Walking With God

Think about a time when you were highly distracted—it’s unlikely you were able to hear God at all. Sometimes, when that happens, the Lord chooses to speak through unusual circumstances. Consider Moses in the third chapter of Exodus. Though well-educated and raised by royalty, he was exiled to the wilderness. He was no doubt surprised by such a turn of events and preoccupied by fear, disappointment, and pride. But God had big plans for Moses. So He arranged…

Before baseball’s 1906 World Series, sportswriter Hugh Fullerton made an astute prediction. He said the Chicago Cubs, who were expected to win, would lose the first and third games and win the second. Oh, and it would rain on the fourth. He was right on each point. Then, in 1919, his analytical skills told him certain players were losing World Series games intentionally. Fullerton suspected they’d been bribed by gamblers. Popular opinion ridiculed him. Again, he…

It’s so peaceful here. It’s called Togus Pond but I’ve never seen a lake-sized pond like this one. It’s beautiful. Tree-lined shores surrounded by nature and a few lakehomes dot the landscape. The sounds of God’s creation are all around, starting with the unique call of the Kingfisher and Loon. Add in a couple Pintail ducks and the symphony begins. What could be better than this? Heaven, I’m sure, but this feels like a close second. We…

One of the most important lessons we can learn is how to listen to God. In our complex and hectic lives, nothing is more urgent, nothing more necessary, and nothing more rewarding than hearing what God has to say to us and then obeying Him. You may ask, “Does the Lord really speak to us today?” The Bible assures us He does. The book of Hebrews opens this way: “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets … in these last days has…

Sometimes our conversations with God are fruitful. Other times prayer feels like talking to a wall. But in fact, we shouldn’t be surprised by such variation. Why would we expect our prayer life to remain uniform when we ourselves aren’t the same every day? How we speak and listen to God depends on ... Our understanding of who God is. The way we view the Lord changes the way we hear Him. For example, if you see God as a loving Father, you will hear His…

Time after time the Scriptures help us make sense out of life’s puzzles: failing marriages, rebellious children, drug addiction, warring nations, the return of leaves in spring, the insatiable longings of our hearts, the fear of death, the coming into being of children, the universality of praise and blame, the prevalence of pride, and the admiration of self-denial. The Bible confirms its divine origin again and again as it makes sense out of our experience in the…

There’s something I’d want to encourage you to consider. Drum roll, please! Invest the first 15 minutes of your day in the presence of the Lord. In silence, in prayer, and in God’s Word. Ask Him to open your heart to what He has for you in those opening moments of your day. If you get bold, you’ll gradually creep up to an hour. That’s what I did today. You’ll be shocked as to how well the rest of the day will materialize, even if it turns…

Colleen decided to take a stroll down the beach on our recent vacation to the Jersey Shore. Just a little quiet time for her to reflect on God’s goodness and enjoy the surf and the sun. I, on the other hand, slid out of my beach chair and casually headed to the gently breaking waves right in front of me. As I studied the ebb and flow of the current and tumbling tiny stones in the sand, I noticed something. But in a moment, it was gone. I asked the Lord, which I&rsquo…

Every human being has some vital place in her life where she is not living in the victory she longs for, and it colors how she views herself. Every person’s personal struggle rooted in her past, be it a deep-rooted self-hatred or a pressing need to control her world, makes her desperate for God. We all have something that brings us to our knees. It isn’t something we would ever choose for ourselves or wish on anyone else, but we all have an area — or ten ;…