Whether your life is a never-ending storm, a prison of the presence of someone who’s selfishness enslaves you, or a vast land of emptiness and loneliness, the answer is the same: surrender it to Jesus as your King. Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me. Because of my adversaries, show me Your way, Lord, and lead me on a level path. Do not give […]
Category Archives: Discipleship
Young and Old and Middle
The two periods of life in which people are more likely to draw near to Jesus are in youth and in old age. A child is looking for purpose and fullness. An old man or woman is looking for safety from death. What about all of the life between those bookends that could be full? When we feel invincible, and therefore have no fear of death, and when we have […]
Before the Tree
Before Eve and Adam ate from the tree of death, Yahweh didn’t give them any instruction about right and wrong but one: don’t eat from the tree of death. Beyond that, there was no right or wrong. Life was simple before they got the knowledge that there is good and evil. Once they got that knowledge, they still didn’t know one from the other. They just knew suddenly that the […]
Free From Fear
I sought Yahweh, and He answered me. He delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4) We don’t get rid of fear just by deciding to be less afraid, or by deciding to be more courageous. Faith and peace are manifestations of His Spirit. We combat fear by seeking Yahweh. When we have drawn close to Him, we gain strength over fear by receiving Him as the answer to our […]
Spur One Another
Spur one another on to love and good deeds (Philippians 2:5) Recently one person asked me why I wasn’t trying to influence another person, regarding their faith to be delivered from a problem they were facing. I replied that we cannot hold a person in the place of faith where we think they should stand. We can help them find where their faith is, though, and help them stand there. […]
Our Garden Prayers
Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane that His Father’s will would be done in His life. His flesh wanted to lead Him to ask for deliverance from the cross. His spirit wanted to lead Him to pay for our sin. Asking Yahweh to deliver us from troubles is rarely as effective as asking Him what He is doing, and then asking how we can co-operate with Him in the […]
All Your Relationships
“This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky: they don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of […]
Forgiving and Forgiven
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.] For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing. (Matthew 6:12-15 Holman […]
Faithful (full of faith)
All day, every day, we are people of faith. We exercise our faith constantly. Doubt in one thing is simply faith in an alternate. I stand to get out of bed with faith that the floor will hold my feet and that my feet will hold the rest of me. I turn on the faucet with faith that water will come out. I believe some of the water will be […]
Distance
When I was 25 I had season tickets to all of the concerts a nearby city’s symphony and chamber orchestras performed. Because of my subscription, I was sometimes invited to art shows and receptions for musicians or artists. My curiosity led me to a few of those afterglows and backstage events. Because I knew no one in any of the crowds, though, I was always an outsider. Even when I […]