Okay, confession time. I have to admit I let something escape my notice.
And I wasn’t supposed to.
In fact the Bible says, Don’t let this fact escape your notice.
I let that escape my notice, too.
I’m starting to see a pattern here… my notice has holes in it.
Anyway, it’s on my radar now, and I’m noticing like crazy.
Here’s what I’m talking about…
But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day (2 Peter 3:8).
Oh, that.
We all know what that means, right? [click to continue…]
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews12:1-2a, NET).
You are running, and the race is long. I pray that your eyes, your ears, your heart will be open to know just how many witnesses you have – how great a cloud of watchers, so aware of the race you are running.
Others near and far have been tripped up and fallen. I pray that you run free from the entanglements and weights – light-hearted, love-driven, and alert to distraction.
Underdogs and favorites all start well, but only one receives the prize. I pray that you will have the will of the marathoner, knowing the road is long but your will and power to endure is longer still. [click to continue…]
If you ask God to do something and he doesn’t – or hasn’t yet – what’s your next move?
Assume the answer is a permanent “no”?
Ask again, but stop at that magical number of three?
Give up praying altogether because you’re disappointed? Maybe there’s another way. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on September 2, 2015
in Allocating Your Resources, Esteem, Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle, Money, Principle of Abundance, Principle of Eternity, Principle of Increase
“I don’t know how to describe this.”
Ever have an experience like that?
Ever observe something so profound, so extraordinary, so loaded with meaning that words looked cheap next to it?
One of the finest wordsmiths of all time, and a major contributor to the Bible itself, had that very experience. And in the midst of his gritty, get-it-done work and demeanor, even he was at a loss to use words to describe what was taking place. All Paul could say was, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
That’s a profound thing to say, considering some of the things he did describe in his New Testament letters.
Know what makes it even more profound? This “indescribable gift” came disguised as something rather ordinary, that anyone, anywhere can enjoy. This isn’t some secret sauce for super-saints. In fact, on a surface level it looks rather common and ordinary. And yet something behind the scenes turns the ordinary into a speechless wonder.
Know what makes it even better than that? You may have been participating in this indescribable gift and didn’t even realize it. Or if you haven’t, you can start today. [click to continue…]
I grew up in the true home of Mardi Gras. And being in the high school band back in the day, we marched in our share of Mardi Gras parades. It was a nice way to raise money for the band, contribute to local community life, and to create some space between the floats so they didn’t run into each other. Plus, we helped contribute to festive atmosphere of Carnival season.
I had a pretty interesting role in all this, because I was the Drum Major – the guy in the fuzzy hat that directs the band on the street as they march.
Which means I spent a lot of my time marching backwards through the streets of Mobile.
There are two things you learn by marching backwards on a five-mile parade route. First, it’s always better to be at the front of the parade than the back. Why?
Horses. Lots and lots of cancer-free-and-proud-of-it horses, who exist on a high-fiber diet.
Need I say more? [click to continue…]
The promise is so simple, so straightforward and true, it’s easy to dismiss it.
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
What if He meant just what He said? What if the circumstances and signals all around you were echoing the same refrain? Maybe it’s time to take Him up on His promise…
When it seems as though you’re arguing with everybody in sight, it’s time to draw near.
When you’re lost in a war of wills, and it feels as though the whole world is pushing against you, it’s time to draw near.
When you life is a continuous array of unacceptable disappointments, it’s time to draw near.
When divorce or disowning is not an option, but murder is looking pretty good, it’s time to draw near. [click to continue…]
Come on, admit it… when you first saw this title you started hearing the old hymn in your head, didn’t you?
I once was lost, but now I’m found,
Was blind, but now I see.
If not, I’ll bet you are now.
With apologies to Philip Yancey for borrowing the title of his excellent book, I had a curious collision with “amazing” the other day and thought I’d share it. It started when I read this simple greeting from the Apostle Paul to a group of Christians in Corinth.
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus.
Isn’t that sweet?
Any believer anywhere can testify, as John Newton and the Corinthians could, that the grace of God has been given to us by Christ Jesus. And if this verse had no other context or backdrop it would be precious enough. But our thinking about it would soon lose its edge. Sure, everybody who knows Christ can testify of the grace of God.
Next!
Sure, we were “wretches” and now we’re saved. But that was a long time ago for a lot of us. In the immortal words of Janet Jackson, what have you done for me lately, Grace?
The answer to that – Grace in the present, not the past – is what’s so amazing about grace. [click to continue…]
Elisabeth Elliot is one of the most impactful writers I have read. She was always on my bucket list of people I hoped to meet one day. We’ll now have to plan for that in glory, as she went into the presence of Jesus two days ago. I thought I would share with you something from her book Loneliness about the subject of waiting. The writing is hers; the editing is mine. Thank you, Elisabeth, for being one of my lifevestors…
Many times in my life God has asked me to wait when I wanted to move forward.
He has kept me in the dark when I asked for light.
To my pleas for guidance His answer has often been, “Sit still, My daughter.” [click to continue…]
Dear Laura Kate,
It was seven years ago this month that we welcomed you into the world. And what an amazing seven years it has been. Of course, there are plenty of things in this world to feel alarmed or sad about. For example, I seriously doubt that anyone has watched the news or read a newspaper in the last seven years that didn’t contain the word “terrorist” in it.
You have never known a world where, if people wanted to communicate, they actually had to look someone in the eye and use their voices to make words – or get a piece of paper and use a pen, pencil or crayon to write.
You have never known a world where English wasn’t a second language to “Textlish.”
You have never known a world without FaceBook, YouTube, or the iPhone. “Grammy/Mommy/Papa/whoever, can I play with your phone?” became standard conversation early in your life.
Over the years, thanks to social media and places like this site, we have watched you grow and known that you were created without a mold. So when you marshalled your forces and launched an all-out invasion on First Grade, we all braced for impact. [click to continue…]
Oh, how I could sing forever of the amazing display of the way of His heart, His truth in your eyes, and the life of His Spirit, freely given and beautifully displayed in you, who have tasted and seen that He is good! I pray for you, that He would:
Hold you in the palm of His hand as He brings restoration and healing to the broken places in your life – so that you sing His praises from a heart of peace…
Take you to the mountains of testimony to announce His peace and bring good news of happiness – so that your life declares that our God reigns… [click to continue…]