Lord, I’m choosing to believe that You can and will redeem the years I have spent in my pit. In our Christian subculture, we think a pit of sin is the only kind of pit there is. But we have to think much more broadly. For starters, I see in God’s Word three ways we…
You Are No Longer Outcasts
And so you are no longer called outcasts and wanderers, but citizens with God’s People. — Ephesians 2:19 (The Voice) Someone once described a church as a group of porcupines in a snowstorm: we need each other to keep warm, but the closer we get, the more we poke each other — and the more…
Leave the Past Behind
“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” — Thomas Jefferson Without realizing it, we often carry something around with us everywhere we go. We bring it out in our conversations, and it shows up in our attitudes. Whatever that thing is from the past may never have really existed, yet its power lives inside…
Parenting: Train Up a Child
Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. — Proverbs 22:6 This directive from Proverbs gives us great instruction on rearing our children: Train up means to lead and to teach; you must teach your preschooler to obey and to understand who is boss.…
Rebuilding Your Faith
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” — Matthew 17:20 (NKJV) When circumstances appear to take an unexpected turn,…
Declaring Independence
Adopted on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence stated that the thirteen American colonies were “Free and Independent States” and that “all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved.” Our Founding Fathers acknowledged God as the source of our rights: We hold these truths to…
Do Not Be Discouraged
Be strong and courageous. Do not be discouraged, for I will be with you wherever you go. You can choose to be strong and courageous even when you are feeling very weak. However, the weaker you feel, the more effort it takes to choose to be strong. It all depends on where you look. If…
Refining Grace
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I…
The Greatest of These is Love
But now faith, hope, and love remain; these three virtues must characterize our lives. The greatest of these is love. — 1 Corinthians 13:13 (The Voice) He who loves his wife loves himself. — Ephesians 5:28 There are three elements to a successful marriage. The first is love—not just an emotional feeling or a physical attraction, but a…
Sharper than a Double-Edged Sword
The Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit. — Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) Lord, thank You that nothing can separate me from Your redeeming love. Since pit-dwelling is primarily a state of mind, effective deliverance also takes the ability to read people’s minds,…