Think of it as time travel without gimmicks, gizmos, or a DeLorean: a novel approach to Bible study that leaps from past to present, gleaning timeless truths that will draw you nearer to the One who knows you fully, loves you completely, and holds you close to his heart.
At last, the sisters are reunited! The youngest Sinclair, the family baby, is moving from Maine to Cripple Creek, Colorado and joining Kat, Nell, and Ida. But Vivian is a young woman with a will of her own, and made some decisions back in Portland that have begun to haunt her. Will she be able to live up to the expectations of her three perfect and now happily-settled sisters?
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 worldlike the many stories I’ve shared and the many more I could haveare 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. [ … ]
To read about the 5 things Twitter can teach us about living like Jesus, read an excerpt from Viral by Len Sweet at RelevantMagazine.com. You can follow Len Sweet on Twitter: @lensweet.
… 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
Daily Reflection:
How have you experienced the cycle of God’s grace and unending love?
Cleaning House by Kay Wills Wyma is mentioned in The New York Times “Motherlode” blogpost, “Our Spoiled Rotten Children.” Click here to read.
This is the second time “Cleaning House” has been in the NYT. Wyma’s guest post “Let Them Climb Trees (And Fall)”was featured June 28. For more, click here .
The beauty and power of a Voice from Homethat’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 [ … ]
[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 [ … ]
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
Daily Reflection:
How can you worship differently because of the cross today?
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 [ … ]
To read about the 5 things Twitter can teach us about living like Jesus, read an excerpt from Viral by Len Sweet at