How Do I Pray?
There are no 5 Easy Steps to get the answer you want. The Creator of the universe responds in brilliant strokes of vibrant colors and bedazzling patterns designed to reflect his glory and omnipotence. He is the God of the Impossible. It’s against this vivid and dynamic background that I would like you to consider your prayers and to recognize the way he has answered and answers them—in your favorite colors, tailor-made to help you understand that you are unique,
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
“… This is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's." -2 Chronicles 20:15 We can’t face the day and fight the same battles any longer—we’re worn out, and there are too many enemies, too much meanness to take on. We’re tired of fighting the same emotional war. What is there to do? In this unusual passage, God orders the people not to try to fight
Seek God’s Presence
In my Bible reading today, it was a blessing to read Psalm 105: Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! (vv. 1–4) Psalm 105 calls us to praise God! We have so many reasons to thank God, and so does David.
Storm Rider: Drawing Closer to God
Are you going through a storm right now? Something so difficult or traumatic that you aren't sure you'll make it to tomorrow? Don't give up hope. It often takes a storm to get our minds off our own plans and ways and onto God's greater plan—to realize there's a purpose for our life that is far better than our own. Our storms help draw us closer to God than anything else. So when we're facing a storm, let's remember three things as we
Holy Week: Day 8 – Easter Sunday: The Day Death Died
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will
Holy Week – Day 7: New Life
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. -Galatians 2:20 How are we supposed to view our present life of faith? This passage tells us to look at our present lives as servants of the Lord Jesus. Just as Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried, and then raised to new life,
Holy Week – Day 5: Maundy Thursday: This Is Love
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. -1 John 4:10–12 The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin “mandatum,” meaning commandment. This is in reference to the new
Holy Week – Day 4: Aged to Perfection
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! -2 Corinthians 5:17 What is one of the main themes that keeps recurring in the faiths and literature of the world? What is that longing in the human heart that never goes away regardless of the time or place? It’s the desire that the old, the worn out, and the temporary pass away and the new, the fresh, and the lasting appear! This is what
Holy Week – Day 3: Children of God
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. –Ephesians 1:7 The apostle Paul reiterates here the essence of the Gospel message: It is only through the sacrificial death of Jesus (“his blood”) on our behalf that we can say we’re forgiven of every sin. The word he uses here for this transaction is “redemption.” This comes from the realm of the slave trade, where slaves were redeemed or purchased by someone
Holy Week – Day 2: The Doorway Into Life
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. –Hebrews 12:2 If Jesus did for us what we couldn’t possibly do for ourselves, what keeps us from fixing our eyes on him and keeping them fixed where they belong? As believers through the centuries have discovered, the problems arise when we take
