If you have the YouVersion Bible app, you know there’s a 14 Days devotional plan by Tim Keller. The selected readings are from his new book. I am on Day 9. “The question the book of Job is posed in it’s very beginning. Is it possible that a man or woman can come to love […]
Whenever we experience pain, from a minor headache to a broken rib to a life-threatening disease, our first prayer is for God to take away the pain. I don’t think that’s right. As I age, can I expect my life to be pain-free? If my knees hurt and my neck is stiff, isn’t that just […]
I want to remember this for myself in my Bible devotional reading. Matthew 17:1-13 Don’t be so quick to do things for God. The first response is to listen to God. Enjoy the glory and majesty of Jesus.
I read this somewhere. Just want to post it here so I can remember it and look it up whenever I need to be reminded. Prayer is our greatest privilege and our most lasting legacy as parents. You’ll never be a perfect parent, but you can be a praying parent. Prayer turns ordinary parents into prophets […]
A blessing by Jean Vanier May all your expectations be frustrated. May all your plans be thwarted. May all your desires be withered into nothingness That you may experience the powerlessness and poverty of a child and sing and dance in the love of God the Father, the Son and the Spirit.
“Why do you behave so well in Bible drill but not in worship?” I asked a fifth-grade boy. “Because I don’t want my mom to get mad at me in Bible drill.” He replied. Even as adults we are often motivated by external forces without any inner change. We can act good and proper in […]
I experienced my first Lectio Divina today. I enjoyed the 55 minutes of meditating on one passage of the Bible along with 7 other ladies. It gave me a relaxed time to focus on God and silent prayer. There was no pressure to talk, although I did share my thoughts. And it was good to […]
I read this good analogy about God’s love for us and the forgiveness we have in Jesus who died to pay for our sin. (From “How Good is Good Enough?” by Andy Stanley) When my children were very young, I bought a used Infiniti. It was the nicest car I have ever owned. It was […]
Going to church brings out the best in me, giving me a false sense of “righteousness.” After all, I am doing good works by helping at church, loving people (at least superficially), and giving money. But those very acts can make me blind to the real sins in my life. Sins of pride, selfishness, worldliness. […]
One of those forwards, kind of cute. Dancing With God I remember reading that doing God’s will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement does not flow with the music and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that and lets the other […]
“Many Christians think stoicism is a good antidote to sensuality. It isn’t. It is hopelessly weak and ineffective. Willpower religion usually fails, and even when it succeeds, it gets glory for the will, not for God. It produces legalists, not lovers. ” (In Our Joy by John Piper, p 35) “Our natural tendency is to […]
You can’t help but be impressed by Daniel, as in Daniel and the Lion’s Den. His enemies could not find a fault to accuse him. He did everything with integrity and followed the law exactly. But what should impress us more is the God who enabled him. It’s God who granted him favor, who gave […]
Ray Ortlund on Sabbath. I like the last 3 sentences. “If we did set apart one day each week for rejuvenation in God, we would immediately add to every year over seven weeks of vacation. And not for doing nothing but for worship, for friends, for mercy, for an afternoon nap, for reading and thinking, […]
I am understanding a little more each day about ministry. Even though I’ve had many years of ministry experience as a volunteer, I am just getting to understand ministry as a paid staff. I thought being a volunteer and staff would be similar. I would still be planning programs, teaching the Bible, helping people, etc. […]
On Sunday I read to the children an incident in the life of Hudson Taylor. As a way to build his spiritual muscles to depend on God before he went to China as a missionary, Taylor decided to ask God to remind his boss to pay him, rather than Taylor himself reminding his boss, who […]
I notice that when we have aches and pains, we have an expectation that it can be treated and cured. We go to the doctor to get a diagnosis and expect the problem to be solved with meds or surgery or therapy or something. When no diagnosis is found – “we don’t know what is […]
I’ve always wanted to adopt a child. My heart goes out to the children who would grow up without a real family. But for whatever reason, I never quite felt the calling to actually adopt. And I feel like I somehow missed out on something. I always tell people that if I were relive my […]
For the past couple of years, I’ve observed something like Lent during the Lent season – 40 days before the passion week of Christ. The idea is to prepare your heart to truly celebrate what Jesus did for us at Easter. By committing yourself to abstain from something or to do something positive, something that […]
I was in the ladies bathroom at church today and politely asked the elderly woman there the perfunctory, “How are you?” She replied, “I’m good, praise the Lord.” I like that. Praise God indeed. Even if we are not well, we know God is sovereign. Praise the Lord.
We can function and live a decent life, even active in the church, “serving God”, and even do a good job in vocational ministry, yet have no real fellowship with God. But I find that if I go weeks without focused prayer (merely surviving on quick prayers and public prayers that are usually impersonal), holes […]