Walking With God

Hard times are inevitable in this life. We will lose loved ones. Some of us will face difficult ailments. We may even be wrongfully accused or mistreated. The range of human suffering is broad, but God is a refuge for those who trust Him. We often feel bewildered during such trials, but having an eternal focus lifts us from despair. God is still the sovereign Lord of the universe. The key to dealing with difficulty lies in trusting the One who is in control of all things.…

Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, “Look to Me, and be saved….” The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. &ldquo…

Spiritual discernment develops progressively over time. The Lord doesn’t simply pour knowledge into our head after we’re saved. It’s important to regularly seek His will and study the Word in order to know Him better. We should also ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand Scripture and obey what it says. The church is another avenue of instruction. As the Bible is taught and explained, we gain a foundation of truth on which to build our life. But let&rsquo…

Jesus says to you: ‘Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly’ (vv.28–29, MSG). Just relax and let God be God. And that’s the Memo

We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is…

In times of urgent need, our prayers become fervent and our desire for a quick answer intensifies. It seems that if the Lord doesn’t intervene soon, the very thing we dread could happen. And without a detectable response from God, we may feel as if He doesn’t care—even though Scripture assures us He does (1 Pet. 5:7). This may have been the way Mary and Martha felt after asking Jesus to come and heal Lazarus. They knew that the Lord loved them, but when He didn&rsquo…

Imagine for a moment a doorway or entrance to a cozy luxury waterfront hut in the Caribbean. Or a mountainside retreat with and grand staircase inside the entrance to a wide-open floorplan and two fireplaces flanking the sides. Wow. Regardless of the image, it symbolizes opportunity. God offers us a life full of opportunity and one well worth living. Sometimes though, it means trusting Him and venturing into the unknown. When we encounter such a door we need not be afraid…

It’s far too easy to become busy for God—serving, singing, teaching, preaching, and going to the mission field. None of these things are wrong; in fact, they’re all good. But they’re often a misguided attempt to create intimacy with God. Why would believers choose artificial closeness with the Lord when He wants to give His children the real thing? One reason is that being known by God requires intense vulnerability and the humility to receive His.…

If you’re like me, looking ahead to next year and what may be on the horizon seems a bit overwhelming. A whole lotta trepidation. What do I mean by that? Well, let me see. An ongoing worldwide pandemic, job security, heating bills, the cost of gas, inflation in prices of almost everything I buy, supply chain problems (if you need something you can’t find), being isolated again (maybe), going back to the office, shortage of help in my business, school for me or…