Today’s passage: Philippians 4:4–9 Focus verse: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6) Does today’s passage sound familiar? It’s the same one as Day 9. Then we focused on verse four, which tells us to rejoice in the Lord. […]
We May Never Know the Full Impact of Our Prayers As the early church adds to their numbers, they experience growing pains. They need more people in leadership roles and elect seven to help with a daily food distribution. Stephen is one of those people. Stephen is a remarkable man, full of God’s grace and […]
Sometimes We Blame God for Our Pain, When We’re the Source of Our Troubles A lament is an expression of grief, sorrow, pain, regret, despair…you get the picture. Lament occurs when life overwhelms our hearts and steals our tomorrows. Many of the Psalms are laments. Though lamenting is biblical, our church services seldom includes the […]
Justice but Not Anger After Jeremiah gives a stinging prophecy about God and idols, he pauses to pray. He may feel he has no other choice after giving the people God’s stern warning. Jeremiah’s prayer is not like one we might hear—or say—today. His words are not positive. He doesn’t talk about God’s grace, mercy, […]
A Bold Prayer Though an entire book was later written about his brief prayer, we know little about Jabez from Scripture. The Bible only mentions him in two obscure verses, buried in a lengthy genealogy. We know his birth is difficult, and the name his mother gives him reflects the physical pain his arrival caused. […]
A Worthy Title and Not Mindless Filler We’ve talked about people who just pray and what the word amen means and doesn’t mean. Let us now consider how we use the word Lord in our prayers. Proper Use of Lord According to the dictionary, Lord means God. It can also refer to Jesus. We see […]
King Hezekiah Prays for Deliverance Starting with Isaiah 36, this otherwise prophetic book switches to a narrative for four chapters, talking about King Hezekiah. The first one is about the source of the king’s confidence. King Hezekiah, a direct descendant of King David, rules the nation of Judah from the city of Jerusalem. Things aren’t […]
A Careless Word or a Faith Reflection? The word just pops up often when it comes to prayers. Is it an idle word we say because we’ve heard others say it? Or does it reveal insight about how we view God? Regardless, we must be careful when we just pray. We Need to Just Pray […]
Four Keys from the Early Church Just days after Pentecost, the people who follow Jesus begin to hang out. This is the first church. What did they do? In the book of Acts, Doctor Luke records four key things: In addition, they meet every day at the temple (outreach) and in homes (fellowship). They share […]
Psalm 179 from Beyond Psalm 150 The book of Job records dialogue between Job and his four friends. Each one offers him their perspective on the situation—through their limited theology. To varying degrees, all four assert that Job’s downfall is either his fault or God’s doing. Job disagrees, maintains his innocence, and proclaims God’s blamelessness. […]