Spiritual discernment is a gift from God, enabling us to judge between good and evil, comparing things with God's Word to see if they align with His standards.

Solomon glomed on to his gift, forgetting its source. He could have been used as mightily as David if he would have remembered the Gift Giver.

Praying according to God's will means overriding our own desire, using forethought in our petitions, realizing that God's direction is steadier than our own.

If we ask God for wisdom, we will also need to be ready to work to achieve it. Good results do not just magically happen; 'some assembly' is required.

Gossip about us from someone we may have trusted can be painful, yet our tongue has likely been just as detrimental against someone who may have trusted us.

Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 highlight the Bible's attitude toward death, particularly its insistence that we allow the reality of death to change our approach to life.

Graduations bring advice-laden commencement speeches designed to inspire and motivate young people, sending them out to their destinations and destinies.

Some theologians see law and grace at the opposite ends of a continuum. They cannot imagine how God's sovereignty and man's free moral agency can co-exist.

The way leading to eternal life is narrow and difficult and few find it. The road to the Kingdom may not be a highway, but neither is it concealed or secret.

God does not delay because of indifference, but wants to provide maximum opportunity for repenting, overcoming, and building character.

In answer to the question, 'How can a mere human being fulfill the difficult expectations of God?', Jesus instructs us to 'Ask, seek, and knock.'

Compared to the Pentecost in Acts 2, our receipt of God's Spirit was attended with far less drama. However, the power of God's Spirit is no less potent.

For prayer to be successful, our petitions must be specific and synchronized to God's will, but we must patiently and humbly accept God's timetable.

Spiritual maturity does not come about without difficulty, and suffering is one of God's tools to perfect us. Suffering refines endurance and character.