How do we enjoy life? Each Day Totally We do not know how long we have to live, so we should live every day with gusto. Oh, how sweet the light of day, And how wonderful to live in the sunshine! Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted. Take delight…
Devotions to Learn the Life-Altering Love of God
Editor’s Note: It’s a new year and it’s time to form more consistent daily rhythms. One of our newest 90-day devotionals might help do the trick. God Above All is a unique devotional that will take us through 90 days of some of Fourth-century philosopher and theologian St. Augustine’s most influential works. Here’s a…
The Heart of Worship: How Worship Works
Come Bless the Lord Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is…
Applaud God, Loud and Often
Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. — John 4:24 MSG We suffer from poor I-sight. Not eyesight, a matter of distorted vision that lenses can correct, but I-sight. Poor I-sight blurs your view, not of the world, but of yourself. Some see…
Comfort in God Alone
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. — James 5:13 The day I met Rebecca, she invited me over to her house for egg salad and raspberries. We were coworkers, the only two squeezed into a ten-foot-by-ten-foot office like two college roommates. Within hours…
Worship Works Wonders
Christmas and gift giving. The two have always been associated with each other for good reason. The magi gave Jesus the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The shepherds gave Jesus the gift of their time and belief. Mary gave Jesus the gift of her womb. The offerings seem practical. The wise men’s treasures could…
How Happiness Happens: Accept One Another
It’s hard to know the best way to respond to people who represent your “opposite you.” Do you ignore them? Leave the room when they enter so you don’t say something you later will regret? Share a meal and discuss your differences? Dismiss your differences? How do you find and show acceptance toward someone when…
Be Faithful in Prayer
I am able to do far beyond all that you ask or imagine. Come to Me with positive expectations, knowing that there is no limit to what I can accomplish. Ask My Spirit to control your mind so that you can think great thoughts of Me. Do not be discouraged by the fact that many…
Out of the Pit and Singing a New Song
You will have a new song in your mouth, a hymn of praise to your God. That’s the second way you’ll know you’ve waved goodbye to the pit. Right after the psalmist tells us that God sets us on the rock and gives us a firm place to stand, he tells us God gives us a new song: He…
Praying to Move On with the Lord
“I’m still on shaky ground,” I said to myself as I drove to church one Sunday morning nearly a year after coming to know the Lord. Even though my life was much improved, I still had this uneasy feeling that at any moment I could lose the stability I’d gained. I feared that my glimpses…