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The Daily Memo | January 10, 2022 | What's Your Vision for 2022?
We're now 10 days into 2022. Do you have a clear vision for what God has in store for this year? If you're like me and most of us the answer would be of course not. Just look at the last couple of years and you'll understand how uncertain the next minute is. I'm not so sure there are any 100% certainties in this life. The only certainty I can point to is an eternal one with Jesus. But....... as I wrote in a recent blog, we still have the ability to…
Categories: What We Were Created For, The Daily Memo, Our Purpose | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 01/10/2022
The Daily Memo | January 7, 2022 | Lion, Lamb, Savior
Two stately stone lions watch over the entrance to the New York Public Library. Hewn from marble, they’ve stood there proudly since the library’s dedication in 1911. They were first nicknamed Leo Lenox and Leo Astor to honor the library’s founders. But during the Great Depression, New York’s Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia renamed them Fortitude and Patience, virtues he thought New Yorkers should demonstrate in those challenging years. The lions are still…
Categories: The Daily Memo, Understanding Love | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 01/07/2022
The Daily Memo | January 6, 2022 | Thoughtfully Orchestrated
We feel that God is not only unconcerned with our plight, but that he is actually working against us. And sometimes, we are right… Indeed, in the seventeenth chapter of Acts, Paul gives the Athenians the stunning news that every single thing in the lives of both nations and individuals is orchestrated with this sole objective that they might seek God (vv. 26-28). This revelation requires some reflection. We are used to thinking of the great movements of history, even…
Categories: What We Were Created For, The Daily Memo, Our Purpose | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 01/06/2022
The Daily Memo | January 5, 2022 | Doubting God's Goodness
Living in this fallen world can make us question God’s goodness. We might wonder why He doesn’t always fix our problems and give us what we want. For example, when Eve listened to the serpent’s lies, she began to doubt that the Lord had made the right choice in forbidding her to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Why would He deprive her of wisdom and the enjoyment of such desirable food? Our thoughts are similar to Eve’s when we don&rsquo…
Categories: The Daily Memo, Understanding Love, Knowing & Being Known | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 01/05/2022
The Daily Memo | January 4, 2022 | God's Right Hand
I helped my elderly dog, Wilson, out to the grass and in the process, I released the leash of our younger dog, Coach, for just a minute. As I bent to pick up Coach’s lead, he spied a bunny. Off he went, ripping the leash from my right hand and corkscrewing my ring finger in the process. I fell to the grass and cried out in pain. After returning from urgent care and learning I’d need surgery, I begged God for help. “I’m a writer! How will I type? What…
Categories: The Daily Memo, Understanding Love, Practicing His Presence, Knowing & Being Known | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 01/04/2022
52. Remembering 2021 & Consecrating 2022 Podcast
As our 2021 came to a close and we look forward to what's next in 2022 we have the opportunity to ponder what God has in store for our lives in this coming year. To vision with Him what might be ahead in our relationship with Him, our family, our vocation, and perhaps ministry. In this Podcast, Steve asks us to revisit the highlights of 2021 with gratitude and look ahead with anticipation consecrating 2022 to God. We'll go deeper into how God might speak to you…
Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 01/03/2022
The Daily Memo | January 3, 2022 | The Spirit of Religion
The Religious Spirit has turned discipleship into a soul-killing exercise of principles. Most folks don’t even know they can walk with God, hear his voice. He’s stigmatized counseling as a profession for sick patients, and so the wounds of our hearts never get healed. He’s taken healing away from us almost entirely, so that we sit in pews as broken people feeling guilty because we can’t live the life we’re supposed to live. And he takes warfare…
Categories: The Daily Memo, The Reality of Our Present World, Spiritual Warfare, Knowing & Being Known | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 01/03/2022
All Things New 2022
Praying a blessing over all that God has for each of you in 2022. Be encouraging and uplifting as you represent His Kingdom here on earth. All Things New 2022. “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43:18,19 ESV) "And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all…
Categories: EB Ministries | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 12/31/2021
The Daily Memo | December 31, 2021 | Intimacy with God
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.…
Categories: Walking With God, The Daily Memo, Practicing His Presence, Knowing & Being Known | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 12/31/2021
The Daily Memo | December 30, 2021 | A Prayer Burden
Christians use the word burden to refer to a spiritual weight placed on their heart, usually because God wants their attention focused on a certain matter. For example, Nehemiah was burdened to intercede for the Jewish people left vulnerable by Jerusalem’s crumbling walls. The Lord already knew the Israelites’ troubles, so He certainly didn’t need the prayers of this one man. Rather, the burden was for Nehemiah’s sake. He made himself available for…
Categories: The Daily Memo, Understanding Love, Our Purpose | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 12/30/2021