The Gift of Adversity

The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. – Job 42:12, NASB When reading the book of Job, there’s a tendency to focus on what Job lost and then regained in terms of family and wealth. However, there is one thing that Job never lost and held onto through his entire […]

New Life Out of Suffering

There are times in life when you may feel like you are walking across a hot desert. You are emotionally drained, squeezed dry by life. Your mouth is parched, your body weakened. It seems no one is there to give you a cup of water to revive you. It may be hard to see, but […]

Prayer Journal–Trust

Trust. Do I trust that you are in all things dear Lord? Can I trust the God of all things, the God who created me in His image for a purpose? Can I trust you dear God are in all things? At times I do not understand, Lord, when I do not see your purpose. […]

Sunday Praise

The living, the living—they praise you,as I am doing today;parents tell their childrenabout your faithfulness.The LORD will save me,and we will sing with stringed instrumentsall the days of our livesin the temple of the LORD. – Isaiah 38:19-20, NIV

Empty Nets and Emptiness or Fullness in Christ

Yet there he is in your boat, right in the middle of your life. He’s teaching to the crowds but it seems he’s speaking directly to you. In the same places you’ve fished all your life for meaning, he has you cast your nets. Knowing the routine, you protest but give in. But this time they come up with the fullness of Christ.

The Consequences of Jealousy

Jealousy is a dangerous emotion. It is closely related to discontent. Both can lead us to sin against others if they are not kept in check. In Daniel 6:1-24, we see how jealousy led the commissioners and satraps to pursue killing Daniel. As Daniel distinguished himself from the others in the king’s court “because he […]

Prayer Journal–Heart and Soul

May my heart be oriented to you dear God. May my soul yearn for you dear God. May your Spirit compel me to seek you. May my mind focus on you dear God. May I have the mind of Christ. May my thoughts be your thoughts. May I pour all my strength into you dear […]

Sunday Praise

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying,“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” – Revelation 7:11-12, […]

The Power of Prayer

Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” – 1 Kings 18:37, NASB Elijah wasn’t there to put on a show or to prove he was right. He was obedient to God’s will and prayed that the […]

God Provides

God, who created the world and all that is in it, created you. His love and care for the world, and for you, is evident in the details. There’s a great picture of this in 1 Kings 17:1-5. In this passage, Elijah the prophet told Ahab, King of Israel, “As the LORD, the God of […]