Gracious Father, may all who come within the walls of your house of worship today experience a fresh encounter with You, the living God, so that deep gladness and profound joy overtake them and sorrow and sighing flee away. May all who come dwell in your presence beholding your beauty. For Your presence ultimately transforms … Continue reading A Prayer of Preparation for Worship
Is Your Soul Prospering?
The Apostle John prays for his church: Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. - 3 John 2 John Trapp, an Anglican Bible commentator and pastor in the 1600s, explains what it means for our souls to … Continue reading Is Your Soul Prospering?
Is Your Heart Well-Ordered or Disordered?
All of us have to face our unruly, disordered spiritual hearts that are characterized by a host of disordered loves. A disordered heart loves the wrong things to a wrong degree in a wrong way with a wrong love. “What does it mean to have a well-ordered heart?” To have a well-ordered heart is to … Continue reading Is Your Heart Well-Ordered or Disordered?
Pray This for a Young Person You Love
Pray for the Lord to raise up a generation of young men and women like Bill Borden who dedicate themselves to serve the Lord in the following way:
A Simple Challenge from a Twenty Something
Will you take this challenge from a young man named Bill Borden? He was in his early 20s when he said this. May the Lord raise up a new generation of young men like Mr. Borden.
A Simple Prayer for Parents
Part of the Scripture in today's reading in The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms is Psalm 102:28. "The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.” Here is a simple prayer I wrote for parents and grandparents to internalize and use: … Continue reading A Simple Prayer for Parents
The Irresistible Magnetism of a Loving Church
Where true love flourishes, its magnetism is all but irresistible. As the late Bishop Stephen C. Neill has written, “Within the fellowship of those who are bound together by personal loyalty to Jesus Christ, the relationship of love reaches an intimacy and intensity unknown elsewhere. Friendship between the friends of Jesus of Nazareth is unlike … Continue reading The Irresistible Magnetism of a Loving Church
What specifically are we praying for when we say ‘Deliver Us from Evil?’
According to the Scriptures, there are seven evils from which we need deliverance: Disciples saw Jesus praying, and noticed the great difference between His prayers and theirs, so they requested to be taught how to pray. He alone can deliver us from evil. Said he to Moses: “I am come down to deliver them,” i.e., … Continue reading What specifically are we praying for when we say ‘Deliver Us from Evil?’
Struggling with Change at Church
Are you struggling with a change at your church? Maybe a change of leadership, a change in ministry direction, a change of a particular style, or a change in your ministry focus. Here is a good and encouraging word from a seasoned pastor, John Stott: “Change is painful to us all, especially when it affects … Continue reading Struggling with Change at Church
By Thy Mercy Deliver Us
According to the Lord’s Prayer, all evil has its origin in the Fall and consists of: profaning God's name, opposing God's kingdom, resisting God's will, failing to forgive and love deeply, and not resisting the temptations to evil. Deliver us from all of this, Good Lord! The seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer “are seven … Continue reading By Thy Mercy Deliver Us
