For over a month now we have watched news reports of missiles raining down upon Ukraine, buildings being destroyed, millions fleeing their homeland with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and bodies lying dead in the streets.

The Bible emphasizes the need for confession, even in the lives of Christians who were cleansed of their sins on the day of their conversion.

Next to the phrase “help meet” (Gen. 2:18), the phrase most often used and misunderstood from the King James translation of the Bible is Paul’s command to “lay by him in store” on the first day of every week (1 Cor. 16:2).

We are all immigrants.

When you really believe in the value of something, you will make the necessary sacrifices.

For many Christians, doubt causes a lot of anxiety. There are difficult days when even the strongest believers wonder if God really cares about them or if he even exists at all, and they begin to suspect that maybe they are not true Christians at all, that they have no business being called a follower of Christ or worshiping in church.

I played football in High School. Before the jokes start, I admit it: I wasn’t very good. I probably had no business being on the field, but I grew up in Texas, and in Texas you play football in High School.

God is everywhere. We can see him in the world he created—in stars strewn across the sky, the changing of the seasons, the smile of a little child, and the mist rising up from a waterfall.

As each of us try to live out our faith, it can be hard to know what to focus on. So many pressures from so many sources try to tell us how to live and how to be a Christian.

At the beginning of the year, many of us try to turn over a new leaf. I don’t mean we examine the undersides of the greenery on trees—there’s little of that to inspect this time of the year. “Turning over a new leaf” is an old expression for making a new start or changing for the better.

“New normal” is a phrase we are hearing less and less these days.

Every year at Christmastime, our thoughts turn toward the wise men. Sadly, it is only at this time of the year that we think of them. We should think of them more often. They were important witnesses to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Here are some interesting facts revealed about these important witnesses.

A man encountered an old Cajun wearing a strange necklace and asked him about it. “It’s made of alligator teeth,” the Cajun said. “Oh, I see,” said the man, “like a string of pearls people wear in other parts of the country.” “The only difference is,” said the Cajun, “anybody can open an oyster.”

It takes perspective, but we can be thankful even in difficult circumstances.

God spoke it into existence. Noah built an ark. Isaac dug wells. Jacob drew water from the wells to impress a girl. Moses struck a rock. What would you do for water?