Do you have a quiet place you go to be alone with God? A place where you pour out your prayers and praises and seek His counsel? For me, during my early years as a Christian in high school and college, a local park and nearby beaches were my special places. I loved to sit and watch the tide roll in, reminding me of God’s faithfulness as I quieted my heart in His presence. Today, I have my comfy chair at home. Quiet time with the Lord is imperative if we want to maintain peace in our lives. Jesus tells…
A new year brings hope, a sense of new beginnings and better days. For many, it’s a time to redefine goals and sharpen our focus on what is truly important. As Christians, perhaps now more than ever we need to stay strong in the Lord. Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (Ephesians 6:10) This verse begins a section of scripture—Ephesians 6:10-17—which gives us the crucial reminder that at its core, life is spiritual. We’re to “put on” the armor of God to ready ourselves for the spiritual battle at hand, and to be victors in this…
Could the next great revival be on the horizon? Many Christians think so, and we certainly need one. Our country has reached heightened moral decline, God is all but removed from public places, and we’re divided on many fronts. “There’s so much anger, so much polarization, and Jesus is the answer,” said Anne Graham Lotz, after her father, the Rev. Billy Graham, known as “America’s Pastor” passed away earlier this year[1]. She prays her father’s death serves as a wake-up call for the Church and sparks a revival. Lotz believes to fill her father’s shoes we all need to step…
I woke to the steady rhythm of waves pounding on the shore, the unremitting rise and fall of the tide easing me out of the night’s slumber. Outside my window, the beach where folks leisurely walked the night before now covered in water. High tide. Though powerful and dangerous, there’s something calming about the sight and sound of the ocean—the constancy of the waves’ ebb and flow relaxing, reassuring. Here we see God’s majesty on full display, and gazing out at the endless sea, we become small. Through summer’s warm sunny days, people gather here to enjoy the water, the…
A few days ago I lost my favorite watch. After stumbling through the day feeling like part of my arm was missing, that evening I found my watch. What joy! A few days later, however, remembering the lost watch incident, my joy was not as intense. After a week, the joy had completely faded away. Yet at that moment the watch was not lost again! So what happened here? Simply that what was now lost wasn’t again the watch, but the joy in finding it! Chinese Christian teacher Watchman Nee likens such an example to the Christian experience. He wrote…