Alive and Active

In Daniel 1, Nebuchadnezzar,  King of Babylon,  came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The best of the young men, which included Daniel, were taken to Babylon for the King's service. They tried to change their diets and minds, but Daniel  understood the times and he courageously requested to not defile himself with the food and wine. What seemed like a demotion, quickly turned into a spiritual pr...

In Deuteronomy 6, we are told to impart the commandments on our children throughout their entire day. Jesus was fully man and fully God and he went from a boy to a man because he desired to do his Father's work. We can teach our kids about the Father's work and we can set a high bar for our kids so they go from boyhood to being a man of God. Jesus matured and increased in stature and wis...

In 1st Samuel 31, an Amalekite shows up and tells David that Saul is dead, but the Amalekite was lying about how Saul died in order to gain favor with the soon-to-be new King David. David mourns Jonathan and Saul's death and he determines that the Amalekite was lying and he had no respect for the position God gave Saul. God cares about our character through the ups and downs of life and we ar...

The Prophet Isaiah predicted the coming of the Savior Jesus Christ and the conditions he would arrive under. Jesus came into oppression and evil was all around Him as He was born in a humble stable. King Herod executed all male babies 2 and under trying to do everything possible to try and kill the baby Jesus.  When challenges arise because of Christ, we must always remember that Jesus left His he...

Godliness with contentment is great gain. Are we chasing after the wrong stuff in life? We need to look past this earth and to the next kingdom or everything will crumble. Learn to stiff arm treasures on earth and learn how to embrace the treasures of heaven.

In John 13, Jesus explains to his disciples what it looks like to serve and he tells us to follow his example. Service starts through the Lord Jesus and we need to see things from a Kngdom perspective. Jesus must increase and we must decrease (John3:30). Which kingdom are we living out of?

In Luke 22, the disciples disputed who would be the greatest, but Jesus said those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. The definition of greatness is turned upside down and we can't live in both the kingdom of man and the Kingdom of God. Contentment in Christ and a servant's heart is what we can strive for. In this world, w...

In 1st Samuel 30, David displayed an attitude of gratitude toward his fellow soldiers since the Lord had rescued the women and children that the Amalekites had taken. David realized how much he could be grateful for and he extended that to others who needed it as well. In Luke 17 when Jesus healed the 10 lepers, only one of them, a Samaritan, went back and praised the Lord. Faithfulness leads to t...

We can be great in this world and full of pride or we can be humble and great in the Kingdom of God. In Christ, we are called to live under control with whatever we've been given and we have to dethrone ourselves daily and take the lowly humble position. In Matthew 18 Jesus tells the disciples to take the lowly position and then they would be greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. We too can take...

In 1 Samuel 30, David was in great danger as his men were very bitter about losing their wives and daughters and they talked about stoning him. David found strength in the Lord and after 400 of the 600 men attacked the Amalekites and brought back the children and women, the 400 men didn't want the 200 men to receive the plunder. But David intercepted the nonsense, and he told the men not to b...

1 Samuel 30, David and his men came to Ziklag where they found that the Amalekites had burned the city and carried off the women and children. David was greatly distressed for the people spoke of stoning him, but David found strength in the Lord and he acted strategically. The Lord guided David and his men to rescuing all the women and children along with provisions. When we are in dire straights...

In 1st Samuel 25 David was on the run from Saul, and he sent his men to the town of Carmel to visit with an acquaintance named Nabal. Nabal refused to help David’s men with provisions (after David & his men protected Nabal’s land / livestock). Abigail, (Nabal’s wife), quickly realized the gravity of the situation. She slyly intercepted David's man with an abundance of provisions and fell...

In John 21, The Resurrected Jesus appears again to the disciples as they fished. Peter thought he had hit rock bottom since he denied Jesus three times, but Jesus forgave him, restored him and told him to feed His sheep. Jesus told Peter that he would die a brutal death for his faith, but Peter grew into a courageous follower of Christ and he was restored and gave his life for the Gospel.

Peter was adamant at the Last Supper that he would stay by Jesus’ side and not leave Him or forsake Him. However, Peter denied Jesus three times, and he wept bitterly before returning to being a fisherman once again. However, Jesus showed up on the shore, restored Peter and emboldened him to strengthen his brothers and get back in the game to be used mightily for The Lords Kingdom! Download Study...

David's lies caused 85 priests and their families to die in the town of Nob. In Gods sovereignty, He allowed Abiathar to escape Nob and then convict David of his sins. When we sin we lose fellowship with God but we get it back when we confess our sins.  David got off the bench and back into the game for The Lord! Will you do the same? Download Study Guide Here

How fast do we recover from difficulties in life? In 1 Samuel 21 David was afraid and on the run from King Saul and fear led David to bad decisions. When things spiral out of control, we can simply confess to the Lord and “own it” or fear will “kick our tail”. Eventually David confessed and his fear was turned to confidence in the Lord. Download Study Guide Here

Davids life could have collapsed after his camp in Ziklag was raided but David fell back on his training and he found strength in the Lord and led his men to defeat the enemy and rescue the people. Later, David's men willingly risked their lives to bring him water but David poured out the water as an offering to the Lord. Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins and we can follow David...

David led a small  group of discredited men as Saul chased after him. David could have ended Saul's life in the cave but instead, his training taught him to love his enemy and honor God for the sake of Jesus Christ. We too can love our enemies and we don't have to pull the rip cord when trials come our way.

Goliath moved closer to attack, but David quickly ran out to meet him. David's love for God and his training in the sheepfold prepared him to intercept Goliath and later shepherd God's people. Jesus intercepted our sin and now we have the privilege, in Jesus name, of running to the challenges that we will face in this life. Download Study Guide Here

In John 16:33 Jesus tells us that we will have many trials and sorrows, but we should take heart because He has overcome the world. How will we respond when suffering and fiery trials come our way? God's word tells us to train ourselves for godliness and then we can live circumstance free because we have Jesus and He already conquered death. Download Study Guide Here

When  hard stuff happens in our lives, we can turn friction into traction and grow in Him. How will we respond when trials come our way? When we live in truth, the bad news for a believer can become good news. Joseph faced incredible challenges, but he faithfully followed God and took the bad news in his life and turned it into good news by saving the Israelites. Whatever goes into a sponge is wha...

Jesus faced and conquered death as he took the punishment for for our sins on the cross. Jesus rose victoriously on the third day and our victory is in Him. David trained for war and his courage came from the Lord. We can know where the game is played, how to engage the real enemy and how to live victoriously in Christ since He has already won.

Jonathan was set to become king after Saul but instead he became gentle and lowly like Jesus and he sacrificed his position and paved the way for David to become the next king. Jonathan handled adversity with great humility and David handled success and prosperity with great meekness. We too can follow Jonathan and David's example of how they handled praise, prosperity and adversity. Jesus Ch...

Join us for the very first episode of Alive and Active radio hosted by Ron Brown and Mike Bliss. God looks inwardly at our heart and we can follow His example. The Word of God helps us prioritize our lives and live with an eternal mindset.