11 Best Albums to Fall Asleep to (For Kids and Adults)
I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I go to bed, I am jazzed. Or I’ll occasionally wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to…
Encouragement and Rest – VOTD.04.30.18
Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience. Hebrews 4:11
Rest is the tangible expression of Jesus’s intangible presence in our lives. Being a storehouse of His encouragement is the definitive consequence of Jesus in our lives. It is from that storehouse that we share Jesus’ encouragement with the people and situations around us. So that instead of putting on a false cheer, we actually have a peace and encouragement that overcomes the discouragement (un-encouragement) in the world around us.
We’ve been talking for the past few weeks about being an encourager—which the Bible calls us to be. It’s part of walking in the fullness of all that is life in Jesus. It’s an important ingredient in abundant living. And for most of us it takes effort because this fight is not with a conventional enemy; it’s opposing the force of discouragement that hounds us from all directions.
This negative force shows up in our lives in all shapes and forms: Unconstructiveness, discouragement, and disapproval. So it’s a matter of the heart and from there comes our demeanor—our attitudes and the atmosphere around us. And our words—emotions and thoughts lead to words and actions. (more…)
The Power of the Resurrection – VOTD.03.27.18
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? John 11:23-26
Today’s verses expose a common limitation that we find even today about the resurrection of Jesus. When He said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life,” Martha immediately concluded that He was talking about heaven some day. And it wasn’t that she was wrong, but Jesus wanted to expand her understanding.
The Power of Jesus’ Resurrection is at work today: The Power of the Resurrection that is just as powerful now, as it was then, and when it will be through eternity. Yes, it’s what makes us Christians today. It’s the only reason that we can be Christians.
Power of the Resurrection is the SALVATION of Jesus.
· It’s the Power of the Resurrection that gives us Faith to call upon the name of Jesus.
· It’s the Power of the Resurrection that gives you and me the power to draw others into God’s Kingdom.
But what the Resurrection has given you and me is more than Salvation, as wonderful as that is. It’s more than the Saints being raised up in a cloud with Believers when the last trumpet sounds. The Power of the Resurrection isn’t a “thing” or a “force”. The power of Jesus’ resurrection is Love, Hope, Joy, Peace, Victory, and Freedom: (more…)
The Promises of God – VOTD.02.19.18
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him. (1 Jn 5:14)
Hope, peace, and joy are only a few of the promises of God to every believer. His promises are both universal and unique – That means He has promises that apply to all believers and He has promises that apply only to me or to you, individually. Either way, it is in these promises that we walk out our Christian journey.
But it’s important to understand that God’s promises are not always inevitable – We may or may not experience all that God has promised us. Yes, God always keeps His promises. But often, whether or not we experience the fulfillment of one or more of His promises depends on whether we receive it and act on it. God’s promises are more like an invitation that He wants us to agree to join Him in.
So God has given each one of us an invitation, but we still need to RSVP. For example, He promises us, “Open your mouth and I will fulfill it. And you will see. The words that you speak, so shall it be.” (Ps 81:10) Now, that’s a promise. He’ll give us what He wants us to say, and He’ll back up the Words He puts in our mouths. But it depends on whether our “mouths” – our appetites for Him – are open to receive how much of that promise we will experience in our lives.
The point is, when it comes to God’s promises to us, we’re not passive in receiving His promises. We are co-laborers with Him. He is the King and we are the bride and we are called to actively walk out the faith that He provides us and by that faith to walk in the promises He has made. (more…)
Hope, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit – VOTD.02.13.18
… so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
I want to tie up some loose ends today: The Holy Spirit is the one that produces His holiness in us as we walk in dependence on Him (Gal. 5:16-23; 1 Cor. 6:11). The Spirit opens our minds so that we can understand the truths of God’s Word (1 Cor. 2:9-13). These are some of our first baby steps in the Spirit.
The Spirit confirms our adoption as children of God and helps us as we struggle to pray (Rom. 8:15-17, 26). The Spirit strengthens us with power in the inner being so that Jesus dwells in our hearts through faith (Eph. 3:16-17). The Holy Spirit seals every believer so that we are kept for the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30).
So it’s not surprising that as time goes by, we find that the Holy Spirit is the power who produces in us His fruit, like Peace and Joy as we trust in Him, so that we abound in Hope.
This requires a shifting in how we think – how you and I perceive reality. We’re either going to limit our thinking to the natural, living in that place of limitation, or we’re going to open ourselves to the Spirit and enter into a Joy and a Peace that culminates in a life-attitude of Hope. (more…)
Hope, Peace and Joy in Troubled Times – VOTD.02.12.18
Everything we could ever need for life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited inside us by his divine power. For all this has been lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him … As a result, he has given us magnificent promises … so that through the power of these tremendous promises we can partner with the God’s own nature. 1 Peter 1:3-4
This may sound so obvious you’d wonder why I bother mentioning it at all. But there are far too many Christians who, when reminded that they are supposed to be walking in joy and peace and hope, feel a sort of despair, or else they feel a huge burden – “I know I’m supposed to be that way and I try and try.” So I think it’s worth mentioning the obvious.
If we want joy, peace, and hope, the way to get it is by prayer, seeking God, and worship. There is no formula that can compare with this because God is the God of Hope, He’s the God of Peace, He’s the God of Joy. Outside of Him, it’s practically cruel to expect ourselves to have any of these fruits (results) of the Holy Spirit’s presence.
But God promises us Hope, Peace, and Joy. And like all of God’s promises, they come by us focusing on Him: A lot of God’s promises are found right in the Bible. Write them down on a list or memorize them so you can recite them over and over…especially when you aren’t feeling very peaceful, joyful or hopeful. The point isn’t the method, it’s that we meditate on God’s promises and focus on Him and His promises often.
Secondly, we need to change our minds about joylessness, grumbling, complaining, hopelessness, and peacelessness. They are not just unfortunate, they make us miserable and miserable to be around. They are the prayer language of hell. They are accusations against our God that He’s doing a bad job. Rather than bringing us closer to Jesus, which is the solution to all of this, they drive us further away.
When we feel overwhelmed with despair or depression, we need to use that as our cue to talk ourselves toward hope: Tell yourself again and again to hope in God. The depressed psalmist did this repeatedly: (more…)
Hope, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit – VOTD.01.30.18
Now may God, the inspiration and fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you radiate with hope! Romans 15:13
Today’s verse is what Paul prays for every believer to experience. When we read a verse like this, it can either fill us with excitement over what we have and the possibilities of where we can go from here, or it can be a bit daunting. “Does that verse even come close to describing me? Does my life is filled with all joy and peace in believing? Do I abound in hope?”
To varying degrees we all fall short of experiencing the uncontainable joy and perfect peace and life-radiating hope that Paul prays for each of us. But considering the dullness of many Christians’ faith-experience, it makes sense to seriously seek God to fill us with all joy and peace, so that we will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
So in a sense today’s verse is one of the most practical passages in the Bible for us all as we navigate life in a world where we are promised trouble (Jn 14:33). Firstly, if we face discouragement and disappointment, the place to go is God. He’s the source or supplier of hope. In fact, He is also the focus of our hope. Paul describes Him in 15:33 and 16:20 as “the God of peace.” He gives peace to His people. If we lack hope or peace or joy, the first place we should look for it in God, who is the source of all three.
Secondly, while the foundation for this abundant is hope found in Jesus, the structure of hope that is built on that foundation is being filled with all joy and peace. And Paul doesn’t pray that we will have a little bit of joy and peace trickling into our lives now and then. He piles up these superlatives to show us that God’s method of building on the foundation of hope is to fill us with all joy and peace so that we will abound in hope. (more…)
I Told You So – VOTD.01.29.18
I TOLD YOU all of this so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence to rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!” John 16:33
Jesus has taken away the power this world has to defeat us and has conquered it for us. The peace He promises is resting in his victory rather than being anxious about all that is happening around us.
In context, Jesus has been talking about two things: The sending of the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and the persecution His true followers should expect from the religious institution under whose domineering practices they lived. The two are connected:
Jesus is preparing His followers for a radical shift in their reality. They are about to move from the domination of human leadership which was both tyrannically self-serving and devoid of God (no matter how much they talk about Him), to an intimate relationship with Himself, enabled by the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. These two realities would be at war over their allegiance and their souls.
You see, Jesus had already told them this on several occasions, but in John 8 He makes it clear that His Father was God, and their ‘father’ was the devil. Not surprisingly, these two weren’t going to coexist very well. (more…)
Wisdom is Peace-filled – In Heart – VOTD.12.19.17
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons and daughters of God. Matthew 5:9.
Last time we ended with the question, ‘Since Jesus left His peace for all believers (Jn 14:27), why don’t we see more of it?’ Especially since the peace that Jesus gives is often sited in evangelistic messages as one of the greatest reasons to give your life to Jesus? Not all followers of Jesus walk in this kind of peace on a consistent basis. Ever wonder why?
That’s exactly what Jesus was talking about when He spoke today’s verse: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons and daughters of God.” The Body of Christ at large does not put much of a value on sonship and daughtership. We focus on a lot of things, but often that’s not one of them, even though we routinely refer to God as our Father.
So first of all, a peacemaker is known as a son or daughter of God. That means we enjoy peace with God. That’s where peacemaking starts. But peace with God does not display itself in our lives automatically…it’s not simply a byproduct of ‘saying the sinner’s prayer’, or of becoming a Christian.
Of course Jesus has already made peace and we come to God accepting His terms of peace which is Jesus (Rom 5:1, Col 1:19,20). But living in that peace comes from trusting God, and that is a continual growing activity. The more we experience the faithfulness of God, the more we trust Him from the heart, and the more at peace our hearts become. (more…)
Wisdom is Peaceable – Within – VOTD.12.18.17
But the wisdom from God is always…filled with peace… James 3:17
Christ-like wisdom is filled with peace. It’s peaceable and peace-loving. But what does that mean? Many people think that the opposite of being peaceable is being hostile and mean. But more often, the opposite of peaceable is the perversion of peaceable:
It’s a spirit of wishy-washy. It’s the spirit of ‘don’t make waves’. It’s standing for nothing. It’s selling out to keep the peace. It’s so focused on the absence of conflict that it trades off its personal peace to try to establish a fake peace—an outward appearance that looks like it has no conflict, but turmoil is just below the surface as tensions go underground, swept under the carpet, hoping it will just go away. That kind of ‘peace’ is just a powder keg waiting to blow up. (more…)