At Thanksgiving, Christians need to remind ourselves of these blessings lest we forget what God has provided for us as part of our kingdom inheritance.

When you find yourself in new or highly competitive situations like what you experience in college, you may feel a change is in order. It took me 50 years to realize a funny dynamic about life and the changes you can make. The most profound changes in life can be the little ones – the tweaks.

Who is Jesus Christ? When the disciples were asked this question by Jesus they answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets” (Matt. 16:14-15). Only Peter answered correctly when he said, “You are the Messiah (or Christ, lit. Anointed one)—the Son of the Living God (Matt. 16:16).

What is your purpose? What is the reason you live? I know those are heavy questions, but take it from the Scripture’s perspective. “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” says Proverbs 29:18. Without a directive, you just wander. And that doesn’t refer only to your college degree choice. Rather, without knowing who you were created by, and what He created you for, there is a good chance nothing will satisfy your pursuit for purpose.

Everyone gets discouraged sometimes! However, we can live above the fear of becoming seriously discouraged — leading to even deeper depression — by trusting in God’s Word that He will keep us from temptations that could overwhelm us.

We need to know what we believe and be prepared to defend it, without getting defensive. You never know when God will open a door for us to share our faith.

Grace is akin to the extra time an individual gets to live after the doctors have shortened it in their estimation; grace is the brief moment the sun pushes the storm clouds aside on a gloomy day. Grace is quite possibly the most beautiful but also the most abused gift that Jesus gave to us.