Sarah Bore Abraham A Son
Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him. (Genesis 21:2 HCSB) *** *** *** Sarah and Abraham grew weary of the wait, and so they decided to step in and help God fulfill the promise he’d made. Sarah and Abraham thought, just like you and me, “God doesn’t understand our circumstances; his commandments are good guidelines, but they simply don’t work well in the nitty gritty of life.” And so Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. Yet the promise had been that Sarah would be the one to …
The Waiting Is The Hardest Part
But Sarai, Abram’s wife, had no children. So Sarai took her servant, an Egyptian woman named Hagar, and gave her to Abram so she could bear his children. “The LORD has kept me from having any children,” Sarai said to Abram. “Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed. (Genesis 16:1-2 NLT) *** *** *** *** And so Sarai took it upon herself to solve God’s problem. After all, God told Sarai’s husband, Abram, that he’d have a huge family, more descendants than there are stars in the sky. (Genesis 15) Sarai …
Making Allowance For Each Other’s Faults
“Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” (Ephesians 4:2b NLT) The more we understand, the more patient we become. When we see the hurt beneath the anger, or the reason behind the behavior, we’re more likely to “make allowance for each other’s faults.” The ability to understand is a sign of patience. (Proverbs 14:29) The Bible teaches, “A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” (Proverbs 19:11 NIV) God’s wisdom teaches us that love is patient (1 Corinthians 13:4), and that impatience is not love. …
God's Passion For Oneness
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15 HCSB) When Jesus speaks of love, he allows no room for sentimental fantasy or momentary emotion. He sees love through the eyes of the Father, and from this point of view he deeply understands that true, eternal, godly love is bold and strong, but also painful, messy, and sacrificial. A love of this strength and magnitude can only take root in the soil of abandonment. We abandon our rights, our thoughts, and our schemes. It was this total and uncompromising abandonment to God that led Jesus to say and …
The Truth About Feelings
… And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ …. (Philippians 1:9-10 NIV) Submitted now for your consideration: Pamela, a loving wife, a nurturing mother, a prayerful Christian. This morning, her husband, Richard, left a tender note on the bathroom mirror, inviting Pamela to join him for lunch at their favorite restaurant. Pamela eyes the clock throughout the morning, anticipating meeting her life-long love at 1 p.m. …
secrets ? … we have none
God knows me. HE should know me … after all HE created me. Every cell, tissue, ligament, tendon, muscle, bone, organ, and nerve … God designed and placed me in the middle of the mix. Oh … and God knows you too. Trying to deny or escape from God is futile. And attempting to put on a front to cover the real you is stupid. Come on, God is God and to think that we can pull one over on the Creator is also stupid. Yet many people believe that they can hold on to secret sin and never be …
As Quiet As A Child
I don’t concern myself with matters too great or awesome for me. But I have stilled and quieted myself, just as a small child is quiet with its mother. Yes, like a small child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the LORD — now and always. (Psalms 131:1b-3 NLT) Today’s devotional actually comes from my sister, a godly woman and serious prayer warrior. She e-mailed this morning, saying she’d been thinking the peace of God that passes all understanding. She said she’d spent some time meditating on Psalm 131 – · Verse 1b – “… …
Lord, you go first
This morning I got up at 4 am … got dressed … stretched … and hit the streets running by 4:30. I have this special secrete 3 mile route and I love running in a fresh light snow. Makes me feel like an explorer going where no none else has gone. However, this morning I quickly discovered another set of foot prints running my exact route. My private route. I had to settle for second every step of the way. After mile two I noticed ahead of me the person who’s footprints I had been following had slipped on a …
Do Prayers Reflect Belief?
Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people.” (Matthew 11:25 MSG) What do your prayers reveal about your perceptions of God? I was thinking about this question the other day while reading a book by the great prayer warrior T. W. Hunt. In Disciple’s Prayer Life, Hunt and co-author Catherine Walker teach that we learn about the attributes of God by analyzing the prayers of people in the Bible. For instance, when Daniel knelt to pray, he knowingly violated …
We Love By His Life
I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NLT) When Jesus commands us to do something, he knows we cannot do it unless we are empowered by him – and so he joins his life with the Holy Spirit within us. Thus, “Christ lives in me.” This new life within will take us where thoughts or feelings never will; it will enable us more than information or willpower ever can. We receive …
