Walking With God

Love Jesus. Let him be himself with you. Allow his life to fill yours. Every day, give him your life to be filled with his. This is part of what I now pray, every morning: Lord Jesus, I give my life to you today, to live your life. Of course, this assumes that you are willing to surrender your self-determination. You’ll find it hard to receive his life in any great measure if you as the branch keep running off on your own, leaving the Vine behind in order to do life…

Have you ever resisted obeying God because His instructions were something you didn’t want to do? That was the case with Jonah. The inhabitants of Nineveh were Assyrians, a people known for aggression and cruelty. Since they were enemies of Israel, Jonah thought he had good reason to resist the Lord’s command to preach to them. While the goal was to draw the Ninevites to repentance through Jonah’s preaching, the Lord was also working to change the prophet&rsquo…

God calls His children to live holy lives. Yet in our attempts to obey this command, we often commit to change our behavior, only to fail a few days later. The problem is that we’re starting at the wrong place. Ungodly actions flow from sinful thoughts and attitudes, like selfishness, greed, jealousy, anger, resentment, and unforgiveness. These can be changed only as our mind is renewed by the Holy Spirit. As we spend time each day in Scripture, the Spirit transforms…

Christians are meant to know joy and peace, and that isn’t possible unless we know how to pray and have confidence in its power. God actually needs our prayers because there is a great deal He desires to do and cannot do unless someone asks Him to do it. It seems impossible that God would need us for anything, but since He works through us, He does need us. Obviously, God can do anything He chooses to without anyone’s help, but He has committed Himself to…

If you had a friend who called or dropped by your house only when he wanted something—who never reached out to show concern or to see if you needed help—it’s likely that the friendship wouldn’t last long. Why? Because there’s no intimacy there, no true relationship. We might be tempted to shake our heads at such selfishness, but it’s far too easy to treat God the same way. Sadly, many Christians reach out to Him in prayer only when they…

There are many urgent and practical needs in the world, such as those related to marginalized communities, natural disasters, and struggling families. As a result, prioritizing time with the Lord in His Word and prayer may seem less pressing, but it’s not. Let’s consider reasons for making meditation a daily practice in our life. The primary reward of meditating on Scripture is personal intimacy with God. Think of a good friend or family member. Your closeness…

The time we spend with God in His Word and prayer has an impact on our daily life. As we focus on the Lord and His power, glory, and favor, our perspective becomes increasingly aligned with His. He becomes greater, and our problems and worries become smaller. The apostle Paul was certainly mindful of this. In his letter to the Ephesians, he actively prayed for himself and others to receive a greater understanding of God and all He’s provided for His people through…

Have you noticed all the instability in our world today? There is much to fear if we have only ourselves or others to rely on in these troubling times. But God is our Protector, and when we run to Him, we can have peace in the midst of uncertainty. If He is our Rock, then we won’t be shaken by the events in this world or even those in our own life. The Lord is able to safeguard us in treacherous times. No matter where trouble originates—with others, external,…

In 2007, a group of twenty-three South Korean missionaries were captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan. They were terrified. The Taliban separated the group, isolated them and confiscated their possessions. One of the Korean women managed to hold on to her Bible. She ripped it into twenty-three pieces and secretly gave each of them a portion so that wherever they were, each person could read a part of Scripture when no one was watching. The group knew that the Taliban had…