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A True Child of God

September 27, 2013

“‘The Word’s powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword. Even the long lists of names remind you of the faithfulness of God, from generation to generation…’

‘Trusting Jesus and being a true child of God meant that whatever God said about His Son, He could say about me. He loved me…Not because I was smart or special or had great talents or gifts. It wasn’t because I was living the ‘good Christian life’ I was trying so hard to get right. He just looked at me and loved me. He delighted in me like a father delighting in his children. It suddenly all made sense…’

‘And I saw how deep my sin was. How foolish I was to try and fix myself. How silly my attempts at being a good man looked compared to King Jesus. And then I saw grace. [ … ]

Belonging to One Another

September 26, 2013

“Romans 12:5 describes this concept [of connectedness] in an awe-inspiring way when it states, “So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (emphasis added). If we are to take that to heart—and certainly we should—then we’d best be about caring, nurturing, investing in, and being responsible for one another. To the point that we accept the truth that we belong to others in the body. What a life-changing concept that could be for us all if we were to actually live that out in our marriages and in the community of believers.”

Excerpted from Faith Tango by Carolyn and Craig Williford

Daily Reflection: How can you better live in connectedness with your spouse, family, church body, and community?

More than Just “Getting In” Through the Pearly Gates

September 25, 2013

“Having faith, beliefs, and convictions is a great thing, but your life is measured by the actions you take based upon them. You can build a great life around those things you believe and have faith in. I’ve built mine around my belief that I can inspire and bring hope to people facing challenges in their lives. That belief is rooted in my faith in God. I have faith that He put me on this earth to love, inspire, and encourage others and especially to help all who are willing to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I believe that I can never earn my way to heaven, and by faith I accept the gift of the forgiveness of sins through Christ Jesus. However, there’s so much more than just “getting in” through the Pearly Gates. It is [ … ]

A Big Dream

September 24, 2013

“Do you believe every person on earth was born with a dream for his or her life?
No matter where I travel in the world—whether among hard-charging Manhattan urbanites or villagers in southern Africa—I have yet to find a person who didn’t have a dream. They may not be able to describe it. They may have forgotten it. They may no longer believe in it.
But it’s there.

I call this universal and powerful longing a Big Dream. Like the genetic code that describes your unique passions and abilities, your Big Dream has been woven into your being from birth. You’re the only person with a Dream quite like yours.
And you have it for a reason: to draw you toward the kind of life you were born to love!”

Excerpted from The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson

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Superhero Lives

September 23, 2013

“There’s Spider-Man, Superman, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and more. Add to this mix the movie swith extraordinary heroes who do remarkable feats and live exceptional lives, characters such as Batman, Iron Man, Indiana Jones, and Zorro, just to name a few. In fact, as of 2009, seventeen of the top twenty-five all-time blockbuster movies fall under these categories, which is almost 70 percent. How intriguing that the bulk of the most popular movies of all time are films that center on extraordinary characters doing remarkable feats, with a good number of them possessing beyond human abilities or powers. Why? Because ‘extraordinary’ is how we were created to live. It was God’s plan from the beginning.”

Excerpted from Extraordinary: Keys to a Breakthrough Life by John Bevere

Daily Reflection: How can you live a [ … ]

Sharing His Heart

September 20, 2013

 “‘I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s [personal] business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you’ ( John 15:15). Jesus is saying, ‘I value you not just because of how you serve me, but because you share my heart.’ A friend’s value lies not so much in what she does, but in who she is as a personal confidant.

God wants to be our friend, and He wants us to be His friends. We can experience this friendship level of intimacy. As James 2:23 tells us, ‘And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.’”

Excerpted from Every Young Woman’s Battle by Shannon Ethridge and Stephen [ … ]