My wife is a dental hygienist.  She constantly stresses to my family the importance of flossing.  Most people have no problem brushing their teeth multiple times a day, but flossing is another story.  The American Dental Association recommends flossing at least once a day, but a majority of Americans disregard the recommendation.  Brushing alone will not give a person the total dental health that they need.

If this is true in the natural sense, it is certainly true in the spiritual.  From time to time we should do some spiritual flossing.  Oh sure, we have a daily regimen of brushing, …

I recently invited my children to go on a jog with me through the neighborhood.  Strong-willed, growing, and full of energy, they turned the jog into a competition.  As we began the route, one of my sons took off full speed trying to outdo his brother.  We watched as he sped hundreds of feet ahead.  Occasionally he would turn back and give us a smile as though he was winning.  It did not take him long to realize that he could not keep that pace up for 2.5 miles.

Once we caught up to him, he was so winded that …

The great devotional writer Oswald Chambers said, “If God allows you to be stripped of the exterior portions of your life, He means for you to cultivate the interior.”  Cultivating the interior is the essence of devotion.  True devotion is knowing that you will never be able to repay Christ for Calvary, but giving it a daily attempt.  It is, as David MacIntyre puts it, the time in which we “discover the excellence of God’s character, and by beholding Him we also allow Him to transform the soul.”  If the soul needs “interior cultivation” then devotion is the soil in …

By now I am sure you have given some thought to the upcoming year.  You probably have some goals, aspirations, and resolutions in place to achieve those specific objectives.  We all want to be successful, but success doesn’t just happen.  The thin line that separates failure and success is drawn with the finger of intention.  We have to be deliberate when it comes to life.

No person in his right mind would take the next few weeks to order and coordinate his demise for the upcoming year; but sadly, it will happen.  For many people, life will get off track.  …

When it comes to the Word of God our biggest problem is not reading it, memorizing it, learning it, or even knowing it; our problem is with implementation.  Your knowledge of God’s Word only brings Him honor when it is applied.  You can train a parrot to repeat Bible verses, but it will never change the parrot.  Some people live their entire lives without really building upon the right foundation.  When the floods come, their spiritual structures crumble because they only hear and never heed.

The true test of our spiritual character is not how we receive the Bible; it …