Joy: The Fruit of the Spirit of Christ
By Alastair Hayward The Scripture verses we are looking at are Isaiah 65:18 and Galatians 5:22-25. In this corona time, it can be particularly difficult to be joyful as the regulations seem to change every week, sometimes even more often. Each time the rules seem to get stricter. Last Christmas, our plans were thrown into disarray when the UK announced a stricter, Tier 4 lockdown. Our son was to be in Munich for the holidays, but he had to cancel his plans.
The Life that God Blesses
I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart! -Psalm 119:32 The imagery here is striking. We would expect the Psalmist to say, “I walk in the path of your commands,” for that’s the usual Hebrew expression for going in God’s way. But to run along a path is to have that way so straight and so removed of obstacles, ambiguities, and sudden turns that it’s safe to move at a rapid pace. So it is in the
Knowing God’s Creation
By Will Powell Introduction I am not sure how you have been spending your “extra time” during this pandemic. Perhaps you have tried to use the time profitably, by starting some new project. I know some of you have—writing a book or starting a photography project. Or it may be a more practical DIY project around the house. Or maybe kitchen creations are your thing. I also have some projects—and there are more planned! But why do we turn to these projects?
Finish the Race
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. -Acts 20:24 One of the marks of the apostle Paul’s life was that he knew exactly what his purpose was. The Good News of the Gospel utterly controlled him. He believed it, loved it, preached it, and defended it often at the risk of his
God Is Love
By Will Powell, Guest Author God is love. We say it so easily. God is love. But what does that mean, and why is that so important—particularly right now? First, God defines what love is. It is not the other way around: “Love is God.” Our concept of what love might be is not supposed to define who we think God is. Instead, if we want to find out what love is, we first need to discover and explore who God is.
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 76 – Nowhere Else to Go
by TJ Bates Before Day 76 in Dr. Snyder's book, he addresses "When God Says No." Here's an excerpt from that section: "We discover that often God gets more accomplished with a no than a yes. If we had everything we asked for the minute we asked, then we probably wouldn't learn very much from the crisis of the moment. God teachers us to depend on him by means of trouble and difficulty. Otherwise, if things were always an easy skate across
From the Pastor: The Quest for Happiness
On my way to an early morning church meeting, realizing I was 20 minutes early, I pulled off the traffic-jammed El Camino Real, found a place to park on a side street, and turned off the engine. I then sat back to think of the busyness of the day ahead of me. Suddenly, a man about 35 years old burst out of the front door of his small house on the other side of the street, with his two little sons,
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 64 – Suffering and Comfort
by TJ Bates Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. –2 Corinthians 1:3-5 It isn't uncommon to hear cancer patients describe how they were
Restarting for A Happy New Year: What’s My Purpose?
by Mike Page Did you make any New Year resolutions for 2021? I haven’t made any for years—it's too depressing breaking them after a week! So, instead, how about restarting the year with the question: “God, what can I do for you this year?” It’s one of those "Big Questions," isn’t it? In other words, What’s my purpose here? How can I be significant? What do you want from me, Lord? Frequently, these questions are asked by overweight people as they reach 50+
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 60 – Overflow with Hope
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13 "Do you know what it's like to overflow with hope? Have you ever experienced it?" "This hope grows steadily as we grow to trust in a loving God. There's a teeter-totter relationship between trust and hope that's easy to observe. When our trust in God is high, our despair and
