Author: Joshua Goodling

The Apostle Paul wrote in Galations 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” If we are…

One of the saddest truths is the fact that there are thousands of people who claim to be a Christian and even have convinced themselves that they are a Christian, but in reality they have no proof in their life of their faith in God. The Bible says MUCH about the actions and lifestyle of…

On November 4, 2010, an Airbus A380, one of the largest passenger airplanes in the world blew an engine while in flight. That engine failure almost destroyed the large airliner with 440 passengers. The pilots were able to safely turn the airliner around and land it, but the engine failure could have killed all of…

I am not a fan of cold weather, and so I don’t really care for the fall and winter seasons due to the fact that the weather gets colder and colder.  However, the one thing I do LOVE about the fall is when all of the leaves change colors. I love driving up in the…

Lots of people, especially younger people, want adventure in their life – and so they go to the pleasures of this world to try to find that.  However, the REAL adventure is learning to COMPLETELY trust God and have HIM work in your life every minute of every day. A man referred to by many…

Proverbs 9:10 tells us, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  And in Hosea 6:6, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” When King David was writing his farewell message to his son Solomon,…

To walk worthy means to live and act in such a way that is worthy of claiming whatever it is you lay claim to. For instance, a soldier in the army is supposed to live in a manner worthy of being called a soldier. The same is true with the Christian life. If we claim…

Samuel Porter Jones (1847 – 1906) was a prominent lawyer in Cartersville, Georgia, in the late 1800’s who turned to alcohol and became a drunkard and pretty much destroyed his career. God worked in his life though and he turned to Jesus Christ, gave up his old lifestyle and became a Methodist preacher. When he…

We live in a world where most people only seem to think about themselves, what they want, what they can get, etc. Which, to be honest with you, I do not understand anymore. Yes – there was a time when I felt that way also. I’ve always (as long as I can remember) tried to…

In Genesis, we read about Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden.  God had created this beautiful world for them to enjoy. Everything that God created, the Bible tells us was “good”.  In that garden, God had given them more than they needed, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is…

A group of English Protestant believers who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries are often referred to as the “Puritans”.  These group of people were very strict in their beliefs and sought to truly follow Jesus Christ and be like Him.  When reading many of their writings today, many people look at them and…

The well-known hymn “Just As I Am” was written in 1835 by Charlotte Elliott. It has been sung in church services and other religious events for years, many times after a speaker’s message, inviting people to come to Jesus Christ. The words to the first verse are: Just as I am – without one plea,…

In John 21, we read about an interesting conversation between Jesus and Peter. The conversation takes place after Jesus’ resurrection from His death on the cross. Peter and some of the other disciples had gone back to fishing, and Jesus came to them there by the water and after they had eaten breakfast, Jesus began…

In 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2, Paul urges the readers, “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.” And in Ephesians 6, after instructing us as Christians to…

One of the things that got the nation of Israel into a lot of trouble during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land was there frequent murmuring and complaining. In Numbers 14:26-30, we read God’s punishment on the Israelites for their frequent murmuring and complaining, “And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron,…

David opened the longest chapter in the Bible, the 119th Psalm with these words; “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!” (Psalm 119:1-3)…

In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Paul warns us – “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit,…

In Matthew 7, as Jesus was talking about those who would one day stand before Him hoping to gain entrance into heaven but finding out the awful truth that they have no personal relationship with Him and are doomed to Hell, He told us how to make certain our eternity is in Heaven. We read…

One of the saddest and most tragic passages in the Bible is found in the Book of Matthew.“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did…

We live in a world that is focused on entertainment and pleasure. Most of the highest paid people in America are sports stars, and movie/television actors. High values are placed on possessions and status. One has only to drive around Atlanta (or any major city) and look at all of the HUGE luxurious homes with…

In 2 Chronicles 18, we learn a valuable lesson about obedience to God. King Jehoshaphat formed a close alliance with King Ahab. Then, Ahab asked Jehoshaphat if he would go up and fight with him to conquer the city of Ramoth-Gilead, which had been captured by the king of Syria. Jehoshaphat told Ahab to “Inquire…

In 2 Peter 1, Peter instructs us as Believers to ADD things to our lives. He says, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, ADD to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.” It’s quite a…

More than 3000 people die each year in accidents caused by Texting and Driving, yet thousands of people do it every day. We all think, “Ah, it will never happen to me!” One girl texted “It’s not safe to be texting and driving, HaHa!” as she plowed into the back-end of a semi killing herself…

In Matthew 27:22 we read on of the saddest verses in the Bible “Pilate said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said, ‘Let him be crucified!’” Jesus, who had left His throne in Heaven beside our Heavenly Father to come and live on this earth. Jesus,…

In John 8:12 we read, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” This world in which we live is filled with the darkness of sin, and yet most people don’t even realize or pay…

In 2 Samuel 6, we read about how King David and the nation of Israel had decided to bring the ark of the covenant back to the city of Jerusalem. The Philistine army had captured the ark previously, but upon its return to the nation of Israel, it had been kept in an obscure village…

We often claim to those at our Bible study or church group that we love Jesus Christ, but how often do we tell others about Him? After Jesus had risen from the dead, and gone back to Heaven, and His disciples were empowered with the Holy Spirit, they began to tell others about Jesus Christ….

About three miles from my house in the Atlanta area, there is a huge multi-million dollar mansion that was built several years ago. The person who had it built wanted the best of everything inside and out, and when it was finished, it was quite impressive by this world’s standards. However, a few years ago,…

In his commentary on the Gospel of John, J. C. Ryle makes an important statement about man’s unbelief and sin; “No greater proof can be shown of man’s unbelief, than his carelessness about sin. “Fools,” says the wise man (Solomon), “make a mock at sin.” (Proverbs 14:9.) Thousands delight in things which are explicitly evil,…

James 1:8 reminds us, “a double-minded man, is unstable in all his ways.” WAY too many people in this world today claim to be Christians, yet want to follow the world as well. They can’t make up their minds. Being double-minded is not being able to make up one’s mind about stuff. For example: “Do…