Don’t neglect the here and now while waiting for the hereafter. Today is part of eternity. And it matters how we live.

Prejudice is nothing new. It’s a learned trait, which keeps you in darkness. When you’re prejudice you become bound to old ways of thinking. You lose your openness and creativity. In fact, prejudice can affect every aspect of your life.

Have you ever had an experience when circumstances were completely out of your control and there was nothing you could do…except trust God? When that happens it's a good reminder that God is the potter and we are the clay.

In James 4:1-10, there is set forth the reasons for fights among believers as well as their tragic results. But James doesn't leave us without some answers on how to stop those conflicts that have taken their toll within our ranks.

James deals directly with a common problem among Christians—“playing God.” Having just exposed our tendency to be self-assertive and quarrelsome, he goes a step further and shows a couple of the more familiar ways we assert an arrogant spirit.

There are days when it’s wise for us to stop and look and listen. We scrutinize our lives, examine Scripture, and spend extended time in prayer as we gain a clearer sense of what God is doing in our lives and what He has for us in the future. As the new year rolls around, take some time for reflection and renewal. Start today.

Pastor Chuck Swindoll reminds us to live out the truth: "I am not in charge." God alone is "in charge" of us, others, our plans for the future, and our circumstances.

Let’s take a wide view of our lives as we seek to clarify our thinking from the Bible about where we have been, where we are, and where we are going.

Picture someone who walks in integrity, loves God, and treats others with kindness and grace and mercy…and then, suddenly, loses everything. How could this happen? And could it happen to you? Who knows? The experience may be just around the corner.

Intimacy is rooted in honesty. Acknowledging wrongdoing is the first step towards recovering intimacy because you’ve been honest. Is there someone you need to make things right with?