“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 “Backed yourself into a corner, didn’t you?” My five-year-old daughter loves Uno and loves to taunt me when I play a letter card requiring another card, a card I need to find from the ‘draw’ pile. Although I don’t argue…
Tag: forgiveness
Forgiveness, Part II
“Restore to me the joy of my salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12 Hurts can sometimes overpower us. Instead of giving them center stage in our minds, we need to focus on Christ. As Psalm 51:12 states, allow your joy over who Jesus is and what He’s done overtake…
Forgiveness, Part I
“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts, you teach wisdom in the inmost place.” Psalm 51:6 You’ve been hurt. But, you’re polite as a good Christian should be. You smile and speak kind words, all the while your heart is seething with unspoken anger. As the psalmist wrote, “surely you desire truth in the inner…
Satan’s Snares, Part IV: Unforgiveness
II Corinthians 2:11 ” In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” Read II Corinthians 2:10-11 “Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan…
Prayer: Praying Like Jesus, Part III
“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’” Luke 23:34 As we have spent a few weeks on prayer, we have highlighted a few ways in which Jesus prayed. This week, let’s see what Jesus prayed in His final hours, while enduring great physical pain and deep emotional distress….
RESET
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” II Corinthians 5:17 How long have you walked with Christ? Really desired to live like a Christian: become Christ-like? I was so blessed to attend the WinterJam concert this past Saturday night. The devotional theme was “Reset”. Using…
Book Study: James, Part V
“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for…
Prayer: Praise, Petition, and Unleashing Power, Part Four
The Lord’s Prayer has been our focus this past week. In our quest for learning more about prayer and drawing closer to God, we have covered several areas: praise, acknowledging God as king, and laying our requests at His feet. Today we will focus on Matthew 6: 12, 14-15 “Forgive us our debts as we…