PrayerLife

If you are like me, you are grateful for the gracious forgiveness of God. One of my favorite verses in all the Bible is Psalm 51:7, "... wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Having lived for 16 years in Minnesota, I have vivid pictures in my mind of crisp winter mornings with a fresh blanket of sparkling snow covering everything. God uses that image to communicate to us how complete our forgiveness is. Thank you Jesus!

God says that we can't begin to imagine all the things He has in store for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9). We can so easily satisfy ourselves with lesser things ... even damaging things. However, to make choices today in light of future realities requires eternal perspective.

We can easily be deceived into thinking that all we see and experience is the ultimate reality. But Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mt 24:35). The Bible provides an eternal perspective on ultimate reality. God’s promises can be trusted and his commands are to […]

On this day of Passion Week Jesus' lifeless body was in the tomb. For the disciples it was a day of sadness, discouragement, fear, and shattered dreams. We know, from our historical perspective, that something is about to happen that will radically change everything. Jesus will rise victoriously from the dead! The next time you experience a season of sadness, discouragement, fear, and shattered dreams - allow the resurrection of Jesus to remind you that God is able to something that will...

Have you ever said one thing but done another? We all have. On this day of Passion Week Judas, one of the twelve, began making plans on how he would betray Jesus. Luke writes, "Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money" (Luke 22:3-5). In our walk with God we want to be those who walk in genuine loyalty to...

On this day of Passion week Jesus was teaching his disciples on the Mount of Olives. Their questions centered around Christ's return. He told them, "stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."...

Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. What you may not know is that 600 years before Jesus' entry, the prophet Daniel prophesied the date that Messiah would enter into Jerusalem. Bible scholars have identified the date of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem as the exact date prophesied by Daniel (Daniel 9:25). Palm Sunday, therefore, is a remarkable fulfillment of Bible prophecy and another affirmation of the inspiration of Scripture and the deity of Christ.

Overtime we come before our heavenly Father in prayer ... He already knows! He already knows our heart condition, our sin, our weaknesses, our failures, and our needs. Therefore we have the absolute freedom to come before Him and tell Him everything ... anything! Because He loves us.

When Jesus was preparing to make one of the most important decisions of his ministry he spent an entire night in prayer. Luke tells, "he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles" (Luke 6:12-13). Whether making a business decision or choosing a spouse, we need to spend time in God's presence in order to have the wisdom and guidance to make the best choice.

Jesus models a commitment to praying with others. He used prayer as an opportunity to strengthen the faith of his followers and build relationship with them. We can use prayer to powerfully build relationship with our spouse, our children, our friends, and our heavenly Father.

Jesus regularly spent time in solitude to pray. Evan as the crowds increased and ministry demands expanded Jesus maintained his commitment to focused time with his Father in prayer. If the Son of God modeled a life of personal private prayer, what does that say about your need and mine.

Jesus modeled a vibrant, personal, conversational relationship with the living God. His disciples were so intrigued by His intimacy with the Father that they asked him, "Teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). If we want to have a robust prayer life, we need to use Jesus as our model.

The role of a parent for instilling wisdom into the heart of a child is vital. Proverbs 22:15 says, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,butthe rod of discipline drives it far from him.” Foolishness is already present in young lives. The role of a parent is to remove foolishness through loving […]

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Having a holy reverence for God and seeking to walk according to his truth is to be the guiding motivation of our heart. When we rightly honor God, we are on the road of wisdom.

“If any of youlackswisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). God is the source of all wisdom and He invites us to ask Him for it and He promises to generously give it to us. There very thing we all need, God […]

Wisdom is the skill of living life well – in harmony with God’s principles. The Bible compares the value of having wisdom to the value of silver and hidden treasure (Prov. 2:4). We are to search God’s word for wisdom with the same passion and drive we would have if we were using an ancient […]

God’s Word, the Bible, is a vital way for you and I to acquire wisdom. As we expose our hearts to its life-giving truths, we learn wisdom. Since wisdom is so valuable for living life well, personal time reading God’s word is essential for our happiness and fulfillment.

We learn wisdom from our parents. The Old Testament book of Proverbs says, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,and forsake not your mother’s teaching;for they area graceful garland for your headandpendants for your neck (Proverbs 1:8-9). All our lives we will be responding to authority. Whether it is a teacher, a coach, a supervisor, or […]

Wisdom is the skill of living life well. When God gave Solomon the opportunity to ask for whatever he wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom. God was so pleased with Solomon’s request, he granted him even more than he asked for, “both riches and honor” (1 Kings 3:13).

Jesus is the master of transforming broken lives. The liberating reality is that He knows you completely, loves you unconditionally, and inter you into relationship with himself. Regardless of your need, if you desire a personal encounter with Jesus I invite you to join with me in prayer today.