“Always pray and never give up.” How long are we to continue praying about a particular situation? We are an impatient society thanks to next-day delivery and immediate access at the touch of a finger. We no longer need to wait until next week for the cliffhanger to be resolved; we can binge-watch an entire…
“since God loved us that much.” What external changes can we expect to see when we live loved? Living loved means that we understand the True Source of love. Living loved means we can expect to notice internal transformation. Living loved also means we will need to embrace specific external changes. When we live from…
“We live in Him.” What do the internal outcomes of living loved look like? When we know our Source of being loved, we will begin to recognize internal results. How we perceive the world will be altered, our thinking will start to change, and our hearts will be transformed when we live from a place…
“For love comes from God…” What or who is our source of feeling loved? There are so many options in this world to gain the approval we seek, feel like we belong, and on which to base our identity. Although some of these options seem like great solutions, sooner or later, they will fall short…
“And all these things.” What is “all the things?” “All the things” has become slang for generalizing whatever someone may be talking about. The phrase could mean all the things that happened at work, all the things done that day or need to be done, or all the things we may feel when a situation…
“But seek first his righteousness.” Do you have a fear of failure? A fear of failure stems from the feeling we are not being good enough, falling short, or making mistakes. Fear of failure can ignite an obsession with always trying to get it right, leaving no room for grace. Fear of failure can lead…
“But seek first his kingdom.” Wouldn’t it be great to have a simple blueprint to eliminate worry and anxiety? If we had access to the blueprint, would we follow the design? At the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, recorded by Matthew in chapters five through seven, Jesus gives us a model to live…
“They continue to grow stronger.” Do you feel tired? We rarely make it through the year’s final month with the kind of rest that genuinely refreshes and revitalizes us for the upcoming year. Imagine if a recipe existed that could make us stronger so we could move from strength to strength instead of nap to…
“We can serve God without fear…” What does your picture of fearless look like? Skydiving? Facing a grizzly in the wild? Facing the grizzly at the office? Standing in front of 1000s to give a presentation? What would you accomplish if you were fearless? When serving God, fear often drives us to need assurance. The…
“You are blessed because you believed.” Are some people more blessed than others? Most people think of material blessings first, like income, home, and enough money left over to go on vacation. We might add good health, if applicable, to our blessed list. The deeper connections with people could also be seen as a blessed…