Daily Challenges Archive

We’ve all been guilty of doing wicked things. Sin, by definition, is wicked. Those things that drove the nails into the hands and feet of our Savior are all wicked. Here Solomon makes an important distinction. There is a difference between those o...

I had lunch the other day with a good friend who is reading the book Living Life Backward by David Gibson. Its primary message is that considering the reality of death can help us live more wisely, generously, and faithfully for God’s glory and th...

With school starting soon, this seems like a fitting thought to ponder this morning. I live in a university town, and students are beginning to trickle back for a new semester. This verse speaks of sound teaching. I can’t help but ponder all the t...

This could come back to haunt me, but too many times lately I’ve looked at someone and tried really hard to remember their name. Sorry! Now, rather than test me, just say your name when you see me, and I’ll say, “I know.” The point is that my memo...

Success and protection. Two things God offers those who follow Him in this verse. In the business world, those are some pretty exciting promises. But in my family, I find them to be even more encouraging. Success, by God’s definition, often plays ...

Along with counseling them to love Jesus and be kind, this would certainly rank high on the list of desires I have for my children and grandchildren to know and understand. If they—and really all of us—would learn to walk away from those who entic...

One of the saddest moments in my life occurred early in my ministry. I was working with teenagers and pursuing a strategy of praying for them. While talking with a ministry partner about it, he asked me if I had ever considered how many young peop...

In the 15 or so years I’ve been doing these daily devotionals, I’m pretty sure I have only used this verse once—and that was during the years I went through every verse in Proverbs. I’ve always loved this verse. There is just so much in it. There ...

Is this verse encouraging us to celebrate when someone gets caught in their sin? Of course not. As a matter of fact, we should be brokenhearted when sin hurts or destroys someone else. The implication here is that those who avoid sin and live righ...

Over the years, I have seen, from the business world to the sports world to individual families, the difference that righteous or wicked leadership makes in the lives of those they lead. I’ve watched how people respond very differently depending o...

In the last two days, I’ve experienced this truth in some very poignant ways. Life is incredibly unpredictable. Transitions—whether involving life and death, careers, family, or any other adventure that comes with this thing we call life—seldom, i...

I pause every time I read this verse, checking to make sure it doesn’t represent me. Hopefully, my time in Proverbs is not useless. In this chapter, Solomon spends much of his energy talking about how to handle challenging people. The lazy, the go...