Different traditions focus on slightly different themes during Advent. Last week, we focused on hope. This week, we turn to the theme of preparation. A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40:3 NIV Father, we may not … Continue reading Praying Scripture – 12/11/2019
As usual, I have allowed Advent to sneak up on me. If I'd been planning ahead I would have written some blog posts tying into its themes. Maybe next year. This year, though, I thought that we could pray through some of the traditional Advent readings together for the next four weeks. 6 For to us … Continue reading Praying Scripture – 12/4/2019
This week in the U.S. we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. While it can serve as a much needed reminder to be thankful, sometimes it just serves as an opportunity to get together, eat way too much food, and (if you're so inclined) watch parades and football. God calls us to much more, though. He calls … Continue reading Praying Scripture – 11/27/2019
As I've been diving back into the spiritual discipline of silence this fall, the first line of Psalm 46:10 keeps coming to mind. But it's always good to go back and put those fragments into context. The whole verse reads He says, "Be still, and know that I am God;I will be exalted among the … Continue reading Praying Scripture – 11/20/2019
Handle with Care Be careful what you ask for! I’m guessing you’ve heard the saying. If you’re a parent, you may have even uttered it. That saying reminds me of something similar a wise person once said to me: Be careful what you pray for. If you ask God for patience, He will certainly answer. … Continue reading Being Too Careful in What You Pray For
What is driving our choices and actions? Are we acting out of fear or out of love? 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. … Continue reading Praying Scripture – 11/13/2019
Sometimes we're on the mountaintop in our walk with God, facing an exhilarating view of how He is working in our lives and in His church. But sometimes we're in the fiery furnace. These [trials] have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by … Continue reading Praying Scripture – 11/6/2019
