Exulting in God's Magnificent Love for Us
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-priceless-gift-in-every-trial Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds . . . (James 1:2) In and of themselves, our hardships are emphatically not joyful. That’s part of what makes them hard. What could it mean, then, in circumstances like these, to “count it all joy”? When James charges us to “count Read More …
God’s Timing https://www.gotquestions.org/Gods-timing.html The first thing we need to understand about God’s timing is that it is perfect, just as all of God’s ways are perfect (Psalm 18:30; Galatians 4:4). God’s timing is never early, and it’s never been late. In fact, from before our birth until the moment we take our last earthly breath, our Read More …
The Work of the Holy Spirit in our Lives https://www.moodybible.org/beliefs/positional-statements/holy-spirit/ The Holy Spirit today plays a major role in the application of salvation to the individual. It is the Spirit who brings conviction to the unbeliever and causes him to see the truth of the gospel in a clear light. Those who respond to this Read More …
Why Should We Worship God? https://www.christianity.com/wiki/god/why-should-we-worship-god.html Before discussing why we should worship God, it would be good to understand just what worship is. For many Christians, worship is what we do on Sunday morning. Singing a few songs, listening to a teaching, sharing communion/Eucharist, and doing whatever else is scheduled for the Sunday morning meeting Read More …
Praising God Gives Us Joy https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/gospel-worship/excerpts/worship-we-get-joy-god-gets-praise Therefore, joyful, heartfelt, hope-filled delight in the God of mercy is the essence of worship. Not the totality of worship, but it is the essence. That’s amazingly good news, that he would say the aim of the gospel is that the Gentiles would glorify God for his mercy (Romans Read More …
A Case-Study of Persistence https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20/commentary-on-matthew-1510-20-21-28-5 Jesus’ response to her second cry for help includes a reiteration of his mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He even likens her status as a Gentile to the status of the small, pet dogs who long to be fed from the table (Matt 15:26). The Read More …
Don’t Be Anxious For Anything https://www.gotquestions.org/Philippians-4-6.html What is the meaning of Philippians 4:6? “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” If discouragement over the problems addressed in the letter (or anything else) was robbing the Philippians of joy, then Paul gives Read More …
Pray First https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-do-i-wait-for-god So, the first thing that waiting on God means is this: before you make one peep of an effort to solve your own problem or hire a human agency, pray. Seek the counsel of God. What is his way to solve this problem and bring you out of trouble? It says in Psalm 106:13, Read More …
Fasting is Important https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/fasting/prayer-and-fasting.html God considers fasting important. The Bible contains 92 passages referring to it. Many of our heroes of the faith, including Moses, Elijah, Esther, Nehemiah, Daniel and Paul, fasted at crucial points in their journeys with God. Fasting played an important role in the life and ministry of Jesus. After being anointed Read More …
He Encourages Earnestness https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary.php?com=mhc&b=23&c=62 God’s professing people must be a praying people. He is not displeased with us for being earnest, as men commonly are; he bids us to cry after him, and give him no rest, Luke 11:5,6. It is a sign that God is coming to a people in mercy, when he pours out Read More …