@sparrowwebsites
Overcoming Discouragement - by Michael Kurtz
I recently found myself in the midst of a discouraging emotional funk. It started as an "off day" and the next thing I knew two weeks passed, full of negativity and discouragement, lacking hope and faith for the future, and I will be honest - even moments of wondering whether God could salvage anything good from my life and circumstances. Normally, I am rather even-keeled and not prone to bouts of negativity that last more than a day. I tried…
Categories: Walking With God, Identity Security, Restored in Him, The Hope of Healing | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 09/18/2020
The Daily Memo | September 18, 2020 | Acknowledge Your Limitations
The Israelites out-fought the Amalekites as long as Moses held up his arms … After a while, his arms were so tired that Aaron and Hur got a rock for him to sit on. Then they stood beside him and supported his arms … That’s how Joshua defeated the Amalekites. - Exodus 17:11-13 Standing on a hill with a staff over your head is not a strategic way to win a battle. And yet, that was essentially Moses’ plan when he instructed Joshua to go fight a…
Categories: Walking With God, The Daily Memo, Safe People & Safe Community | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 09/18/2020
The Daily Memo | September 17, 2020 | God’s Perspective of Our Work
Workplace conversations often revolve around achievements, recognition and advancement—as well as the energy people put into reaching these goals. Although the culture values a spirit of competition and the drive it takes to win accolades, these are not the qualities by which the Lord evaluates our work. God calls His children to a different way of thinking and working—one that marks us as belonging to Him. It is called servanthood, and it is the Lord Jesus…
Categories: The Daily Memo, Identity Security, Restored in Him | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 09/17/2020
The Daily Memo | September 16, 2020 | Denying Ourselves
In the fourth century A.D., the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, Arabia, and Persia were peopled by a race of men who left behind them a strange reputation. They were the first Christian hermits, who abandoned the cities of the pagan world to live in solitude. One of the reasons why they fled from the world of men was that in that world men were divided into those who were successful, and imposed their will on others, and those who had to give in and be imposed upon. The Desert…
Categories: What We Were Created For, The Daily Memo, Identity Security, A New Name | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 09/16/2020
The Daily Memo | September 15, 2020 | Defeating Discouragement
No matter what our position in life may be, we all at times encounter disappointment—and that can quickly lead to discouragement. Disappointment is simply an emotional response to a failed expectation or hope, whether because plans went awry or someone didn’t measure up. But discouragement is a state of mind in which we become faint-hearted and lose confidence in God, ourselves, or others. When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, its inhabitants were discouraged&mdash…
Categories: The Daily Memo, The Hope of Healing, The Reality of Our Present World | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 09/15/2020
The Daily Memo | September 14, 2020 | Just Say No
“On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment (emphasis added) by his chamberlains:…
Categories: Walking With God, The Daily Memo, Spiritual Warfare | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 09/14/2020
The Daily Memo | September 11, 2020 | Earth's Healing
God heals the earth, and he heals us. We are restored to one another. The earth waits for our healing, and we wait for the earth’s healing. I believe our healing brings about something of the healing of the earth, and I’m certain the healed earth helps to usher in our healing. Our Enemy is the Great Divider. His most poisonous work takes place at the level of fragmentation, dividing families, churches, and fomenting racial hatred. He uses pain and suffering to…
Categories: The Daily Memo, Return to the Garden, The Hope of Healing | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 09/11/2020
The Daily Memo | September 10, 2020 | How Your Life Can Make a Difference
Alfred Nobel (1833–1896) is best known for the Nobel Peace Prize. Less well known is the fact that Alfred Nobel also invented dynamite. As well as a chemist, engineer and innovator, he was a weapons’ manufacturer. In 1888, Alfred’s brother Ludvig died. A French newspaper erroneously published Alfred’s obituary. It condemned him for his invention of dynamite, stating: ‘The merchant of death is dead… Dr Alfred Nobel, who became rich by…
Categories: What We Were Created For, The Daily Memo, Wounded Healer, Knowing & Being Known | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 09/10/2020
The Daily Memo | September 9, 2020 | What Has Damaged Our Union With God?
We need to look into what has damaged our union with God. I realize this is a very poignant thing I’m raising, and I want to proceed tenderly. Do you know what’s damaged your soul’s union with God? Suffering in all its forms will slowly erode union, if we’re not careful. As will chronic disappointment. Satan will use your suffering, or the suffering of those you love, to introduce mistrust between you and the God you love. You see, he whispers,…
Categories: Walking With God, The Daily Memo, Knowing & Being Known | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 09/09/2020
The Daily Memo | September 8, 2020 | Good News Today
Samiah* hated the local tribe. Its soldiers committed atrocities against her family during the war in her homeland—sexually assaulting her daughter and murdering her brother. Now at a refugee camp in Southeast Africa, her hatred for the tribe was just as fierce as the day she arrived there. Steeped in anger, Samiah vowed to never talk to any member of that tribe as long as she lived. She wished she could kill them. But that wish changed the day she saw the JESUS.…
Categories: The Daily Memo, Restored in Him, The Hope of Healing | Authored by: sparrowwebsites | Posted: 09/08/2020