on my high places [of challenge and responsibility]” (AMP). Can you see the difference between someone who God is just a supplement to their life and someone who sees Him as the source? We can’t just apply parts of the Bible and only live for the Lord when others are watching. We can’t just call on Him when we need something. He must be the most vital relationship in our life. Have you been using God as a last resort or your first? Do you speak the right words in front of the right people or live them out when no one is watching? The answer to these will tell you if He is your source or simply a supplement to your life.

Photo by David Kanigan on Pexels.

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January 27, 2026 · 6:04 AM

Presence Over Provision

Jim Cymbala, pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle, tells the story of a time early on in their church history where he was under a lot of financial pressures. The church was small, the building needed repairs and he was exhausted trying to make everything work. To solve the issues, he stepped into a business venture. He admits that he didn’t pray about it first, he assumed it was from God because it looked good, and then the venture collapsed. He said that he rushed ahead of God and thought the opportunity was the answer he was looking for. God used failure and conflict to return him to where he was supposed to be. He warns believers to follow where God leads and not where opportunity leads. It’s something a lot of us face. We see a golden opportunity and assume God is in it, but He’s actually trying to lead us somewhere else. It’s important to seek Him first and plant roots where He tells us to.

In Genesis 26, Isaac had left the land God had promised to his father Abraham because of a famine. While away, he increased in wealth and possessions to the point the king was intimidated by him and asked him to leave. He left and camped in a place that looked like it had provision for him, but conflict followed. He moved again and faced more conflict. He went to Beersheba where God had met Abraham, and God met him there too. God made the same covenant with him that He did with his father. Then verse 25 says, “So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord [in prayer]. He pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well” (AMP). He realized he had been chasing what the land offered and not where God was leading. When he found the place of presence and God’s provision, he pitched his tent permanently and dug a well to set up future generations in that place. The closed doors he faced led him to the place God wanted him.

Psalm 37:3 says, “Trust [rely on and have confidence] in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and feed [securely] on His faithfulness.” Like Abraham, Isaac and so many others, our first step is to trust the Lord and not our circumstances. He is our source and our provider. Next we are to do good where he plants us. Isaac built and altar and dug a well. He pointed others to the Lord and provided blessings to others through the well. When we follow God’s presence instead of earthly provisions, we can dwell where He plants us securely. That doesn’t mean we won’t face conflicts or problems. It means we can have peace in them knowing that He’s working things out for our good and fighting battles for us. He will be faithful to His promise no matter what comes our way. We must rely on Him though. Look for where He is leading you rather than certain opportunities. Ask Him if He is in those opportunities or not. If He is, then follow them. If not, keep moving. When you follow His presence, He will provide what you need.

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January 26, 2026 · 5:34 AM

Wisdom Is Calling

I’ve seen several interviews that Captain Sully gave regarding the Miracle on the Hudson. I’ve also seen reenactments and clips from the movie that was made about that day. From the moment the birds took out both engines, alarms started going off. They read manuals, put out a distress call and had conversations about procedures all while the computer is calling out to them. It was a chaotic noisy environment. Every voice was telling him to turn back to LaGuardia, but wisdom was telling him to land in the Hudson. Afterwards the incident was investigated by the NTSB and it was determined that he made the on,y correct choice. Anything else would have resulted in a crash, yet because he listened to wisdom everyone survived.

In 1Kings 12, Solomon’s son became king of Israel. The people came and asked him to relieve the workload they had been under during Solomon’s reign. With pressure mounting, he consulted with his father’s advisors. They told him it was wise to listen to the people and give them a break from all the construction projects. Then he invited more voices in. They were his friends who were also young and inexperienced. They told him to do more than his father and increase the workload. Verse 13 says, “The king answered the people harshly and ignored the advice which the elders had given him” (AMP). In a room full of voices, he ignored the voices of wisdom and paid the price of having a revolt and divided kingdom.

In Proverbs 1:20-21, his father Solomon tried to teach him, “Wisdom shouts in the street, She raises her voice in the markets; She calls out at the head of the noisy streets [where large crowds gather]; At the entrance of the city gates she speaks her words.” When we need wisdom most, it’s often noisy and chaotic like the entrance to an ancient city. Lots of voices and chaos calling out trying to distract you, but wisdom is there among them speaking to you. Listening to her is critical to your success and future. Even in the most pressure filled, chaotic moments you can call out to God to give you wisdom and help you to know what to do. James 1:5 says He will give it to you. However, like the people mentioned above, only you can choose to act on it or not. Wisdom is calling out to you today. Take time to listen and do what she says.

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January 23, 2026 · 5:56 AM

Following God

When I first hear that David was a man after God’s own heart, it challenged me to want to live that way. As I’ve looked at his life trying to determine what that might be, one of the strongest characteristics I’ve seen is that He wanted to follow where God led. Most of us, like Saul, have our own ideas and agenda of where we should go so we quit following and start leading. We do see that with David or other great people in the Bible. They were all willing to follow God. Moses said he wouldn’t go anywhere without God’s presence leading him. The ones who followed God closely aligned themselves with His desires. Are you following where God is leading or trying to go your own way and asking Him to follow you?

Here are some Psalms about following God:

1. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.

Psalms 63:8 NKJV

2. You are faithful to all those who follow your ways and keep your word.

Psalms 103:18 TPT

3. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

John 10:27 NLT

4. I will follow his commands and I’ll not sin by ceasing to follow him, no matter what.

Psalms 18:21 TPT

5. Lord, I have so many enemies! Lead me to do your will; make your way plain for me to follow.

Psalm 5:8 GNT

Photo by Emir Anık on Pexels

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January 22, 2026 · 5:30 AM

Following God’s Plan

One of the things that bothers me is when someone asks me for advice on how to handle something, and then they don’t take the advice. I’ve shown them what to do, but they either didn’t want to do the work, like the things I told them or had someone else tell them something different to do. Either way, when they’re still stuck in the situation and come back for help, my mind wants to turn them away. However, somewhere in the exchange, my compassion overrides my pride and I try to direct them to the right path out of their situation. A lot of times they didn’t get in the situation overnight, and they’re not going to get out of it overnight, no matter how badly they want to.

I find myself doing the same thing to God though. I run to Him with my problem or circumstance i want out of. He directs me to His Word, but i don’t always like the prescription. Instead of listening, i try other things, other ideas or anything besides what His path out of it is. It’s amazing how many times we all go to God with a problem, sometimes of our own doing, seek His path out of it, and then tell Him what we’re going to do. What we’re really saying is, “God, i know you have a plan for me, but I want to do it this way. Will you please bless it and let me do this my way?” How can we expect God’s blessings when we’re telling Him what we’re going to do instead of seeking His plan and path?

David, who was known as a man after God’s own heart didn’t approach God that way. In Psalms 25:4 he prayed, “Direct me, Yahweh, throughout my journey so I can experience your plans for my life. Reveal the life-paths that are pleasing to you” (TPT). If we want to experience all the blessings God has for us, we’re going to have to submit to His plan and walk on His path. God has no problem revealing His plan and path for how our lives should go. It’s up to us to obey and to stay on that path. When we get off of it is when we experience a lot of pain. Staying on God’s path doesn’t mean you’re not going to experience hardship, pain or set backs. It means you’ll have His blessings, guidance and protection through them. He has a plan and a path for you, but it’s up to you to stay on it and follow it.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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January 21, 2026 · 5:45 AM

Keep Digging

I love reading stories of George Müeller. He was a British evangelist and cared for over 10,000 orphans in his lifetime. There are many stories of miracles that happened because of his faith and consistent prayer life. One of the stories I read said that he had five friends he wanted to come to Jesus. He committed to praying for them daily. After one year of praying, one gave their heart to the Lord. After ten years, two more accepted Jesus. After twenty five years of praying for his friends, the fourth one came to know Jesus. George died still praying for his fifth friend. That one decided to follow Jesus after the funeral, fifty years after the first prayer. He never stopped trying to get them to Jesus.

I also love the story in Mark 2. Jesus had returned to Capernaum and began to teach the Word of God to people in a home. The Bible says there were so many people there to see Him, that not only was the house full, you couldn’t get near the door. That’s when 4 people showed up carrying their paralyzed friend on a mat. Verse 4 says, “When they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus; and when they had dug out an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying” (AMP). These four were going to do anything to bring their friend to Jesus. They were relentless and Jesus honored their faith. In fact, the first thing He did for their friend was to forgive his sins.

James 5:16 says, “The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].” I don’t know how persistent you have been trying to get your family member, spouse or child to Jesus, but don’t stop. George Müeller kept praying persistently for fifty years and God honored it. For the paralytic, it was the faith of his friends that Jesus saw. They wouldn’t let a crowd, walls or a roof come between them and Jesus. Don’t be intimidated by whatever obstacles you see. Keep praying. Your fervent, persistent prayers are having a powerful effect in the unseen. Keep digging through that roof until you breakthrough and get them to Jesus.

Photo by Google Gemini

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January 20, 2026 · 6:06 AM

Trading Inheritances

In Genesis 12:1 God told Abraham, “Go away from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you” (AMP). What God was asking him was more than to leave his home. God was also asking him to walk away from his inheritance. In that time period, your inheritance was everything. It was your security for your future. Abraham left on a promise with trust in God. When the Lord had brought him to the place He was leading him, He said, “I am the [same] Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land as an inheritance.” God not only promised to give him descendants, He also gave him a greater inheritance than had he stayed at home.

In Matthew 19 a young man approached Jesus asking what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the commandments. He told Jesus that he had done that his whole life. Then Jesus said, “If you wish to be perfect [that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].” The next verse said he walked away sad and distressed. He wasn’t willing to let go of his earthly security the way Abraham was. He failed to receive the inheritance God offered him because he couldn’t let go and follow where Jesus would lead him.

Philippians 4:19 reminds us, “And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” What has God been asking you to walk away from or to let go of? Are you holding on tightly like the rich, young ruler? Or are you willing to walk into the unknown like Abraham? God is our source. He is the one who will supply all of our needs. Sometimes we will receive our inheritance from Him in this life, and other times we will receive it in eternity. God calls us to walk by faith and not by sight. When we cling to earthly security after He’s asked us to let go, we’re showing we believe we are our source and not Him. God is always willing to trade inheritances where we give up to temporal for the eternal.

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January 19, 2026 · 5:49 AM

Pursuing Presence

Exodus 33 tells us that as the children of Israel traveled through the wilderness and set up camp, Moses would set up a tent away from the others. That’s where he would go to meet with God. When he went out there, it says that everyone else stood in front of their tents to watch him go into God’s presence. Verse 11 says, “Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting” (NLT) These two men regularly pursued God’s presence.

You can’t be a spectator like all the other Israelites. Christianity is about having a relationship with God. You can’t have it vicariously through other people who are willing to go into God’s presence while you stand far off. Imagine having a relationship with someone where you’re never in each others presence. Moses was in God’s presence constantly and yet he wanted more. In verse 18, Moses asked to see more of God’s presence than he had ever seen. He knew there was more of God than he had come to know, and he wanted to see more. God granted his request as He placed Moses in the cleft of the rock and passed by.

James 4:8 says, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” That’s a promises to you and I. If we will pursue His presence and draw near to Him, He will draw near to us and reveal more of Himself to us. Drawing near requires a hunger, a willingness to prioritize our relationship with Him and an intentionality to prioritize our relationship. We can’t afford to stand and watch as others go in. Like Joshua, we must stay even when others leave. God used both Moses and Joshua in a mighty way because they pursued God’s presence. They developed a relationship with Him where they spoke regularly as with a friend. What will you do differently to pursue God’s presence and prioritize your relationship with Him? The closer you go to God, the closer He will come to you.

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January 16, 2026 · 6:03 AM

Looking Forward

When we go through tough seasons, our tendency is to regress to where we have been rather than to where God is leading us. How much did the Israelites complain on the way to the Promised Land? They kept wanting to go back to Egypt. What about Lot’s wife? Even Peter went back to fishing after the crucifixion. We tend to edit the past in our mind to believe it was better than it was. Yet God is calling you forward. We don’t need to deny the past, but it’s hard to move forward when you’re looking backwards. It’s time to look ahead to where God is taking you instead of behind you to where He’s releasing you from.

Here are some Bible verses on looking ahead:

1. Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

Proverbs 4:25-27 NLT

2. But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things left behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:62 AMP

3. When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”

Genesis 19:17 NLT

4. But the Lord says, “Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already—you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 GNT

5. I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead.

Philippians 3:13 TPT

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January 15, 2026 · 5:30 AM

Turning North

One of my favorite visual lessons to use in a group is to have everyone close their eyes and to then point north. What usually happens is you will have a room full of people pointing just about every direction including up. I then have them open their eyes to see where everyone is pointing. Immediately some start laughing, but others start trying to convince others they’re right. I then pull a compass out of my pocket and show them which way is north. I’ll ask them to again close their eyes and point to north. Most will point in the direction the compass did, but there will still be some who point in other directions. I tell them that if they don’t know which way north is, and you’re lost, it’s hard to get where you’re going.

All throughout the book of Jeremiah, Israel was lost. Each person was doing what was right in their own eyes and doing what they wanted. Even though they had the compass of The Law, they chose to go in different directions. In Jeremiah 18, God had Jeremiah watch a potter work with some clay. After making a piece of pottery, the potter didn’t like it, then crushed it and started over. Then, in verse 11, God said, “Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds” (ESV). He was telling them to repent, which means to change directions. He wanted them to turn north towards Him.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to guide me and a light for my path” (GNT). God has given us the compass to navigate this life by giving us His Word. It will guide us in the direction we should live and in how we make choices. However, just like in the room full of people knowing which way north is, we still have to make the choice each day to point north or to point in a different direction. God always gives us that choice. If we head any direction but north, we risk facing the consequences of our actions. His way is the only right way to go north. His word lights the path so we can see where we’re going and also guides us in the paths of righteousness. It’s up to me and you to continually turn north when everything else is trying to get us to turn in different directions.

Photo by Tim Graf on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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