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A Childlike Heart

March 21, 2013

The simple metaphor of a childlike heart plumbs profound spiritual truth. Jesus invites you to more than a stroll down memory lane. He offers you complete transformation—from the inside out. It’s not about changing a few behaviors or mimicking a child’s demeanor. It’s about becoming like a child, through and through. Just as surely as your body has no life without the robust beat of a healthy heart, so the soul lives abundantly only with a free, joyous interior.

Here’s hope. Don’t miss it. Please believe it. Jesus is offering you a whole new heart—the heart of a little child.

Excerpted from A Childlike Heart by Alan D. Wright

Daily Reflection: Why is it so hard for adults to adopt a childlike heart?

He Will Be Enough

March 20, 2013

“Every time we start to feel empty, it reminds us to keep coming back to our primal relationship with Christ.

Emptiness and desperation are the greatest reminders that our faith is not simply an aspect of our lives or a cultural inheritance. They point to a God who wants us to experience Him every moment of every day. They are a constant reminder that we were made for (and promised) a greater world free of pain and emptiness.

Maybe that’s what being filled with new life is all about. We come to realize that we can depend on Him for everything-no matter what we feel or what comes next-and He will be enough.”

Excerpted from Firsthand by Ryan and Josh Shook

Daily Reflection: Pray that today God will fill you up with His grace.

Empty

March 19, 2013

When we forget that Christianity is all about a relationship with Christ and we start to settle for the kind of Christianity where we check off our to-do lists for God, then we inevitably experience the emptiness of religion. Religion is all about humankind trying to work its way into God’s approval, and that always leaves an emptiness and ache in the soul.

Empty religion shows up when someone tries to follow rules and rituals to earn salvation, but it also shows up when a Christ follower starts trying to be a “good Christian” so God will love him or her more.
Most of us can’t keep that up for very long.

Two things are certain when you turn faith into religion and try to do all the right things to get God’s approval. Number one: you feel [ … ]

The War is Over

March 18, 2013

The resurrection is proof of Christ’s victory over sin and our hope of salvation.

The resurrection, however, is not a doctrine to be pondered but an invitation to experience the living Christ in your life. …For the resurrection is not just an event that occurred in the first century. It continues to impact lives to this day. In reality, not only was Christ resurrected— you too are raised to new life when you’re in Him. This is the gift of God to all who put their faith in His Son.

…Listen carefully: the battle is won! Don’t believe Satan’s lie that we have to do battle with him. Simply tell him, “You’ve already been defeated! And the same power that defeated you is the same power that now resides in my life.” Don’t get caught up in the fad [ … ]

Houston Post: Ryan & Josh Shook Rediscover ‘Firsthand’ Faith

March 15, 2013

 

Ryan and Josh Shook are profiled in the Houston Chronicle regarding their debut book Firsthand: Ditching Secondhand Religion for a Faith of Your Own (March 19, 2013) and their personal struggles as  pastor’s kids to find a personal faith instead of copying that of their parents.

“You don’t have to be a pastor’s kid to find the faith that you had – or faked – for years doesn’t feel real anymore, they say. Ask most 20-somethings raised in a Christian home: They’ve gone through struggles and left the church, or like the Shooks, been forced to find a deeper understanding of Christianity,” writes the Houston Post.

Ryan and Josh Shook, along with their father Kerry, pastor of the Woodlands Church, will appear together at Lakewood Church in Houston on Wednesday, March 20 at 7:30 PM.

Praise Him

March 15, 2013

Prayerwalking is a date, an appointment with my Personal Trainer for becoming a woman of discipline, strength, and prayer. He meets me as I’m stepping out the door. He accepts my praise and thanks and lets me worship him in silent, reverential awe. In the allegorical Song of Songs the beloved says of her lover, “How right they are to adore you!” (1:4). In adoration I come closest to experiencing heaven here on earth. It is perhaps preparation for my heavenly life, when I will fall down and worship him forever. Saint Augustine said, “Those who look for the Lord will cry out in praise of him, because all who look for him shall find him, and when they find him they will praise him.” These prayers of adoration allow us to find our complete satisfaction in God alone—his love, [ … ]

Spiritual Maturity

March 14, 2013

The closer your walk with God, the keener will be your receptivity to His Word. If you ignored the last three things God told you to do, why would He give you an exciting, deeper revelation? Instead, He’ll keep bringing you back to the last thing He said until you’re finally ready to respond.

Excerpted from Unlimiting God by Richard Blackaby

Daily Reflection: What is God telling you to do that you have been ignoring?

NEWS: Radical, Every Man’s Battle, Every Young Man’s Battle, and Every Young Woman’s Battle Receive ECPA Sales Awards

March 13, 2013

 

Every Man’s Battle (2000) by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker with Mike Yorkey and Radical (2010) by David Platt were presented the Platinum Award for exceeding 1 million copies in sales. Additionally, Gold Awards were presented to Every Young Man’s Battle (2002) by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker with Mike Yorkey and Every Young Woman’s Battle (2004) by Shannon Ethridge and Stephen Aterburn in recognition of more than 500,000 copies sold.

God’s Gifts

March 13, 2013

Two months earlier I’d broken up with Bob Gresh. Even so, I was driving his white Toyota Supra to run an errand. Although I could have borrowed a car from any number of other students on campus, I’d asked Bob because I was still manipulating my interactions with him, trying to find ways to stay connected to the very guy I’d walked away from.

“God, what’s wrong with me?” I muttered under my breath. My eyes caught the cool blue moon illuminating the freshly cut cornfield. I pulled the car over to the side of the road to think.

I laid my head back against the soft, maroon headrest and turned the car off. I quieted my mind to pray…but it stayed focused on the boy. His sports car. Our friendship. Treasured conversations. Memories of our dates.

I’d thought he [ … ]