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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 [ … ]

Adding Your Stories to His

September 19, 2013

“Abandoning the tiny story of me and embracing the forever Story of Jesus will allow our little lives to be filled with the wonder of God as we live for the unending applause of His name. And joining our small stories to His will give us what we all want most in life, anyway: the assurance that our brief moments on earth will count for something in a Story that never ends.”

Excerpted from I Am Not But I Know I AM by Louie Giglio

Daily Reflection: What will you do to make your story of today count for something in God’s Story?

Giving In to God

September 18, 2013

“‘Almost everyone I’ve led to Christ—whether they were upstanding, good, moral people or out-and-out scoundrels without a hope in the world—they’ve all thought, at least at first, that the point of Christianity was ‘being good.’’

‘That is part of being a Christian, isn’t it?’

‘Sure. Doctrine of sanctification. God remakes us in the image of Christ. So, yes, we’ll grow and become better than we were. But if you think the whole point of Christianity is moral reformation, you’ll find out quickly how powerless you are to make that reformation happen.’

‘So Christianity is about giving up?’

‘No, it’s about giving in…Giving in to God. Handing your heart and life over to Him and casting yourself on His mercy alone.’”

Excerpted from Clear Winter Nights by Trevin Wax (coming September 2013)

Daily Reflection: Are you casting yourself on [ … ]

Different by Design

September 17, 2013

“Although both boys and girls reflect the image of God and share many characteristics, the inherent differences between male and female are vitally important…I (Gregg) believe that Christians and readers of the Bible already intuit what science is showing. In Genesis 1:27 we read, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Girls and boys, like women and men, are equal in God’s eyes, but they are different. Those differences are inherent within the construct of creation, designed into us by the will of God.”

Excerpted from Raising Boys by Design by Dr. Gregory L. Jantz and Michael Gurian

Daily Reflection: How do you see the boys and girls, men and women around you reflecting the image of God?

God Shares Your Heartbreak

September 16, 2013

“It’s hard for some people to imagine that the God of the universe, the God who is all knowing and all powerful, has emotions and feels sad, hurt, and rejected—but he does.

When we look at the Old Testament story, we see a God who created human beings in his likeness, including having emotions. He created Adam and Eve and blessed them with everything they needed or wanted. He gave them a beautiful environment to live in, a companion to enjoy life with, and a purpose to take care of his creation. Yet Adam’s and Eve’s hearts weren’t completely content…

God loved Adam and Eve and felt hurt and disappointed when they chose to believe the serpent, and not trust him. That was the start of God’s heartbreak over the human race…Don’t feel afraid of being honest with God [ … ]