Kingdom success is completely different from our concept of success. It is backward. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 “God, I need You. I am poor in spirit.” Can you pray that with me? Or are you doing alright on your own? Why is an attitude of poverty important in the kingdom of heaven? Personal poverty is crucial in God’s kingdom It is for those who recognize their need…
Changed Would you like to watch a caterpillar change into a beautiful monarch butterfly? Isn’t it an amazing phenomenon? So as believers, how do we change? How do we become more Christ-like? Have you attempted to change yourself? Is it positive thinking? Or is it supernatural? Do you change yourself, or are you being changed? It is not that we picture ourselves as being different, and that changes us. No, it is seeing Jesus Christ, gazing at Him, that we…
Are you saying to God, “I’m really trying to be a Christian”? Do you find yourself getting discouraged with your Christian walk? Maybe you wish you could see more change in your life. You want to be better, but don’t know how. What is the key? Is it for a limited few? I tried for years First of all, let me say that I totally get it. I have been there. I learned if we want to be Christ-like, there…
Do you want God’s smile? You know He is the supreme creator of the universe, and He created in our DNA the need for His approval. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that He approves of you? That He smiles at you? Would you like the right to be called His child? Good news! There is a way. It is exclusive, yet welcomes all who come. Although God has created every person, not all are His children. Not all have…
Sufficient. What does that mean? I looked it up to find similar words. Adequate. Enough. Do you feel like you have enough to do life or do you suffer (like many people) from inadequacy? As believers in Christ, we want to please Him, and yet so many times we fail, make a mess of things, find we are inadequate. Paul’s Sufficiency Apostle Paul dealt with an ongoing troubling problem and asked God to remove it. Did he claim it by…
I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking…If you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible expecting it to speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience. It is…
What would you give to know forgiveness, to know there is nothing against you, or to know that you are clean before God? Memories of the wrongs we have done in the past haunt us. Do you hear the whispers, “You are guilty. You committed a terrible thing.” Maybe they aren’t whispers, maybe they are shouts and screams in your mind that torment you whenever the memories come to mind. I think even believers, born-again Christians, struggle with knowing they…
Seeing Clearly I pray we would see You, Lord Jesus, as the prize above all else. That seeing you, we will see clearly. You, who have been before all time, set aside Your royalty to take on the human form so You could live as one of us. You, who set aside Your rights, personal needs, and desires to learn obedience, making You the spotless lamb that would be sacrificed for our sins. Although You came as a baby and…
Lord God, I have experienced such highs in Your presence and have walked in cold darkness wondering what happened. Where did the feelings go? Why do You seem so distant? I thought that I had achieved a place of spirituality that would carry me only to find the euphoria evaporating and my default setting of flesh still active and ready to assert itself when the feelings died down. What happened? Why can I not stay in that bubble of euphoria?…
Trust enough to obey? Do we trust God? Completely? Trust enough to obey Him? That was my question when He asked me to go back to Washington to spend 4-6 weeks with my brother to help in a time of crisis. It was only 4 weeks and I am back home, but I can say without reservation that God is faithful. What He asked of me, He performed through me, even driving through Seattle on I-5. He is so good….