God is good—even when anxiety comes to the darkness of night
Nighttime can be wonderful, but it can also be a time of great anxiety. God has promised to be with us through the watches of the night. And many who are awake are there for us.
Jesus turns upside down our attitude toward winning and losing
From the time of our childhood, we’ve been hearing admonitions and instructions to save, save, save! That’s what make Jesus’ statement about losing all the more remarkable.
Deciding who Jesus is: the path to peace and resolving conflict
The speaker’s advice, “Sit silently with God,” fits perfectly with the challenge to aright ourselves spiritually: “Decide who Jesus is.”
God’s work in our lives is daily, so much more than a one-time event
When we see God act in a situation that has been stressing us, we laugh for joy. But sometimes he moves slowly, and we do well to look for his work day by day.
Sooner or later, most will ask, ‘How do I know God is with me?’
When you thought you had the answer but find yourself in a tough situation, it is normal to want to verify your answer. Once your answer has been verified, it’s time to embrace it and trust the outcome. But how do we know it is a divine answer and not just something we made up in our heads?
The phrase we may not want to hear: ‘I have something to say to you’
We may not want to hear anyone say it to us. But what if it were Jesus speaking the words?
Choosing sides: not the best pursuit for those who are loved by God
Every day there is an increasing cultural demand that we must pick a side in every social and cultural discussion. But regardless of how you respond to that pressure, there is good news. God is on your side.
Two different situations, one common need, and God’s good response
Some things were the same. Some things were different. God stepped into both situations and met the need.
A song of praise and a decision to trust brought the victory
Sometimes it takes a worship leader to win a war. Probably more often than we think. So when facing your next battle or challenge, you might need to listen to some worship music to get your heart and mind in the correct posture to hear God.
‘Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.’ A good goal for today
It may be the most overlooked—and most valuable—directive our culture could heed today.
I looked to the hills and remembered God’s help for every generation
Their help, my help, everyone’s best help ultimately comes from the same Source.
The messages we seek and the messages of life and hope we can offer
We may remember waiting for messages and for replies to the messages we sent. Now the messages can come sooner. Who needs the message we can send?
As we deal with our troubles, we can point others to God
What if we looked at our trials and troubles in a new way? What if we saw how God could use them to help us spread his good news?
I’m learning what the Bible teaches: God specializes in ‘slim to none’
We have all seen moments with chances best described as “slim to none.” Many of these result in the predicted outcome. In Scripture we see many situations where, from a human perspective, we would agree that the main characters were facing slim-to-none possibilities for survival or success.
How ‘Think before you act’ applies to our daily life with God
I have a friend who told his workers to devote regular time just to thinking. The psalmist understood the genius in this advice when he advocated simply pondering the depths of God’s Word.
Five guidelines from Paul for your very best (spiritual!) walk
Everybody knows walking is good for you, but Paul goes way beyond the medical experts to explain how to have a healthy spiritual walk.
Separated within, separated between, and separated from God
“Forgive us for the idols we create when fighting for our causes instead of embracing the unity possible through Christ. Thank you for making it possible for us to know peace, to live peace, and to offer your peace to others through Jesus.”
Two aged saints, one gift from God, our greatest contribution
Two aged saints saw God fulfill his promise to them and his plan for all humankind, when the infant Jesus was presented in the temple,
My challenge to pray this simple prayer for God to do his work
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
These guardrails from the Psalms help us walk a fulfilling journey
Just as guardrails along mountain roads help guarantee a fulfilling journey, God’s guardrails equip us for the best way to move forward.