Worthy Words

God has created a big, beautiful world with so many wonderful things in it and yet those things, as fulfilling as they may seem, do not ultimately satisfy the deep hunger in our hearts.   Why is that? Long ago, Solomon wrote some of the most thought provoking words recorded in the Old Testament.   In Ecclesiastes 3:11 he observed, “God has made everything beautiful in its time.   He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Solomon had so much! The preceding verse demonstrates how a man who was created in the image of God comprehends how God accomplishes his plan and purposes in his time.   It seems Solomon is settled upon the sovereignty of God.   But yet, there was a restlessness and a longing deep within his soul that all of those pleasures couldn't satisfy! “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after th...

Would it help you right now if I told you that God loves you? Would it cause you to stop and realize what his love actually does for you? In fact, if you don’t know, his love for you is perfect. It is strong, and pure, and true. It is unconditional and it is everlasting. He could not love you more, he will never love you less, and his love for you will never end. There's something tremendously valuable to understand about the way God expresses his love for you — it's like a father caring for his children. Not the father that some of you grew up with — irritable, irrational, always busy and never satisfied. God is a perfect father to his children: he loves you, he encourages you, he strengthens you, and he teaches you how to stand on your own two feet. God does love you but not in a passive way that says, "You go your way and I'll go mine." He loves you but not in a vindictive way that says, "When you disappoint me you can be sure I'll get even with yo...

Statistics show that the majority of lottery winners end up broke again. Why does it happen? One reason is that many people, in spite of their improved circumstances, never learn to change their expectations about what is possible for them. In The Message version of the Bible of Matthew 9:29, Jesus' word to two blind men was expressed in a unique way. When the men came to him asking to receive their sight, he asked, "Do you really believe I can do this?" They said, "Yes, Master!" He touched their eyes and said, "Become what you believe." That's another way of expressing the NIV of the phrase, "According to your faith it will be done to you." This is happening right now to you. You are all becoming what you believe. If you believe that God is for you, if you believe that he is working out the details in your life — even the difficult situations in your life — for your good and for his glory, you will experience this in your daily ...

It is clear in the Bible that God responds to your faith. "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matthew 21:22) "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will be move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20-21) “Because of your faith, it will happen.” (Matthew 9:29) Not because of your needs. Not because of your wants. But because of your faith. Jesus says that you will receive from God what you expect to receive. What do you expect from God? What do you believe he will do for you? Do you say in your heart of hearts, "There's no way God will bring someone special in my life; there's no way God will heal me; there's no way God will provide for me — I don't deserve it, I'm too unworthy." Let me challenge you to raise the level of your expectations. Look at the needs in your life and practice saying, "God can do somet...