Satan loves to fill our minds with doubts and fears. He reminds us of our perceived shortcomings and failures. If we listen long enough, these thoughts become debilitating and prevent us from carrying out the mission of Christ. Too often we fail to recognize Satan as the source of our destructive thought patterns. If we did, we wouldn’t lend them the credence that we do. The Bible tells us that Satan is “the accuser” (Revelation 12:10). Any time you have thoughts of not being good enough or you doubt your ability to accomplish something, those thoughts are from the devil himself. In the same way, when you are afraid, those feelings too are from Satan. God is one hundred percent love, and there is no fear in love (1 John 4:18).
I John
Praying as Jesus Prayed
When Jesus taught His disciples what we know as “The Lord’s Prayer”, He gave us much more than a simple model prayer. Within these few short verses are the keys to God’s will for each of our lives. If you’ve ever wondered how you should pray, it’s in there. If you’ve ever wondered what God’s will is for your life, it’s in there as well.
Want to know how you should treat others? Jesus articulated it in His prayer. Are you curious about how to have a right relationship with your money? You guessed it, it’s right there in the Lord’s Prayer. It’s a brief passage, so let’s break it down piece by piece.
Brave
As I was writing this morning, I was listening to Nichole Nordeman’s song, “Brave”. I actually was beginning to write on a different topic I had sketched out when the words of the chorus really hit me:
“So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave.”
The song goes on to say “If you believe in me, that changes everything.” Wow. When was the last time you recognized that not only does Jesus love you, but He absolutely, unequivocally, and without hesitation believes in you? He designed you to do the work He created you to do (Ephesians 2:10), and He harbors no doubt you can get it done. It doesn’t matter who hurt you in the past, let you down, held you down, or laughed in your face. The God of the Universe believes in you. Does anything else even matter? [Read more…] about Brave
What Shapes your Mood?
“Let us beware allowing our spiritual comforts to rise and fall with world news or the changing world situations. We who lean upon Jesus and trust in the watchful love of a heavenly Father are not dependent upon these things for our peace. For children of the new creation, the darker the night, the brighter faith shines and the sooner comes the morning.” These are the words of A.W. Tozer, written over fifty years ago. They are eerily relevant to our world today. I am amazed and thankful, even awestruck, at how those who dedicated their lives to God continue to speak to us long after their time on earth has past. In this era of terrorism, disease, and constant unrest, followers of Jesus should not allow the circumstances around us to affect the purpose of our lives.
Fix my Eyes
During my reading time recently, I came across a prayer that spoke the words I have been feeling deep in my heart: “Lord I pray that I will always keep my eyes on eternity and that the cares of this world will not distract me from my mission of serving You each day.” What a powerful and dangerous prayer! If we were to live our lives in this manner, we would appear to be quite “weird” in the eyes of our culture and would certainly alienate more than a few friends. What if we could cast off the cares of this world and concern ourselves only with the things of God’s Kingdom? If we could honestly pray that God would fix our eyes on Him and then really live that out, I think we would be amazed at what was possible.