A New Center, A New Mission
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple…. for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:1, 5b ESV). Isaiah was said to have had a close relationship with king
Shaped or Misshaped
Culture wants to shape us like itself. In this regard, it is a force that must be acknowledged and reckoned with for our own spiritual good. Conforming to the world is the enemy of our transformation into Christlikeness. This is why Paul warned us, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be
The Gardener
Mary mistook Jesus for the Gardener on the day He arose. What a blessed mistake! He it was who made the heavens and the earth. He it was who planted Eden. Our Lord made all things and “without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3-4). He put a man and a
Aligning with Creation
A man bought a large arid piece of land, planning to grow plants on it. A friend asked, “What are you going to plant?” He said, “I do not know. I have to listen to the soil before I know what will work.” The earth has often been abused and molested by people who
In Such a Way
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” Matthew 5:16 (NASB). We are not only to let our lights shine, we are to let it shine in such a way that it points to our Father and
Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
Peter walked on water when He kept his eyes on Jesus and did not succumb to fear. Fear of the waves caused him to look away. Jesus reached out His hand to Peter in rescue. Fear short circuits faith. We need rescue every time we take our eyes off Jesus. Glancing away becomes looking
Where You Are
God always calls us to serve where we are and not in some distant place or future time. In any place you find yourself, let your light shine there. Bear another’s burdens. Hurt with those who hurt. Weep with those who weep. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Encourage those who struggle. Strengthen the weak
The Spirit Whispers
The Spirit prompts us sometimes in unsuspecting ways. His voice often comes to us in a whisper. The heart not attuned hears nothing. I fear sometimes He has something to say to me but I am tuned to another frequency, focused on other things. The Lord speaks softly. He seldom raises His voice. Samuel
Pilgrims on a Journey
We are pilgrims on a journey. When we get there He has already been there. When we leave there He goes with us. He is committed to us. He is the faithful Guide who has traveled the way before us. He is our Companion on the journey. He is the Way to the Father’s
The Creating Son
Everything in creation is made by Him and for Him. It is He who trained the stars to run their courses. He existed before the “morning stars sang together”. He existed before creation, because He is the Creator. He is the Word who was with God and is God. God has always been His
The Critical
You cannot give yourself permission to be a critical person in one area of your life without it eating into the core of who you are in all areas of your life. Criticism salted with anger is in vogue. Ranting changes us. Criticism ends up embittering the critic. Your soul becomes sour when you
Love Jesus More
Most of us say we want to love Jesus more and get closer to Him. We think that is done merely by prayer and our devotional life. There is more. We love Jesus by loving those whom Jesus loves, the least, the lost, the scorned, and the rejected ones. We draw near to Him
From Faith to Faith
“But my righteous (justified) one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” (Heb 10:38) Our faith is never to be a past faith but an ongoing and growing relationship of confidence, trusting Him more and more every day. With faith we began this journey and
Leaky Containers
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water” Jeremiah 2:13 (NASB). Human kind has a built-in thirst that only God can satisfy. When we reject Him as the source, we are ever on a
Trying to Pray
Someone said, “Trying to pray is still praying.” When I stumble trying to say what I feel and struggle with my weaknesses in my praying, the Holy Spirit comes through to help. His prayer for me is always in the divine will. He takes feeble words and presents them in an orderly way to
Available for Him
God wants to do something through you today. He wants your availability. He is at work in you “to will and do of His good pleasure.” Go with Him. Flow with Him. Let Him work through you. It takes the strain out. When you go with what God is doing, you may feel almost
From Bad to Worse
In a world of blatant evil that goes from bad to worse, what are we to do? Wringing our hands and fretting over it will only turn us aside from forward progress. We who have chosen the good must not allow evil to turn us aside. We know the path that has been taught
Right Tools
Christians are called to use a different set of tools for life, as modeled by our Lord. To the world, these tools seem so irrational. Jesus met hate with love, violence with kindness, curses with blessing, meanness with forgiveness and death with surrender. You cannot return evil for evil without adding to the problem
Self-Deception
The self knows how to pretend its name is love. It can call selfishness compassion. It can do all this, because it wants to think of itself as righteous. “Every man's way is right in his own eyes” Proverbs 21:2a (NASB). The self needs the Spirit to reprove and correct it. Without the Word
Evil and Good
Evil hates the good. It resists and rejects the good. It will contradict and persecute the good. This is the nature of evil. Jesus knew this and warned His disciples of it. "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” John 15:18 (NIV). Do not let it take you
Vague Surrenders
We like vague surrenders. It is easy to make a general surrender when we are singing, I Surrender All. The wayward child, the divorce, the lost job, the empty bank account, the dreaded diagnosis, the rude neighbor or boss is another matter. It is more difficult to surrender the specifics of our lives. Our
The Night Hours
There are times when sleep takes its flight and is nowhere near. Don’t fret, pray. Someone has said, “Don’t count sheep; talk to the Shepherd”. Don’t worry; meditate on the goodness and greatness of God. Release your anxieties and cling to the Lord. When you feel the weight of the whole world, lift your
Our Merciful King
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made” (Psalm 145:8-9 ESV). Think about our King. Gracious. Merciful. Slow to anger. Abounding in love. Steadfast love. Good to all. Not just some. His
Our Righteous King
“The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth (Psalm 145:17-18 ESV). Righteousness is about right relationship. It is to be right, as in just and compassionate with other humans. It
Praising our King
“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” (Psalm 145:1-3 ESV). King Jesus deserves our verbal praise; He is worthy.