We've prepared a prayer for you for the time of waiting, which may be uncomfortable or stressful. We based this prayer on Scripture from the Old and New Testament.
Read MoreWhat is God’s way? There are so many charts we could create. We could make one titled “Shepard” or “Rock” or “Source” or “Father” or “Mother” or “Friend,” but let’s start with one of the original pictures that helps us understand God’s ways in the very beginning—that of an Artist!
Read MoreWhat does God’s voice sound like? How do you know the difference between your voice and God’s voice? What do you do when the thoughts running through your mind sound like something God would say, it could even be Scripture or a quote from a great message, but the “voice” behind it seems more like fear than the love of a good Father?
Read MoreFrom the first breath God breathed into man, we were intimately connected to the Father. There is nothing that can separate us. If we are living and breathing, it is because of His life that sustains us. We hear God because He resides in the breath we breathe, from our first to our last.
Read MoreRecently I was reading the thoughts of my friends regarding this verse on a text thread. My thoughts turned toward the root meaning of the word discipline. The Latin from which it comes, discipulus, means pupil, student, or follower. The penitential/punitive shades of meaning showed up in the 11th and 12th centuries. So, my thoughts went to being schooled, taught.
Read MoreI was listening to a podcast where the hosts brought up the idea that the “Fear of God” is often misunderstood. Some believe it means to be afraid and/or aware of His judgement of sin, which looks like death or punishment. Some believe it simply means reverence and awe for the Lord. I want to suggest a different idea of the “Fear of God,” and I think the Psalm above captures it well.
Read MoreI’ve never considered myself a great storyteller, but I am a story lover. There’s nothing I loved more than when my parents would tell me the “old timey” stories. My dad made up bedtime stories, and they were good, but when he told me the real stories of his childhood he captured my full attention.
Read MoreA few days ago, I was reading James and was struck by something I have read before, but never really understood. I felt God speaking very personally to me at that moment. I think it may also be a key for others, but you never really know until you put it out there. So here I am, putting it out there.
Read More“Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love.” Hebrews 10:24
Read MoreThe phrase “land flowing with milk and honey” is used 21 times in the Hebrew Bible to reference the place on the earth that God’s family would dwell.
Read MoreGod spoke, light shined. God spoke, oceans formed. God spoke, creation existed. Behind the voice of God is a specific frequency. Every intention, thought, belief, word, and feeling has a resonating frequency. Sometimes, those frequencies resonate with a word God has spoken to us in a beautiful melody, and sometimes they don’t.
Read MoreUnderstanding that giving is for you as much as it is for others changes it from a game of lack (will there be enough?) to an act of blessing (giving is essential to my health and to my community’s health).
What does giving do for you? It unlocks your life! Does part of you need unlocking? I’ll say it clearly because I wish someone had done so for me years ago: giving and the vibrant flow of your own life are inextricably linked!
Read MoreA while back I was on my way to ONE, and as I neared my destination, I entered the roundabout that is half a block away. I’ve only seen a handful of them in San Antonio, and my trip around that one is usually uneventful. But that day, I encountered a driver who didn’t seem to know how this type of traffic flow works.
Read MoreSometimes, we view God from a lens of how our earthly father treated us, and that is very normal. It makes sense even. You could see God as distant, unloving, really good, or always present, all based on your interaction with your dad.
Read MoreEver struggle to express what you think, feel, need, or want? My hand is in the air. I have certainly struggled with even knowing what I’m feeling, much less what I’m needing and wanting. Forget expressing that consistently in healthy ways!
Read MoreIt’s interesting—God created us as humans, but we don’t always like being human. It means we are fragile and imperfect. Sometimes, we think we need to be perfect, and that perfection is what God expects from us. I’m curious if that’s not what He expects at all.
Read MoreSo, have you ever looked at that verse and wondered, “How on earth do I do that?” When I’m feeling weak, there seems to be such a chasm between me, where I am, and Him, where He is. And in addition to that, this verse caps off the section of scripture where Jesus tells His disciples to love their enemies. When I’m tempted to think the perfection He is looking for is avoiding bad behavior, He draws my attention to that perfection being a matter of the heart, even loving my enemies. That is an even bigger challenge!
Read MoreI’ve been in life circumstances where it feels like worry takes over my thoughts and emotions. When I worry, the majority of my mental and emotional capacity is dedicated to a problem that I generally have no control over. It’s when I don’t have control that I worry the most.
Prayer is always a two-way street.
The idea of shooting prayers into the universe and hoping they land somewhere, somehow, is the most common human idea around prayer. But it’s the least realistic.
There is no such thing as a one-way prayer. You might have experienced something you thought was one-sided, but I promise you, it simply wasn’t.