Walking With God

You may not want to think of yourself as a sheep, but that is a term Jesus used to describe His children. His sheep are all those who have trusted Him as Savior—and they are the ones for whom He laid down His life. Scripture says these sheep are identified by three characteristics: They know their Shepherd, hear His voice, and follow Him. Our Shepherd knew us before the foundation of the world. He sought us when we were lost, calling us each by name into His flock. We…

“Our globe is being shaken harder and harder by the forces of chaos. As it’s shaken, so are we. The more chaotic it is, the more shook-up everyone in it tends to become. It’s like trying to do everyday life in a continuous earthquake. Or in a swirling snowstorm. It’s hard to gain our bearings. To think straight. To see what’s really going on.” Allen Arnold – Chaos Can’t I remember, very clearly, a time in my life when the only…

Imagine life without mobile phones, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth devices, or microwave ovens. That’s the way it is in the little town of Green Bank, West Virginia, known as “the quietest town in America.” It’s also the location of the Green Bank Observatory, the world’s largest steerable radio telescope. The telescope needs “quiet” to “listen” to naturally occurring radio waves emitted by the movement of pulsars and galaxies in…

When we’re too preoccupied to hear God’s voice, He may get our attention by giving us a restless spirit. The book of Esther gives us a wonderful example of this. In the sixth chapter, we see that King Ahasuerus “could not sleep so he gave an order to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king” (Est. 6:1). As a result, Ahasuerus became aware of an assassination plot that had been foiled by a man named Mordecai.…

It’s easy to trust God when life is pleasant. In difficult times, though, it can be challenging. Yet that’s exactly what God tells us to do: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you” (Psalm 50:15). We can trust the Lord for several reasons. One is because of His love for us. We see it clearly demonstrated through the Father’s character, Jesus’ atoning death, and our adoption as a child of God. Another reason we can rely on…

Fyodor was a wild young man. His life revolved around eating, drinking, talking, music, theatre and the company of women. He dreamt of fame. He was caught up in a movement for political and social reform in Russia during the repressive reign of Tsar Nicholas I. He was arrested, tried and condemned to be executed. On a bitterly cold morning, the prisoners were taken out to be shot. The prison guards raised their muskets to their shoulders and took aim. At the last moment, a…

According to the family legend, two brothers, one named Billy and the other Melvin, were standing on the family’s dairy farm one day when they saw an airplane doing some skywriting. The boys watched as the plane sketched out the letters “GP” overhead. Both brothers decided that what they saw had meaning for them. One thought it meant “Go preach.” The other read it as “Go plow.” Later, one of the boys, Billy Graham, dedicated himself…

Imagine how free we’d feel if we learned to truly believe that in every situation, trust was the antidote to fear, that consciously trusting God would cause our moments of anxiety and panic to be short-lived. Imagine if we could grow to a place where trusting him was our first reaction. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). It&rsquo…

Sharing in Christ’s life means that we experience not only the close relationship He had with His Father but also His suffering. As Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 16:24-25 ESV). We need to remember that as we seek to embody His righteousness, we may find our pursuit doesn&rsquo…