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…
Life Is Short: Enjoy It!
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…
Through the Gates of Praise
One of the first things our son, Christian, did when he started college was to find a church he could call home. That made this mom’s heart very happy. A couple of weeks before Christmas, he asked Barry and me to join him for the Sunday service that featured the children’s nativity play. It was…
The Prayer of Praise
I used to hurry into the church twenty minutes late on Sunday morning. By the time I found a seat and settled into it, the worship and praise time was over and the pastor was preaching. I wasn’t concerned about this because I was there for the teaching. Yet my mind wandered everywhere and didn’t…
Faith May Move Mountains But Prayer Moves God
It’s been said that faith may move mountains, but prayer moves God. Amazing, isn’t it, that our prayers, whether grand and glorious or feeble and faint, can move the very heart of God who created the universe? To walk with God we must make it a practice to talk with God… Prayer moves God, and when God moves in…
The Prayer of Praise
I used to hurry into the church twenty minutes late on Sunday morning. By the time I found a seat and settled into it, the worship and praise time was over and the pastor was preaching. I wasn’t concerned about this because I was there for the teaching. Yet my mind wandered everywhere and didn’t…
- 1
- 2