The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers…
Each day for years, two friends out for a walk passed an empty lot with a broken ‘for sale’ sign lying on its side. The property was full of weeds and dead trees. A tiny, rusted metal utility shed was the only thing that sat on the property. On this particular day, the inquisitive friend decided to look inside the shed, while the other friend waited impatiently on the sidewalk. “What a tumbled down mess,” the friend yelled, laughing from…
Growing up on a farm, we never raised goats, although we did have sheep for a short time when I was young. Not having raised both, it was still common knowledge that farmers separate sheep from goats. Why? There are many reasons, some of which include disease transference, dietary and feeding differences, and temperaments. Sheep are gentler animals, they leisurely graze together, and will loyally follow the one who takes care of them. Goats are rough, have a difficult disposition,…
They tap at my window, they knock on my door, thoughts without promise come by the score They beckon, they bargain, they love to entertain. Lord, help me to see that they’re clouds without rain. –E.A. Wilhelm Evangelical Christian pastor and author Rick Warren defines four principles for winning this battle: don’t believe everything you think guard your mind from garbage never let up on learning let God stretch your imagination And he also recommends an acrostic for the word…
Swiss theologian and Catholic priest Hans Ur von Balthasar (1905-1988), believed that theology is supposed to be the study of the fire and light that burn at the center of the world, and unlike his fellow theologians, he favored deeply personal spirituality. His book titled “Prayer”, published in 1986, simply states: “Harassed by life, exhausted, we look about us for somewhere to be quiet, to be genuine, a place of refreshment. We yearn to restore our spirits in God, to simply…
In a dream, I was performing a task and I was very, very sad about it. A man came along beside me and questioned me—not in a challenging way, but in a very compassionate way. He was asking me if I really needed to do this task, or if he could do it for me. I reflected on times in my life where I knew that I was supposed to handle things myself because the Lord had required me to…
“Give it all you got” is a phrase that cannot be tied as quoted by any one person. This phrase can be found used by sports legends, motivational speakers, musicians and singers, poets and authors, business leaders, and even Ethel Kennedy herself. It is a phrase that is meant to be words of encouragement. The Urban Dictionary defines the phrase to mean: To put forth all of one’s energy and effort into something; to give it one’s best effort; to…
Any believer who desires personal change can enter into, pass through and emerge from the seven significant events created with trials, tests, and lessons taught and lived through the life of Jesus. Cooperation with the direction the Spirit shows and guides each believer into is the only way change can occur. Avoid trying to change yourself based what you think needs accomplished or which way you think needs to be followed. Yield only to the Spirit, Who is responsible for…
“Harassed by life, exhausted, we look about us for somewhere to be quiet, to be genuine, a place of refreshment. We yearn to restore our spirits in God, to simply let go in him and gain new strength to go on living. But we fail to look for him where he is waiting for us, where he is to be found: in his Son, who is his Word. Or else we seek for God because there are a thousand things…
There are times we are brought to our knees in pain, confusion, upset, strife, or sin itself. Fighting through it seems like an uphill battle, and we just don’t have the strength to take another step. Sometimes it feels like a spiritual reckoning. In Romans 7, Paul talks about even as a Christian, we have this sin deep within us. That sin sometimes needs dealt with through a reckoning. But after repentance and the acceptance of forgiveness by faith that…