God has ways of doing things.
His ways are different that our way of doing things.
There’s a way that makes sense to us, but the results are disastrous.
But God has different ways.
And He asks us to walk in all of them. [click to continue…]
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…for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
You and I are flex-fueled vehicles.
We are equipped to move forward,
powered either by confidence in the living God
or by what makes sense to us logically, emotionally, or sensually at the time.
There is a difference… A massive difference.
What’s in your tank?
Here’s how you can know… [click to continue…]
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A.W. Tozer, in commenting on the difference between a yesterday and a today faith, wrote this:
We habitually stand in our now and look back by faith to see the past filled with God. We look forward and see Him inhabiting our future; but our now is uninhabited except for ourselves. Thus we are guilty of a kind of [temporary] atheism which leaves us alone in the universe while, for the time, God is not. We talk of Him much and loudly, but we secretly think of Him as being absent, and we think of ourselves as inhabiting a parenthetic interval between the God who was and the God who will be. And we are lonely with an ancient and cosmic loneliness.
Your capacity to believe God is the gateway to a life of power, usefulness, and joy. And yet during his earthly ministry, nothing caught Jesus by surprise more than the “people of God” or so-called “believers” not believing – living with that cosmic loneliness that Tozer wrote about.
“Where is your faith?” He would ask. [click to continue…]
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One of the most charming words in the English language is the word “promise.” Do you realize that so much of what we experience, of what we know about God, of our spiritual maturity, and of our success or failure in the Christian life has something to do with how we respond to the promises of God? Check this out:
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God (2 Corinthians 7:1, NLT)
We do not want any of you to grow slack, but to follow the example of those who through sheer patient faith came to possess the promises (Hebrews 6:12, Phillips).
And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires (2 Peter 1:4, NLT).
To put it simply, we are People of the Promise. So let me get nosey a minute. What are you trusting God to do today that only He can do? Where is the evidence in your life that God is keeping His word to you? What is there about your life that can only be explained by the faithfulness of a loving God?
The original card-carrier for People of the Promise was a man named Abraham. And we can learn some things from his example. [click to continue…]
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God is making your obedience known to all – far more people than you realize.
They see the work He is doing in your life.
And those who hunger for God will be drawn to you.
In your past you have been wise concerning what is evil.
You must now pursue the wisdom of the pure.
And soon the God of Peace will crush Satan under your feet. [click to continue…]
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It isn’t “Peace on Earth.”
It isn’t “Good will to men.”
It isn’t “Wise men still seek Him” or “Joy to the world,” true and wonderful as all those things are.
Read through the different accounts of the first Christmas, and the most common thing you will find is a variety of ordinary people like you and me coming to grips with their fears. And the message of Christmas again and again is, “You don’t have to be afraid.” [click to continue…]
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There are over 3,000 words in the English language to describe some kind of feeling. According to design student Pei-Ying Lin that’s about 21 words short. Lin, in working with colleagues from London’s Royal College of Art, identified 21 words from other languages for which there is no English word. Example: The Russian word, Tocka, which means “Great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause…ache of soul, a longing with nothing to long for.”
You can find out more, and see Lin’s infographic, by clicking here.
Of course, what Lin has accomplished, while significant, is no real surprise – especially for anybody who’s ever found themselves not knowing how to express exactly how they felt.
Sometimes the gratitude is too great. [click to continue…]
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His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it” (John 2:5)
A simple statement of faith mixed with obedience at the wedding in Cana: “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
It’s the “whatever” that gets us in trouble, because we like to have answers and reasons for our doing.
And just like in this story, Jesus isn’t always inclined to provide those.
He told them to fill up the water pots, dip out, and take it to the head waiter.
To their credit, apparently they did all they were told without question.
How about you?
How about today?
Try this on as an affirmation: [click to continue…]
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Do you believe that God has a plan for everybody’s life? Do you believe that He wants you to know what that plan is?
Ask the average believer and he or she will probably answer, “of course.” The idea that God has a plan for our lives is right up there with the idea that we have a guardian angel and God wants us to go do heaven.
Ask Henry Blackaby, however, and he’ll probably tell you something different. The esteemed author of Experiencing God says we get it backwards. It’s not that God has a plan for my life… it’s that God has a plan, period. And our task is to align ourselves with God’s plan for the world.
Point taken. That doesn’t change the fact, however, that those whose hearts are turned toward God have a sincere desire to please Him, and to have confidence that they are following in a path He wants the to follow.
So… back to the question someone asked – How do you know when you’re doing God’s will? Let me suggest three guideposts you can use to evaluate your life in light of God’s will for you. [click to continue…]
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When I was studying for my doctorate, I was required in one class to write a literature review. I had never done that before, but we had a guidebook for writing lit reviews as one of our textbooks for this particular course.
I’m not sure what inspired me, or even where I got the idea. It was a bit outside my standard operating procedure. But I did it anyway: I opened the book and followed the instructions.
Step by-step.
No creative re-engineering.
No rethinking, reinventing, or re-anything.
My professor, who was Regent’s answer to Simon Cowell, raved. Talked about how refreshing it was to read my review after enduring a string of mediocre-to-bad papers.
While his feedback was amazing, what was more amazing was that all I had done was follow the instructions. [click to continue…]
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