The Way Things Ought To Be

The bottom line is that the Christian has a calling and a responsibility to think, work, and live in terms of how the world ought to be in contrast to reacting to how it really is. Christians who engage the world—like the many stories I’ve shared and the many more I could have—are consumed by this “way things ought to be” mind-set. They eat, drink, and breathe restoration. They see injustice and fight it. When confronted with evil they turn it for good. They are motivated to bring the love of Christ into every broken system they encounter. Instead of being cynical and hopeless, they bring optimism and expectation. For them, the entire world has been flipped on its head. Their focus has moved from self to others; from problems to solutions; from failure to redemption; from brokenness to restoration. [ … ]

A Cycle of Grace

… thinking about something, making a commitment to change, failing in the commitment, making a new commitment to change, failing again … On and on the cycle goes. Fortunately for all of us, God is very, very patient. He will continue calling to us, He will shout when He must, and He will always welcome us back with loving, nonjudgmental arms.

Excerpted from To Heaven and Back by Mary C. Neal, MD

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Daily Reflection:

How have you experienced the cycle of God’s grace and unending love?

Hearing the Father’s Voice

The beauty and power of a Voice from Home—that’s what this book is about. You may or may not be aware that during Christ’s life on earth, He heard a Voice from Home three separate times. And it was not just any old heavenly voice; it was His Father’s voice. Now certainly Jesus was in constant communication with His Father in heaven. We get glimpses of this throughout the Gospels. We know that Jesus did only what He saw the Father doing (see John 5:19). We know Jesus knew that His Father was with Him: “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him” ( John 8:29).

But on three occasions God the Father did something unique: He spoke audibly to Jesus. Yes, Jesus actually heard His [ … ]

Forgiveness: God’s Litmus Test

[Jesus’] words on forgiveness are life giving, because as we forgive those who have hurt us, we enter into a deeper understanding of God’s love and mercy, and we develop a grateful spirit that leads to a more intimate fellowship with Christ. He gives us a “fountain of living water” that really does bring life and refreshment to the deepest part of our being. Our relationship with Him becomes the focal point of our heart, and a once-callous heart toward God and others becomes a tender heart that is easily moved by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Because our forgiveness of others is God’s litmus test of our spiritual birth and the reality of our faith in Christ, few subjects are more important to our walk with God than this one.

Excerpted from The Greatest Words Ever Spoken by [ … ]

Worship at the Cross

The cross was the Father’s determined end for His Son. The cross was God’s idea…God’s redemption plan. The cross was the way to open the door. The cross was the only way rebels could ever truly worship again.

Yes, it’s a bloodstained cross, but a wonderful cross. In fact, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

The cross of Christ is a cross of healing. A place of unconditional love. A place of sweet embrace. From His cross comes salvation’s song, declaring to all that redemption is here. From it flows forgiveness free. The cross of Christ is a place of peace.
It’s the place where true worship begins.

Excerpted from Wired: For a Life of Worship by Louie Giglio

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Daily Reflection:

How can you worship differently because of the cross today?

Faithful in the Mundane

My God was a carpenter’s son with calluses to prove it. He swept sawdust from the floor at the end of the day. His feet were dirty most of his life. He wiped the sweat from his brow in his Nazareth existence, and for thirty years he waited. He obeyed. He was faithful in the mundane.

We don’t hear much about this part of Jesus’ life. There aren’t many verses dedicated to it, so we concentrate on the big events: the incarnation, the healings, his crucifixion and resurrection. But Jesus was not just biding time on his journey through the ordinary. God had an eternal purpose for the dust and troubles that prepared Jesus for the path of suffering ahead. I believe he has a purpose for the dust you and I encounter today.

Excerpted from At the Corner of [ … ]

You Still Got It

Resist the urge to say you’re too old, too young, too busy, too scared, too worn out, too washed up, too anything to be useful to God. Truth is, you’ve always been part of his love-the-world plan. Need proof? From the day he formed you in your mother’s womb, God has watched over your every step, making sure you got where you needed to go.

When you stumbled, it was God who steadied you.
When you fell, it was God who rescued you.
When you lost your way, it was God who carried you home.
Why? Because he knows you fully, loves you completely, and holds you close to his heart. God will never give up on you, my sister. You claim a special place in his Big Picture.

As the book of Proverbs says, “You can [ … ]

Secure in God’s Love

I lived the first three decades of my life like an insecure adolescent, forever picking daisies and tearing them apart, never stopping to enjoy their beauty. He loves me, He loves me not, I would say subconsciously, plucking a petal as I weighed my behavior and attitudes against what the Bible said I should be.

Powerful church services and sweet altar times. Ah, I felt secure in His love. Real life and less-than-sweet responses? I felt lost and all alone. Unfortunately, all I got from constantly questioning God’s love was a fearful heart and a pile of torn, wilted petals. My overzealous self-analysis never brought the peace I longed for.

Because the peace you and I were created for doesn’t come from picking daisies. It only comes from a living relationship with a loving God.

Excerpted fromLazarus Awakening by Joanna [ … ]

Contentment through Flexibility

In a letter to friends at Philippi, the battered apostle [Paul] revealed his “secret”—doing all things through Him. There’s something commendable in that approach to life. There are simply some things—whatever our disability or life situation might be—about which we need to be flexible.

Leaning on the strength of his Lord, Paul learned to be satisfied. With an empty stomach or a full one. In days of health or when he had to depend on others in his disability. In the comfortable homes of dear Christian friends or deep in the bowels of a Roman dungeon. In Christ, he was flexible. And because of that flexibility, God blessed him with great contentment.

Excerpted from Secret Strength by Joni Eareckson Tada

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Daily Reflection:

In what situation in your life do you need to work on flexibility?

The Holy Spirit’s Friendship

More than the gifts the Holy Spirit brings, I want you to know the amazing person of the Holy Spirit! Fellowship, communion, and intimacy—in other words, the friendship—with the Holy Spirit is the greatest blessing of all.

The Holy Spirit is not mystical. He’s practical. He wants to come and help you every day. He wants to be your walk-beside, talk-to-every-moment, comforting, empowering best friend!

My prayer is that you won’t spend another day in meager cheese-and crackers Christianity when a banquet of gifts and empowerments has already been purchased for you. He came with the purchase of your ticket to heaven.

Is the Holy Spirit your best friend? He can be today.

Excerpted from The God I Never Knew by Robert Morris

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Daily Reflection:

What practical step can you take to begin viewing the Holy Spirit as [ … ]