PrayerLife

Repentance is a turning away from sin. It is a spiritual u-turn. You confess and stop a behavior or pattern that is dishonoring to God and choose to conduct yourself in a way in keeping with your identity as a righteous child of God. Peter describes repentance this way, "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him tur...

Overtime we come before our heavenly Father in prayer ... He already knows! He already knows our heart condition, our sin, our weaknesses, our failures, and our needs. Therefore we have the absolute freedom to come before Him and tell Him everything ... anything! Because He loves us.

Jesus modeled an extraordinary passion for the unity of those who would follow him. He prayed, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17:20-21). Today there is a critical need for oneness...

In the Garden of Gethsemane we see Jesus praying in the midst of personal crisis. "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death" ... And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him (Mark 14:34-35). Jesus expresses his emotion, his convictions, his desires, and his submission to the Father's will. Just hours away from the agony of the...

When Jesus was preparing to make one of the most important decisions of his ministry he spent an entire night in prayer. Luke tells, "he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles" (Luke 6:12-13). Whether making a business decision or choosing a spouse, we need to spend...

Jesus models a commitment to praying with others. He used prayer as an opportunity to strengthen the faith of his followers and build relationship with them. We can use prayer to powerfully build relationship with our spouse, our children, our friends, and our heavenly Father.

Jesus regularly spent time in solitude to pray. Evan as the crowds increased and ministry demands expanded Jesus maintained his commitment to focused time with his Father in prayer. If the Son of God modeled a life of personal private prayer, what does that say about your need and mine.

Jesus modeled a vibrant, personal, conversational relationship with the living God. His disciples were so intrigued by His intimacy with the Father that they asked him, "Teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). If we want to have a robust prayer life, we need to use Jesus as our model.

The role of a parent for instilling wisdom into the heart of a child is vital. Proverbs 22:15 says, "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him." Foolishness is already present in young lives. The role of a parent is to remove foolishness through loving discipline and instill wisdom.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10). Having a holy reverence for God and seeking to walk according to his truth is to be the guiding motivation of our heart. When we rightly honor God, we are on the road of wisdom.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him" (James 1:5). God is the source of all wisdom and He invites us to ask Him for it and He promises to generously give it to us. There very thing we all need, God promises to provide if we will simply ask Him for it.

Wisdom is the skill of living life well - in harmony with God's principles. The Bible compares the value of having wisdom to the value of silver and hidden treasure (Prov. 2:4). We are to search God's word for wisdom with the same passion and drive we would have if we were using an ancient map to find buried treasure.

God's Word, the Bible, is a vital way for you and I to acquire wisdom. As we expose our hearts to its life-giving truths, we learn wisdom. Since wisdom is so valuable for living life well, personal time reading God's word is essential for our happiness and fulfillment.

We learn wisdom from our parents. The Old Testament book of Proverbs says, "Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching; for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck (Proverbs 1:8-9). All our lives we will be responding to authority. Whether it is a teacher, a coach, a supervisor, or a police officer, we all need to respond to authori...

Wisdom is the skill of living life well. When God gave Solomon the opportunity to ask for whatever he wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom. God was so pleased with Solomon's request, he granted him even more than he asked for, "both riches and honor" (1 Kings 3:13).

Jesus is the master of transforming broken lives. The liberating reality is that He knows you completely, loves you unconditionally, and inter you into relationship with himself. Regardless of your need, if you desire a personal encounter with Jesus I invite you to join with me in prayer today.

Nicodemus was a very religious man but he didn't know God personally. It took an encounter with Jesus to open his eyes to the truth of the gospel. He discovered that knowing God didn't depend on his track record, but on Jesus' track record being credited to his life, by being born again.

The unseen demonic realm is real. One man's encounter with Jesus delivered him from the self-destructive behaviors that Satan inspires. Join with me as we pray for the people in our life who are wrestling with destructive demons.

There is perhaps no greater example of radical transformation than the Apostle Paul. Before encountering Jesus he was a zealous persecutor of the Church. He was complicit in the murder of Stephen and he put many christians in chains and jail. After encountering Jesus - Paul became a passionate declarer of the gospel he once tried to eradicate. Paul's example gives us hope that God can radically ch...

Which is the greater disability: physical blindness or spiritual blindness? Jesus healed both. In John chapter 9, He restored a man's sight who had been blind from birth, opening his eyes to the reality of who Jesus was. Join with me today as we have a life changing encounter with Jesus.

Thomas was a skeptic. While others were affirming their belief in the risen Jesus, Thomas refused to believe. Jesus appeared to Thomas and invited him to touch the wounds in his hands and side. Thomas moved from being a skeptic to a worshipper.

Jesus was constantly looking for opportunities to care for the deep needs of others. He wasn't looking for perfect people. He came to meet the needs of the broken, the lost, the immoral, and the desperate. As a result of Jesus' single encounter with a spiritually thirsty woman at a well, many came to know him as the source of life and personal transformation.

In the New Testament book of Revelation, Jesus declares, "I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown" (Rev. 3:11). Jesus is coming back! Now is not a time for weakness, giving up, or compromise. Now is the time to hold fast to his truth. Hold On!

We can confidently hold on to God's truths and promises in any circumstance because He is faithful.

There is no greater guarantee of the reliability of the Bible than the promise, the oath, of almighty God himself. We can stand confidently on the principles and truths of God's word because He personally guarantees it and He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Our hope is secure because God's trust-worthiness is beyond question.