Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 23 – How to Save a Life
"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.'" -Mark 8:34-35 “Here's one of life's best-kept secrets: If we try to fulfill ourselves by ourselves, or to realize our dreams on our own steam and our
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 22 – See for Yourself
In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. -Psalm 22:4-5 This Psalm is a continuation of the Psalm (Psalm 22:1) we read on Day 18 where David was expressing his sense of total abandonment from God. In this part of the Psalm he seems to be saying that if his ancestors trusted God and found him faithful, he will also see
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 21 – First Things First
by TJ Bates Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. -Matthew 7:7-8 So does that mean I can ask for a new Jaguar and get it? Hardly. In fact, if my house is straightened up, I wouldn't even ask for it. "Let's put it this way: When the Spirit
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 20 – Here for a Reason
I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me. -Psalm 57:2 So does that mean that I have a purpose for being here? It isn't just an accident that I'm here? Is God going to help me find and fulfill that purpose? "Not only do we have a purpose in being here, but God himself will fulfill it in and through us. It's not as if we're given a purpose at birth and then told that
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 19 – Rejoice!
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 6:6-7 There he goes again—the ever-optimistic Paul! Rejoicing while in prison! How does he manage to do that? "He [Paul] was
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 18 – When We Feel Forsaken
by TJ Bates "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?" -Psalm 22:1 Have you ever felt forsaken by God and asked this question when praying? Isn't it comforting to know that David felt that way as well? And we know that from reading his other Psalms that he was never really forsaken at all. We read in Your 100 Day Prayer: "What we need to
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 17 – Living Our Purpose
by TJ Bates "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." -Philippians 2:13 I'm often confused when I read a verse like this one. Do I have free will, or am I a puppet with the strings being pulled by God? Dr. Snyder says, "No, we are not robots, mindlessly moving forward in some sort of hypnotic daze. We are real people who are acting freely for the first time, no longer
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 16 – Wait in Hope
by TJ Bates via Theology Mix "We wait in hope for the Lord, he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name." -Psalm 33:20-21 As we continue with the 100 Day Prayer, we, too, are waiting and hoping. But are we waiting and hoping in the same way the psalmist is? Dr. Snyder explains what the psalmist is saying in this verse: “The psalmist waits, but he waits for a sure thing. The word
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 15 – Saltiness
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." -Matthew 5:13 I am a "salty person," not a "sweet person." Of course I'm referring to taste, but Jesus is referring to who we are. Dr. Snyder explains it this way: "We're the ones who are supposed to be salty, tasty, tangy. We're the ones who
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 14 – The Master Plan
"The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth, he humbles and he exalts." -1 Samuel 2:6-7 Have you ever expressed fear about what is happening in the world, or what is going on in your own life, and someone replied "not to worry because the Lord has a plan?" Did you believe it? Dr. Snyder does and explains why. "God and God alone is the one who has
