Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 40 – Stress-free
by TJ Bates Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. -Psalm 55:22 How often have you heard someone say they "feel stressed," or that they are "anxious" because the world seems to be falling apart and they feel helpless to do anything about it. Here's a simple solution: "So dump it, toss it off, get rid of it as soon as possible! Cast it off your shoulders, and let God do the caring
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 39 – The Destination
by TJ Bates via Theology Mix I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. -Romans 8:18 Have heard of the Navy Seal motto during "Hell Week" (the last week of training)? It is "Pain is good. Extreme pain is extremely good." I hadn't heard it before and I can't say I agree with it. However, when I hear about the amazing feats a Navy Seal performs, then I realize the end
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 38 – Don’t Be Afraid
For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. -Isaiah 41:13 Can you remember a time when you were afraid and your father took you by the hand, and when you heard his reassuring voice, the fear melted away? The same thing is true, even more so, when our heavenly father speaks to us, takes our hand, and tells us he will help us. "The sole
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 37 – Real Life
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -Romans 5:8 What a mind-boggling statement. How precious it is to be loved this much, to know that our debt was paid in full on the cross. Thank you, Jesus! …long before we ever had the slightest interest in God, he had a very great interest in us…his interest and action toward us always preceded ours toward him. What this means is that we didn't
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 36 – Worth the Wait
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. -Psalm 40:1-2 I like the imagery in these verses. I can just imagine sloshing all around in the mud and mire of daily living, praying for help to stand up before I drown, and then, when God is ready,
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 35 – Always Reliable
by TJ Bates via Theology Mix I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsake or their children begging bread. -Psalm 37:25 I can relate to what King David says, for I was young and now I am old and I, too, have never seen God forsake those who trusted him. "Farther along in the psalm, David reiterates that 'the salvation [rescue] of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble'
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 34 – All of Creation
The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. -Romans 8:21 Isaiah talked about the new heaven and new earth. Paul describes it as the liberation—the freeing from bondage—of all creation. "Think about it this way: God has fixed a day on his calendar when he will speak the word of creation once again and recall into existence every person who loves his kingdom, and everything he ever created,
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 33 – The Hiding Place
by TJ Bates You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. -Psalm 32:7 I have been quoting only a portion of Pastor John's comments each day. Today, I am going to quote everything he says about this particular passage. I feel it is too important to leave out any portion of it: It was Corrie ten Boom who titled her amazing biography after this phrase in Psalm 32. In The Hiding Place, she
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 32 – Not Guilty!
by TJ Bates via Theology Mix Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. -Romans 8:1 Do your believe this? Do you feel truly forgiven, or do you, like many of us, let those old guilt feelings creep back in which make us feel once again condemn for past sins? Pastor John tells us how to keep that from happening and to remember God's promise of forgiveness: "This truth of God's forgiveness is something we need to bring to the forefront
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 31 – Love
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. -John 13:34 I just love LOVE! Don't you? Don't you LOVE that dress or LOVE that movie or LOVE what I'm saying? In the present day, "love" is a word that is overused and often has no meaning. However, Jesus is not using the word love carelessly as we do. He wants us to truly love one another—to be a conduit of
