The Father’s Will
We often consider how God uses all kinds of circumstances to draw us close to His side. The purpose of being drawn close is ultimately to be transformed to the image of His Son and to have intimate fellowship with Him for all eternity. But initially, the purpose of being drawn near is so we […]
A Lifetime of Conviction
Daniel was one of the first captives taken by the Babylonians in 605 BC. Upon his arrival in Babylon, Daniel was selected to receive three years of specialized training (as well as special food and drink) to prepare him for service in the palace. This special treatment would have caused Daniel to violate the laws […]
Such a Time As This
When the Persians overthrew the Babylonians and allowed the people of Israel to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple in 538 BC, not all the Israelites chose to leave their new home. A whole generation had been born and raised under Babylonian captivity and many had become content with their life. Therefore many Jewish […]
Right Where He Wants Us
Joseph was the second youngest son of Jacob and was greatly loved by his father. In fact, his brothers developed a jealous hatred for him because their father “loved Joseph more than any of his other sons” (Genesis 37:3). Their hatred for Joseph continued to grow until they “sold him for twenty shekels of silver […]
A Defeated Enemy
As we study God’s Word, we should be reminded of how fortunate we are to have so many stories and testimonies upon which to build our faith. This is particularly true of the multitude of Old Testament stories; “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance […]
Fight Bravely and Trust God
In the last two messages we’ve considered the protection available for our daily battles as we dress in the full armor of God. We also saw how getting properly dressed is actually a moment by moment process of coming into the presence of God and placing our life in His hands. It’s worth noting that […]
The Protection of His Armor
In the message “Dressed For Battle” we considered how we all face an enemy who seeks to engage us in battle each and every day. The attacks are deceptive but extremely methodical, as the enemy tries to pull, push, and lure us off the path of following after Christ. We then saw how our best […]
Dressed For Battle
The life of a soldier at war is difficult. They live under the constant threat of attack and each day they must prepare for battle. Each day they must make sure they are properly dressed to face the enemy. In a very real sense, we are ALL at war! Every child of God faces an […]
Jars of Clay
In the message “Sacrifice of Weakness” we saw how one of our greatest gifts we can give our Heavenly Father is the recognition of how little we have to give. It’s a wonderful mystery that the Almighty God can reach so far down and lift us up, through the gift of His Son and the […]
Sacrifice of Weakness
In the message “Remain Like a Child” we considered our need to come to our Heavenly Father with an understanding that we have no ability to save ourselves. We then saw our call to continually approach God like a little child approaching a loving Father; “whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest […]
Remain Like a Child
In the message “Hold Me” we saw how our Heavenly Father desires for us to reach up to Him with outstretched arms and how this is perhaps His greatest joy. We considered the example of a child reaching up to be held by their parent. This is where our relationship with God begins and, in […]
Hold Me
In the message “Step Toward Jesus” we were encouraged to examine the motivation for the things we do, and exhorted to do ALL things for the love of being closer to Jesus. This is the essence of our relationship with our Father – simple, but absolute love. When a young child wants to be held, […]