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Why Are You Here?

September 13, 2013

“Why are you here? You were created for God and to glorify God (Isaiah 43:7), because it pleased Him to do so (Ephesians 1:5). The concept of glory can be difficult to wrap our human minds around. Simply put, God’s glory is how He makes His presence known. You, my friend, are a platform from which God displays His magnificence and makes His presence easy to see.

Knowing you were created by God and for God confirms that you have great value and great purpose, regardless of how you feel about yourself, regardless of how you came into this world, regardless of what others have said about you in the past. Every human life is sacred, no matter how it began.”

Excerpted from Knowing God by Name by Sharon Jaynes, Gwen Smith, and Mary Southerland

Daily Reflection: How can [ … ]

The Parenting of Our Father

September 12, 2013

“Jesus said there is great rejoicing in heaven when a person chooses to repent and turn to God (Luke 15:7). He compared God to a person who throws a party when a lost sheep is rescued (Luke 15:3–6), a lost coin is found (Luke 15:8–10), and a lost son is restored (Luke 15:11–32). God knows how to celebrate success, and our heavenly Father also knows the value of critiquing bad behavior. Both ways of relating are necessary.”

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

Daily Reflection: How can you rejoice with and also gently critique your loved ones?

God’s Favorites

September 11, 2013

“Do you think God has favorites? Certainly God makes His love available to all, and Jesus came to earth so that “whosoever” might call on His name and be saved.

But Jabez, whose prayer earned him a “more honorable” award from God, might have made the case that God does have favorites. His experience taught him that equal access to God’s favor does not add up to equal reward. What happened to some of the others named along with him in Chronicles? Idbash, Hazelelponi, and Anub, for example. What honors and awards did they get from God?
Simply put, God favors those who ask. He holds back nothing from those who want and earnestly long for what He wants.”

Excerpted from The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson

Daily Reflection: What earnest prayer are you holding in because [ … ]

God Has a Reason

September 10, 2013

“The last biblical famine had occurred during Joseph’s time, and God had put that one in motion too: “He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food.”

That sovereignty thing in action? Right. God really is in charge, and he really does know what he’s doing. The famine in Egypt made a way forward for Joseph “till the word of the Lord proved him true.”17 And that same famine, terrible as it was, brought Joseph’s brothers to his door for a God-ordained reunion.

Whenever heartache, loss, disappointment, stress, or any of the other stuff we hate comes our way, it helps to remember that hard times are purposeful, meant to refine and redirect us. They’re not arbitrary or random, and they’re definitely not cruel. If I’m going to suffer, at least let it be for [ … ]

Our Breathtaking God

September 9, 2013

“If you are a guide on a sightseeing trip and you know the people are longing to enjoy beauty and you come upon some breathtaking ravine, then you should show it to them and urge them to enjoy it. Well, the human race does in fact crave the experience of awe and wonder. And there is no reality more breathtaking than God.”

Excerpted from Desiring God by John Piper

Daily Reflection: How can you show someone the breathtaking wonder of God today?

Allowing God to Shape Us

September 6, 2013

“When we first come to Christ, our spiritual life has little shape or form. We submit ourselves to Jesus Christ as our Savior and ask God to begin shaping us into what He wants us to be. “We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand”
(Isaiah 64:8; see also Jeremiah 18:4-6).

As a piece of clay, we can allow ourselves to be molded and become a product of the Potter who cares for us, but we cannot express our love back to Him. We can’t experience any deep sense of intimacy if we remain in this level of relationship. Why? Because a lump of clay’s value is based on how it can be used. When we comply and feel God using us, we feel good about ourselves. When we mess [ … ]

Where is the Proof?

September 4, 2013

“Will I always get what I want? No! But I will always get what God wants. The same is true for you. Whether you are a Christian or not, you must never think that simply believing in something is enough. You canbelieve in your dreams, but you have to take action to make them happen.You can believe in your talents and have faith in your abilities, but if youdon’t develop them and put them to use, what good are they? You can believethat you are a good and caring person, but if you don’t treat otherswith goodness and care, where is the proof ?”

Excerpted from Unstoppable by Nick Vujicic

Daily Reflection: What are you believing in but not living out?

Jesus Comes for Sinners

September 3, 2013

“Here is revelation bright as the evening star: Jesus comes for sinners, for those as outcast as tax collectors and for those caught up in squalid choices and failed dreams. He comes for corporate executives, street people, superstars, farmers, hookers, addicts, IRS agents, AIDS victims, and even used-car salesmen. Jesus not only talks with these people but dines with them—fully aware that His table fellowship with sinners will raise the eyebrows of religious bureaucrats who hold up the robes and insignia of their authority to justify their condemnation of the truth and their rejection of the gospel of grace.”

Excerpted from The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

Daily Reflection: We are all sinners…today, how can you love the sinners around you that God loves so much?

Introducing a Helper

September 2, 2013

“Just who is the Holy Spirit? That’s a big question—one as big as God Himself.

When you want to get to know someone new, often the first step is to be introduced by someone who already knows that person well. During His years of ministry on earth, Jesus knew the Holy Spirit better than any human ever had or has since. So perhaps the best place to learn about the Holy Spirit begins with Jesus and the words He used to introduce the Spirit to the disciples, as recorded in John 14.”

Excerpted from The God I Never Knew by Robert Morris

Daily Reflection: What are some evidences in your life of the Holy Spirit abiding within you?

Finding Freedom in Your Relationships

August 30, 2013

“Freedom is an essential component in all healthy adult relationships. We’ve all witnessed the results in world history, in fundamentalist religious groups, and in families where freedom is squashed. Members are not free to question, to challenge, to think differently than the group. They are not free to grow or be themselves without fear of retaliation. Instead, they have to do and say and be what the group or person in charge tells them. That is not healthy, nor is it God’s plan. Although God wants unity in a family and in the family of God, he created great diversity. We are to be ourselves and be of one mind all at the same time. This one-mind idea doesn’t mean melding ourselves into the desires or demands of another individual, but together living for a common purpose and goal—the kingdom [ … ]