Posts from February 2021

Matthew 5:6 (NIV) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Spiritual hunger presupposes a spiritual capacity;  and such hunger originates with God (John 6:44).  It is the call of God echoing within us;  and when we pay attention to that sense of need, of desire, of craving, and turn it Godward, we can be assured that our hunger will be satisfied.  The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole…

I Thessalonians 4:3 (NIV) Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  “Those who thrive in life and work learn the power of gratitude, hope and faith in the midst of darkness and pain.  There is no doubt that if we do not develop the capacity to accept with grace the setbacks of life and work—whether from our own failures or through the actions of others, justified or not—we will become nothing but…

II Corinthians 4:12 (NIV)   So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.  Do you attribute every difficulty to some form of demonic opposition or attack?  Do not give more credit to evil than is due!  “Most of the difficulty we experience is part and parcel of what it means to live on planet earth–something clearly allowed by God.”  Lean into the discernment that the Holy Spirit provides.  He will give you wisdom.

John 17:4 (KJV) (Jesus praying to the Father) “I have glorified Thee on the earth.  I have finished the work which You gave me to do.”   Our work on earth will include some form of difficulty or pain.  Jesus told his disciples to take up their crosses, and follow Him.  There is a cross to bear, because the pain of a broken world will certainly intersect our calling.  Can you  “accept with grace the fact that difficulty is part…

Matthew 6:33 (NLT)  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.   How do you deal with losses and limitations?  They are a part of life;  and faith is intended to connect with the realities of life.  We will thrive in some roles and relationships but not in others.  Along the way, our limitations confront us and we have to come to terms with the reality that some things…

Matthew 26:75 (The Message)   Peter remembered what Jesus had said:  “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”  He went out and cried and cried and cried.  Regret.  We’ve all experienced it.  We all respond differently:  denial, excuses, withdrawal, overcompensation.  Satan is the accuser, (Rev. 12:10 ) so he focuses on amplifying our failures—to us, to God, to one another.  “Nothing is gained by living with regret.  Nothing.  Forgive yourself;  learn from what has happened and what…

Mark 11:25 (NLT) (Jesus said) “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against;  so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” Forgiveness is such an essential foundational beam for a healthy life.  The Gospel is built on it.  Christ died to open a forgiveness pathway.  Throughout our lives, we face many opportunities for resentment—with parents, with people who have been violent or unjust.  “One of the givens of life is that…

Psalm 40:2 (NLT) He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.  He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. We live in a discouraging world  “but if we remain locked in discouragement, it becomes a cynicism that leaves our hearts in a perpetual state of gloom.  For those of us who are prone to become discouraged, the grave danger is that we would get lost in…

Luke 12:32 (NLT)   So don’t be afraid, little flock.  For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. Only a person completely out of touch with life would say they never get anxious.  “But we walk the way of death when we allow anxieties to consume and overpower us.  Our only hope is to honestly confront our worries and fears, and accept with grace that all we can do is trust in the providential care of…

Ephesians 4:31-32 (The Passion Translation) Lay aside bitter words, temper tantrums, revenge, profanity, and insults.  But instead be kind and affectionate toward one another.  Has God graciously forgiven you?  Then graciously forgive one another in the depths of Christ’s love.  “We will be wronged;  nothing can stop this.  But we can decide if that wrong will fester in our hearts and ultimately destroy us, or whether we will let it go.  Emotional health comes through acknowledgment (of our anger),  but…

John 14:1 (The Passion Translation)  (Jesus said)  “Don’t worry or surrender to your fear.  For you’ve believed in God, now trust and believe in me also.”   Christ calls us to emotional health that persists in the face of setbacks and disappointments.  The Holy Spirit helps us channel our emotional energy toward worthy goals.  He enables us to enter into deep realms of prayer (Rom. 8:26), teaches us how to offload our weariness and heavy burdens (Matt. 11:28), and helps…

Ephesians 4:26 (The Passion Translation)   But don’t let the passion of your emotions lead you to sin!  Don’t let anger control you or be fuel for revenge, not for even a day.  Don’t give the slanderous accuser, the Devil, and opportunity to manipulate you! Are you able to manage your emotional life so that you are not paralyzed by worry or swept away by anger?  Are you able to manage your emotions rather than be managed by your emotions? …

John 14:15 (The Message) “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.”   Obedience is the practical acceptance of the authority of God over your life.  It includes both submitting to Him in your heart and expressing your submission through actions and words.  “To be obedient is to be in agreement with God…to be in a position of power in Christ.”*  When we knowingly disobey what we know to be God’s will, we weaken our defenses…

Luke 19:13 (KJV) And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, “Occupy till I come.”  The promise of Christ’s future Kingdom  “must not keep us from possessing the dimensions of victory that God has for us now.”  We must not neglect our prayer responsibilities but  “occupy” by drawing on the resources of God’s Kingdom and power and reach into the realm of the invisible through prayer and change one circumstance after another.  It…

I Kings 19:7 (NLT)   Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched (Elijah) and said,  “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”  The angel helped Elijah pay attention to the condition of his body as the vehicle that would enable him to take the journey that lay ahead.  If he did not care for his body, the journey into the presence of God would be too much for…

I Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)   Never stop praying.  All of life can be prayer because there are so many ways for us to connect with God.  Solitude and silence help us experience the more contemplative elements of prayer.  Lectio-Divina is a way to pray the scriptures.  The prayer of examine is our expression to God to search us and reveal to us the things we need to understand about ourselves.  “Discernment is the listening part of prayer:  sitting with a…

Psalm 139:23-24 (The Message)   Search me, O God, and know my heart;  test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.   The prayer for self-examination evokes a sense of dread.  We are inviting God to help US know ourselves better (He already knows us best and loves us most).  Only under God’s steady gaze of love are we able to find the healing…

Matthew 6:11(NIV)   Give us today our daily bread.  This supplication shows our need to learn an accountability for each day’s hours and events.  Jesus is teaching us to ask for the Father’s direction and provision in every event and during each hour of our day.  “Committing each day’s details to God in prayer—requesting today’s bread—can deliver us from pointless pursuits and wasted time.”  Such prayer paves the way to victorious days.  “Daily bread” prayer is a “daily victory”  and …

Matthew 4:4 (NIV)   Jesus answered, “It is written:  ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  When Jesus prayed, “Give us this day our daily bread,”  He was talking about more than having enough food or having our physical needs met.  He was inviting us to come to the Father daily for refreshing, renewal and nourishment for both soul and body.  We must recognize our dependency on the Lord…

Exodus 15:23  When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter…the Lord showed (Moses) a piece of wood.  He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.  The Israelites did not expect bitter water.  After such a remarkable deliverance through Red Sea waters, they did not anticipate the hardships ahead.  Only three days into their wilderness journey and their songs of rejoicing turned into sounds of murmuring.  How quickly praises at the…

John 8: 32  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Real faith leads to truth, freedom, and knowledge.  Jesus’  teachings lead us progressively  “from ignorance to knowledge, from error or misinformation or uncertainty to truth, and from slavery to liberty.”  “Knowledge of the truth, acquired through experience, does not bring the liberty of which Jesus spoke.  Knowledge itself is conditioned upon abiding in His word (v. 31), which makes spiritual revelation prior in importance…

John 8:31  To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said,  “If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples.”  When Jesus taught and experienced resistance from the Pharisees, He was blunt:  “Unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24b).  That’s pretty blunt!  Then there were those in the crowd who did express belief in Jesus but probably had a shallow faith that Jesus was attempting to…

I Samuel 10:24 (The Message)  Samuel then addressed the people, “Take a good look at whom God has chosen…”  It was time for the coronation of Israel’s first king;  but Saul was hiding.  His sense of inadequacy caused him to run when it was time to step up and lead.  He faced inner fears and external opposition (v. 27).  When God leads us into positions of responsibility we often face resistance (internal and external).  Sometimes people withhold support until we…

Judges 16:28  O Sovereign Lord, remember me.  O God, please strengthen me just once more…  Sampson’s story reads like a modern-day superhero movie!  At times he crumbled under temptation and at other times the Spirit of God enabled him to do great exploits.  He truly struggled in that tug-of-war between right and wrong.  When he gave into the lures, his spiritual strength weakened.  When he allowed God’s Spirit to rest upon him, he excelled.  Can you identify with his struggle…