A Better Way to Live
Join
Shawn Boonstra in selected video chapters of his
daily devotional "A Better Way to Live".
Be inspired by the readings of the Word of God
and learn how you can think about those truths in your
daily life. You will find a new perspective of some
ancient passages of the Scriptures and you will figure
out how they can be useful today, illustrated with
examples of every day living. Each meditation
takes no more than 3 minutes of your time.
Experience them and you will notice how they can make a
difference in your daily life, A Better Way to Live.
A
Path of Moral Shortcuts
Sometimes
the devil gives you what you think you want—in order to
tempt you down a path of moral shortcuts. But the
long-term result of giving in to temptation is losing
control of your own self-government. Verse: "He shall
enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the
province; and he shall do that which his fathers have
not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter
among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he
shall forecast his devices against the strong holds,
even for a time." —Daniel 11:24
A Sense of Restlessness in the Heart
As this
verse tells us, a clean conscience is worth more than
all the money in the world. Verse: "But the wicked are
like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters
cast up mire and dirt. 'There is no peace,' says my God,
'for the wicked.'"
Alcohol
Summary: If
nobody ever consumed another drop of liquor, what harm
would it do to our society? If you never touched another
drop, what would you have to lose? Verse: "Wine is a
mocker, intoxicating drink arouses brawling, and whoever
is led astray by it is not wise." —Proverbs 20:1
Crucial
Decisions in Every Human Heart
In the final
analysis, the Bible describes only two kinds of people
living on our planet the day that Jesus returns. What
are the differences between the two? Verse: “And it will
be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have
waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord;
we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in
His salvation.’” —Isaiah 25:9
Debt
Many of the
financial problems we're facing as a nation were created
as a direct result of our unwillingness to live within
our means. Are there Biblical principles that can help
us as we budget? Verse: "Render therefore to all
their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom
customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no
one anything except to love one another, for he who
loves another has fulfilled the law." —Romans 13:7-8
Diet and Health
In the very
first chapter of the Bible, we find the original diet
for human beings as it was designed by the Creator
Himself. Verse: "And God said, 'See, I have given you
every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all
the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to
you it shall be for food.'" —Genesis 1:29
Father
Figures and Religion
Can our
relationship with our earthly father affect the way we
view our Heavenly Father. Verse: "In this manner,
therefore, pray: our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your
name." —Matthew 6:9
Living like
Jesus
How can we
live an exemplary life? Is it too tall an order in this
modern day? What should we do when people attack us and
our beliefs? Verse: "For to this you were called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example, that you should follow His steps: 'Who
committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth';
who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when
He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself
to Him who judges righteously." —1 Peter 2:21-23
Marriage
With divorce
rates hovering around 50 percent in the Western world,
most of us are painfully aware of the disappointments
that can be associated with modern family life. As a
result, many people now seem to be eyeing traditional
marriage with a great deal of suspicion. What does the
Bible say on this topic? Verse: "And the Pharisees came
to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put
away his wife? tempting him."
No Man Can Tame the Tongue
We should
never underestimate the destructive power of the human
tongue. Mere insinuation and doubts about a person's
integrity are seeds that are easily planted, but they
can lead to devastating effects. Verse: "Even so the
tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See
how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue
is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set
among our members that it defiles the whole body, and
sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire
by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile
and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by
mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly
evil, full of deadly poison." —James 3:5-8
One of the
Greatest Promises of the Bible
God's people
are living by faith—although we don't have all the
answers right now, we know Someone who does. But that
doesn't mean we'll never have the answers. Someday the
ultimate verdict about God's government will be
delivered by His people. Verse: "The Lord is good
to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.
All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your saints
shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your
kingdom, and talk of Your power, to make known to the
sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of
His kingdom." —Psalm 145:9-12
Shortcuts and Compromise
Throughout
the book of Psalms, you'll find many instances where the
author laments the fact that wicked people seem to get
ahead in life. What should we do when we find ourselves
becoming envious of those who appear to have it all,
even though they acquired their wealth or success
through questionable means? Verse: "Mark the blameless
man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man
is peace." —Psalm 37:37
Teaching Your Children About God
What's the
best way to teach a child about God? Verse: "Train up a
child in the way he should go, and when he is old he
will not depart from it." —Proverbs 22:6
The Autenticity of the Bible
Summary: Are
we free to pick and choose when it comes to the
authenticity of the Word of God? Is the nature of
inspiration such that we can sit in judgment over the
words of God's Book? Verse: "But I make known to
you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me
is not according to man. For I neither received it from
man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the
revelation of Jesus Christ." —Galatians 1:11-12
The
Joy of
Forgiveness
Once we sin,
the devil's very good at using that fact to drive a
wedge between us and God. He tries to convince us that
we have made ourselves utterly unforgivable. But God has
a solution and we are not beyond His forgiveness! Verse:
"I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have
not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to
the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin."
—Psalm 32:5
The
Words In God's Book
What are you
going to do with the words in God's Book? It's never
been wrong about world events and it's not wrong when it
talks about you!
Verse: "And after the league made with him he shall work
deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become
strong with a small people."
When It's Hard to Forgive
The Bible
tells us that we should forgive as God forgives us, but
what if we just don't feel like forgiving someone?
Verse: “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts
will be established.” —Proverbs 16:3
Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People
Why doesn't
God remove all the pain and suffering here on Earth? If
He's really a God of love, how can He allow evil to
persist on this planet? Verse: "The Lord is
merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in
mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He
keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us
according to our sins, nor punished us according to our
iniquities." —Psalm 103:8-10
Your role in
God's Kingdom
Do you ever
feel like you're too inadequate to be of any real
service to God? Is it possible He has a role for you to
play in His Kingdom? Verse: "For I am the least of
the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God." —1 Corinthians
15:9
We have
also selected some videos for you to watch when
doubt and fear get into your life, when you
feel depressed, or tempted to believe that
God does not exist, when you think that pain or
suffering are too big to bear. We invite you to
watch these videos:
Einstein's Brain
It
seems that sometimes the theory of evolution
makes pretty good sense, but don’t you find
there’s this nagging doubt in your heart that
tells you this place couldn’t possibly have come
into existence by accident? How in the world
does a cosmic accident develop to the point
where we can generate nuclear power?
Resisting God
Have
you ever read the Bible and wondered how people
who should have known better made so many
mistakes? Or perhaps you have taken a good look
at your own life and wondered how in the world
YOU could have made so many? In this video we
will open the Bible and look at what God says
about the mistakes we make, and how we
can stop repeating them.
Facing temptation
Once
in a while, surprising thoughts come into our
minds that we never imagined we could generate.
How is it that we find ourselves falling into
the very temptations to which we thought we'd be
immune? How, exactly, does temptation work?
Defeating temptation
If
you are like most people, you find yourself
caving in to the same temptations over and over
again. You just don't seem to have the will
power to stop, and you hate yourself for it.
We will help you pull the mask off temptation so
you can learn to defeat it.
The Hand that guides the future
Does God really exist? And if He does, do
you think He is paying attention as we hurtle
through space on this little planet, or is He
more like an absentee landlord who started the
planet a long time ago and then forgot about us?
Join Pastor Boonstra, as he looks to an ancient
book that gives startling evidence for the
existence of God, and proves that not only does
He notice us, but His hand is still steering
history toward one incredible final event.
God's face turned our way
Have
you ever felt as if God were off in space
somewhere, completely occupied with something
else? Have you ever gotten the impression that He is too busy or important to spend any
time with you? Today you'll find out—through a
startling truth revealed in the Bible—that
nothing could be further from the truth.
The fingerprints of God
Each
time NASA sends a probe to the Red Planet, it
invariably creates a lot of excitement. Have you
ever stopped to wonder why it is that we feel
such an urge to explore our neighboring
planets, or, why we feel so naturally
curious about almost everything?
Where are you, Lord?
Four
devastating hurricanes slam into the coast of
Florida, leaving countless people homeless. An
innocent man is ruthlessly beheaded, while a
helpless world watches in horror as the whole
thing is broadcast on the Internet. The water
supply in a small town is infected with deadly
E. coli bacteria, killing several people and
poisoning more than 1,000 people. In the back of
our minds, the human race asks one question:
Where is God when evil seems to triumph?
Other Inspiring Videos
Determining the Will of God
How Did Jesus Pray?
Proven Secrets for a Healthy Marriage
The Positive Side of Suffering
