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Draw Near to the Lord

April 15, 2013

The book of James gives us a short course in how to defeat Satan. It says that in relation to Satan, we are to be like the kind of magnet that repels another magnet. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). More to our point here, James says that in relation to God, we are to be like the kind of magnet that attracts Him. “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (verse 8). The Lord is always there, right next to us, waiting for us to draw near to Him so that He can respond in just the same way.

Oh, I beg you, my friend, draw near to the Lover of your soul. He so wants you to know Him as intimately as He already knows you. Hear His voice [ … ]

Dare to Live Extraordinarily

April 12, 2013

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9, NLT

These words paint a picture of an unimaginable and extraordinary existence, one far beyond what any mere mortal has known or experienced. You may have heard these words before and related them only to heaven’s glory. But in actuality, they were penned for the here and now! For the writer, the apostle Paul, continues, “But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit” (verse 10, NLT).

There’s One Person above all others who desires an extraordinary life for you. He is a Father who delights, like any good father, in the achievements and happiness of His children. His name is God! And nothing will please Him more than [ … ]

Lost in Him

April 11, 2013

The progression toward oneness with God leaves you absent of yourself. Lost in Him.

As you move more fully into what God sees and what He desires, you’ll no longer be concerned with what you lack or how you’ve failed. As you walk with Him day by day, you will come to see yourself through His truths.

Afraid that you can’t get past your past?

Getting lost in intimacy with God will assure your heart that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Fearful that you can’t overcome a sinful habit?

Intimacy with God will bring you to believe that your “old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no [ … ]

Generosity

April 10, 2013

The famous psychiatrist Karl Menninger noted that the single most important indicator of a person’s mental health was generosity. “Generous people are rarely mentally ill,” he wrote.  I think the early social reformer Dorothea Dix understood that concept. She’d survived a difficult childhood and was a successful teacher by the time she was fifteen opening a school for girls when young ladies rarely attended school. By the time she was twenty, she had a bestselling book, the first of many. Yet she often had serious bouts with a lung illness and terrible fatigue, some of which appeared to be related to great sadness and loneliness.

When she began working on behalf of the mentally ill later in her life, her health dramatically improved.  Where she’d stayed home from church for fear of catching a cold on the Boston streets or [ … ]

Stand Up

April 9, 2013

Sometimes we do stand up for what we believe. We tell someone it’s wrong to use God’s name as a cuss word, or we ask our unbelieving friends what they think happens after they die. But more often than not, it seems we just sink deeper into our chair, change the subject, leave the room, or just tell our conscience to take a hike. Our convictions are a private matter, we rationalize (that is, rational lies). It’s important not to make waves or come across as if we’re better than somebody else.

When we make decisions to obey God—even when it costs us something—and to live out our faith in our day-to-day life, it will be hard, but it will be good. And it will be good because God loves to bless us when we are faithful to stand for [ … ]

Apple of His Eye

April 5, 2013

Psalm 17:8 finds the psalmist pleading, “Keep me as the apple of your eye.” The apple of the eye is the tiny reflection of yourself that you can see in another person’s pupil. To see it, you have to be close. Intimate. To see yourself as God does, you have to get lost in His intimacy.

Excerpted from Get Lost by Dannah Gresh

Daily Reflection: Do you see yourself as God does?

Treasure vs. Stuff

April 4, 2013

“Time passes more simply in St. Cecilia, and we are surrounded by less stuff. There are fewer clothes in the closet and on the shelves and in the drawers. There are fewer pots and pans and dishes and such. Lord knows there are fewer tables.

Sometimes when I am on St. Cecilia, I think of all my stuff back in Tennessee and wonder how it is doing and whether or not it misses me.”

* * * * *
“I am afraid sometimes I do not really have my stuff but rather my stuff has me. “Your heart is where your treasure is,” or so I have heard it said, and I hate to think all my treasure is to be found on my tables and on my shelves.”

Excerpted from Home by Another Way: Notes from the Caribbean [ … ]

A Shot of Faith

April 3, 2013

“Like a morning with no coffee, there are times when we are sluggish in our faith. Times when trusting God doesn’t come easily. Times when we need a shot of God-caffeine in our day. A spiritual espresso. What can we do at these times? Are there things in the Scriptures that tell us how we can strengthen our trust-muscles and jump-start our faith? Absolutely!

One practical way to build your faith is by remembrance. When David was just a shepherd boy, he had courage to face a giant partly because he remembered the previous victories the Lord had allowed him to experience. He approached King Saul with great confidence, saying: ‘The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine’ (1 Samuel 17:37).

David’s [ … ]

Longing for Intimacy

April 2, 2013

Have you ever felt that there must be more to this Christian life? Is your faith dead? Does it all seem superficial and powerless? Well, maybe what you’re experiencing is exactly that.

We desire something more because we were meant to have something that’s been taken from us. Both our intimacy with God and with one another were harmed when original sin entered the world and we began to live under the Curse. Deep in our spirits is a longing to be restored to the intimacy we were created to experience.

Excerpted from Get Lost by Dannah Gresh

Daily Reflection: How can work toward a more intimate relationship with God?

Late to the party

April 1, 2013

Luke 15:25:" Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing."

The party was already raging for the Prodigal son when the hard working brother came forth. I always wondered about how he might have felt coming late to the party. But at least he could hear the music.

Dorothea Dix, a social reformer of the early 19th century, might have thought she too came late to the party. She didn’t find her purpose in life until nearly the age of 46. That year she felt compelled to advocate for the mentally ill housed with criminals and debtors in a cold brick-walled prison in Boston. She insisted they have heat and got it for them. Thus began her life’s work.

Music played a part in her [ … ]