“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4   We tend to make a bigger deal about our willow days than our palm days. We get a headache, and by 9 am, we have already called five people to tell them what a terrible day we are having. But when you wake up feeling great, do you rejoice in that? Do you praise God for your health and how good you feel? Probably not. Sometimes, the only time that God can get your attention is when you’re in trouble. Don’t forget to praise Him when you are having a palm day. Praise Him for your job, your kids, your spouse, and for ..read more

“Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” Psalms 30:5   God gives strange instructions in Leviticus 23:40 . During one of the feasts, the high priest was to go in with two things in his hands to represent the people and to rejoice before the Lord. In one hand he was to have a palm branch and in the other a willow tree branch.    These two branches represent the mixture of life. The palm tree represents prosperity, victory, success, and joy. When you think of palm trees, you think of happy, sunny days and good times. In Jewish culture, palm trees represent v ..read more

“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” Numbers 13:30   When God sent the twelve Israelites to spy over to the promised land, He wanted them to get a vision of where they were going and taste the good life He had planned for them. Lastly, He wanted to test their perception of themselves, their enemy, and their God. God knew that those three things would have to be dealt with in order for the people to walk by faith and do what He was calling them to do.   How you see yourself is so important ..read more

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18   In Numbers 13, Moses sent 12 men over into the promised land. The Bible says, “Then they came to the valley of Eshcol, and they cut down a branch of a cluster of grapes; they carried it between them on a pole. They also brought some pomegranates and figs.” God wanted the people to get a little taste of what He had planned for them, and they found fruit so big that it took two of them to carry it back!    The people of Israel were leaving Egypt (the failure zone) and headed to (the promised land) of Canaan. Canaan re ..read more

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you…Watch your life and doctrine closely.” 1 Timothy 4:12-16   God commanded the children of Israel to circumcise every male child that was eight days old when they first marched out into the wilderness. It was a clear commandment but after ..read more

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9   Parents, what language are you teaching your children? In Deuteronomy 6 we are told, “Hear therefore, O Israel, the Lord your God is one. Love Him with all of your heart, mind, and strength, and these words which I command ye this day shall be in thine heart, and ye shall teach them diligently unto your children. And ye shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you wal ..read more

“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:19    It’s interesting that over seven thousand languages exist in the world today. Every two weeks, a language dies. Every two weeks a language that represents a culture and the existence of a particular people just vanishes.   The late German explorer, Alexander Van Hogan came across a parrot in a remote village that’s now known as Venezuela. The parrot was speaking in a language that he didn’t ..read more

“Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” Job 1:20-22   Job had to stay encouraged. He didn’t understand why he lost his wealth, family, health, and his ten children. Job never knew that there was a conversation up in Heaven between God and Satan. God was bragging on Job. God told Satan that Job didn’t serve Him because of al ..read more

"In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will…” Ephesians 1:11   It’s encouraging to know that life is less about you than you think. When things happen in your life you should know that more is happening than you realize. It’s not all about you or your challenges and circumstances. John was in that prison, and he could have been thinking negatively about his current situation but Jesus sent a message to encourage him that there was a bigger picture.    Like John, sometimes we ..read more

“As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.” Exodus 17:11-12   Whoever is reading this, be encouraged because you’re doing better than you think you are and you matter more than you think you do. There’s an amazing scripture in Isaiah 41:5-6 that says, “They help each other and say to their companions, ‘Be s ..read more