Actively listen
He says, Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. – Psalm 46:10a To actively listen, we have to stop talking, and usually stop what we are doing. God tells us to “be still” because he knows that’s usually not our […]
Gold statues
Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. – Jonah 2:8 “Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.” Are we just talking gold statues and ornate shrines here? Is this relevant today? Any man-made thing that […]
Included in his kingdom
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. – Matthew 6:33 Jesus often spoke about the kingdom of God during his ministry, and continued to speak about it after his resurrection. He suffered, died and rose from death so that each of us could […]
Our war
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12 We may carry the metaphor of “the sword of the spirit” too far – envisioning ourselves hacking through […]
When we pray
Pray continually… – 1 Thessalonians 5:17 In our culture “good thoughts” and “positive energy” are synonymous with prayer. But when believers in Jesus pray, we are connecting relationally with the Creator, the Savior and the Helper on behalf of ourselves and others. It’s also important to remember that thinking about praying, or saying, “I’ll be […]
Love Completely
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. – Deuteronomy 6:5 How do you love someone you can’t perceive with your senses? One way is to look at his creation: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his […]
Walk by the Spirit
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. – Galatians 5:16 Later in this chapter the “desires of the flesh” are described, and first on the list: sexual immorality. We have daily opportunities to choose to walk by the Spirit and turn away from things that […]
Don’t fully understand him
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this… – Psalm 37:5 The “C” word! Why do we fear this? Probably because when we make a real commitment, there will be times that the action it requires may run contrary to our current desires. Making a commitment to God is […]
Use your creative intellect
Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. – Psalm 99:5 “Exalt” is not part of my conversational vocabulary. I looked at synonyms and got “elevate” and “glorify” which is not much help. How do we “exalt the Lord our God” in a way that feels natural and genuine? Here […]
Encouragement takes courage to give
Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” – Hebrews 3:13a Encouragement takes courage to give. For some people it comes more naturally than others, but it always requires that you offer something to someone else – and you have to risk that your words will be spurned or ignored. This week, […]