“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5, ESV) How many decisions will you make today? Twenty? Three hundred? One thousand? Researchers estimate the average adult makes 35,000 decision each day. (Your first decisions today may have been whether to hit…
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:13, NLT) Recently, a friend left for a country where she feels God has called her to work. She was excited, joyful, eager to reach her new home. I was happy…
So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him. (Luke 5:11, NKJV) So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. (Luke 5:28, NKJV) Have you ever wondered why Jesus chose the twelve men He did to become His disciples? What qualities did He…
“Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.” Exodus 3:1 The backside of the desert can seem like a place of barrenness. When…
“…Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Luke 22:42 When God’s Will is Different from Our Will This week commemorates the loss of one of my spiritual mentors. Sister Ann, a very influential woman in my life, was diagnosed with an invasive cancer. Prayer about the healing for her…
“You ought to say instead, ‘If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.’” (James 4:15, New English Translation). A good friend and I live about fifty miles apart. It’s not a great distance, but meeting for lunch requires extra planning. We don’t just run…
“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1, New King James Version). How long does it take before God answers a prayer? Is there a point when we just give up asking? Even if we find prayer—and how to…
“He is the one who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not based on our works but on his own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (II Timothy 1:9, New English Translation). Calling. It’s a small word but it has great…
“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2, Christian Standard Bible). A few months ago, I discovered an app for my cell phone called Bible…