A Life Free of Fear
When we decide to follow Jesus, he brings us through a process of being made perfect in love, so that fear can have no part in us (1 John 4:18). This isn’t an instantaneous process. However, as we walk with God through different stages of life, he invites us to learn how to lay aside our fears and fix our eyes on him.
Eating at the Lord’s Table
Like the apostle John, we are called to a life of intimacy with Jesus, not because of our qualifications, but because he loves to be near to us and to share what he’s doing with us. To access that place of intimacy with God, it’s essential that we lay down our priorities and visions of what our lives could look like and come into agreement with his ideas for our lives. God’s plans for us are always bigger and better than anything we could come up with on our own, and we can trust him to lead us every step of the way.
New Endurance for a New Year
In his epistles, Paul often compares the Christian life to a long race that we run with endurance. At the beginning of the new year, we remind ourselves of the places God has promised to bring us as we keep on running this race. We choose to celebrate those destinations with joy now, before we get there, because we are intended to run forward with hopeful expectation that God will do all that he has promised.
Emptying Ourselves Before God
In Luke 21:1-4, we get a glimpse of what it looks like for one widow to give all she has to God. God’s priority, in her life and in ours, is not about finances; rather, he is looking for people that are willing to empty themselves in worship, holding nothing back from him. God will always provide all that we need; our part is to agree with him and surrender our lives to him in faith.
The Grace To Be Holy
God gives us his grace so that we can live a holy life. This isn’t just a life where we follow all the rules, the “dos” and “do nots.” Rather, holy living is a life fully surrendered to God, where we allow him to speak into any area of our lives so that he can call us into greater freedom and life in Christ.
Choose Hope, Not Disappointment
In Luke 24, we read about two disciples who were disappointed after Jesus’ death, because they thought God’s plans had fallen short. In our lives, we often face challenges to the hope we have in Christ, and hard circumstances can lead to despair. In order to live an abundant life in God, we must learn to come to God in humility, yield our disappointment to him, and receive hope instead.
Praying for Leadership
Romans 13 says that all authority on earth is authorized by God. This doesn’t mean that all political leaders are God’s first choice, but it does mean that we should submit to them and pray for God to work in their lives. Our call, in politics and in the world, is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and to participate in the amazing things he is doing here and now.
Being Fully Surrendered
What does it mean to be fully surrendered and obedient to to the Lord? (James 5:13-18)
Giving Your All In Worship
In Revelation 5, we get a glimpse of the worship of heaven: both angels and saints worship with their whole being, and they celebrate the victorious Christ, who is seated at the right hand of God. In this season, we are learning how to “give our all” in worship, pouring out our whole being to honor God. Heavenly worship comes not from a place of need but from a place of being captivated by his glory.
Completely Yielded to The Lord
Is your life completely yielded to the Lord where you will move through HIs prompting in complex circumstances? (1 Kings 19)
Spirit-Engaged, Spirit-Led
Every great hero of the faith is marked by a relationship with God in which they consistently said yes to the leading of the Holy Spirit, even when their circumstances didn’t seem to align with God’s plan. It is not our own abilities or achievements that qualify us for a spiritual life; rather, our humility and submission to God’s plan are what bring us into all that God has for us.
You Are Chosen By God
Deut. 7:6-9 How do you live your life knowing that you are chosen by God.
Christ, a Servant of God
In Philippians 2:4-11, we read that what Jesus is honored for most in heaven is how he “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.” In the same way, we also are called to be slaves to the will of God, going wherever he says to go. A life fully submitted to God is the most fruitful and satisfying life that a child of God can live.
A Word On Prayer
God already knows your needs, so how you praying for what is on God’s heart?
A Time of Rededication
Surrendering our lives to Jesus isn’t something that just happens once. As we continue down the path of following God, it’s often good to rededicate our dreams, plans, and lives to the Lord. Today, we recenter our hearts on Jesus and refocus on the biggest priority in our lives: connecting with God and following him wherever he may take us.
Where Is Your Gethsemane?
In Jesus’ moment of greatest struggle, he went back to the garden of Gethsemane, where he had a habit of praying and hearing from the Father. In the same way, we also should make a habit of withdrawing to a private place and waiting on the Lord, so that we can find strength and deepen our relationship with God.