Prayers Devotionals

What is God’s Will? Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus invites us to pray heaven to earth—to ask that God’s kingdom would come and His will would be done. But what is God’s will? What are we really asking when we pray that His will would be done? Let’s investigate that question together. Pray… Heavenly Father, you are holy. You are love. It’s what you do. It’s who you are. Teach me to trust you more than I trust myself. May your will be done in me and around me today. Please make me more like Jesus. In His name, amen. Read… Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Matthew 6:9-13 NLT Consider… What is God’s will? That’s a question we have probably all wrestled with, at least on a personal level—what is God’s will for me and my...

  Resources of Heaven Romans 8:16-17     Matthew 6:9-13  There are so many wrong things that need to be righted in our world today. It can feel daunting when it comes to thinking about where and how to step in. No matter how resourced you are or are not, through prayer and because of Jesus, we have access to the resources of heaven. That’s what it means to be an heir. More on that, but first, let’s pray… Pray… Heavenly Father, I need you. When I look at the world today, there’s a lot of brokenness. But I choose to believe that you are more than enough. Jesus, thank you for bringing me into the family of God and sharing your inheritance with me. Holy Spirit, continue to teach me how to pray in line with your good plans for the world. I trust you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Read… For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we...

  Kingdom of Priests Matthew 6:9-13     Hebrews 4:14-16    1 Peter 2:9-11   Jesus came to announce that God’s kingdom is coming here on earth as it is in heaven and we are invited to play a part in that process. One of the ways we get to do that is through intercession—stepping in and speaking up on someone else’s behalf. If it sounds bold to pray these kinds of prayers, that’s because it is! We are asking God, the rightful King of the universe, to do something about what is damaged and broken in our world. That’s humbling to think about. That’s also why it’s so powerful that Jesus opens this prayer with the reminder that our holy God, the King of the cosmos, wants us to relate to Him as Father. Pray… Heavenly Father, thank you that I can come to you and call attention to the things in this world that are not as they should be. Jesus, thank you for making a way for me to come before the Father. Holy Spirit, make me aware of the people you want me ...

   Is this Working? Matthew 6:9-13  James 5:16 What do you do when you have the feeling that your prayers aren’t working? We have all experienced this at some point. Maybe you’ve prayed for someone for a really long time and they are still sick. Maybe you prayed you’d be able to stop a harmful, unholy habit but you slipped up again. Or maybe you’re praying for a friend or family member to come to know Jesus, and they are still really resistant. Is it still worth it? James, Jesus’ brother, has something to say about these moments. Pray… Heavenly Father, I trust you. You are good and you do good. Even when I can’t see it and don’t feel it, I trust your love because you demonstrated it so clearly through Jesus. Jesus, thank you that you died for me, before I knew you or acknowledged you in any way. Thank you for your example of patient love. Holy Spirit, help me become more like Jesus. May the hard things I experience produce more perseverance in me. Thank you. In Jesus’ nam...

  It Is Finished Matthew 6:9-13  Roman's 8:34-35  At its core, the invitation to intercession is another invitation to become like Jesus for the sake of others. Why? Because Jesus intercedes for us. Let’s dive in. Pray… Heavenly Father, thank you for who you are and what you have done and are doing through Jesus. Jesus, thank you for loving me and speaking up for me. I’m blown away by your grace and love. Holy Spirit, continue to make me more like Jesus so I can love like Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen. Read… Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Romans 8:34-35 NIV Consider… Jesus, the risen Son of God, prays for you. Have you ever thought about that before? That’s crazy! Jesus isn’t in heaven just chilling at the right han...

 Pray… Heavenly Father, thank you for who you are and what you have done in the world through Jesus. Jesus, thank you for being the perfect example I get to follow and inviting me to do just that. I pray that, by the power of your Holy Spirit, that you would help me bring a preview of heaven to every place I go today. Help me bring justice, mercy, and hope. Help me see the opportunities you are giving me to intervene on someone else’s behalf. In Jesus’  most holy name, amen.

  Pray... Lord, I pray for myself and for the parents I know that You will give patience and diligence in the raising of children. And I pray for children who do not have parents in their lives, that You will raise up surrogates to love them.

C. S. Lewis Daily How do we decide what is good or evil? The usual answer is that we decide by conscience. But probably no one thinks now of conscience as a separate faculty, like one of the senses. Indeed, it cannot be so thought of. For an autonomous faculty like a sense cannot be argued with; you cannot argue a man into seeing green if he sees blue. But the conscience can be altered by argument; and if you did not think so, you would not have asked me to come and argue with you about the morality of obeying the civil law when it tells us to serve in the wars. Conscience, then, means the whole man engaged in a particular subject matter. But even in this sense conscience still has two meanings. It can mean (a) the pressure a man feels upon his will to do what he Thinks is right; (b) his judgment as to what the content of right and wrong are. In sense (a) conscience is always to be followed. It is the sovereign of the universe, which “if it had power as it has right, would absolutely r...

The obedience which God's children yield to him must be loving obedience.  If you’re a believer, you are part of the awesome body of Christ, which is called to bring His light to the world both individually and corporately.  Matthew 28:19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Your Kingdom Come Matthew 6:9-13   https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A9-13+&version=KJV This week we are going to dive into the second line of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray. And the idea Jesus is communicating here is powerful—it’s an invitation to intercession. Intercession means to intervene (to step in or speak up) on someone else’s behalf. What is so cool about this is that Jesus’ invitation to intercession is really just another invitation to become like Him and join in with God’s mission of bringing heaven to earth. Let’s start to unpack this. Pray… Heavenly Father, thank you for who you are and what you have done in the world through Jesus. Jesus, thank you for being the perfect example I get to follow and inviting me to do just that. I pray that, by the power of your Holy Spirit, that you would help me bring a preview of heaven to every place I go today. Help me bring justice, mercy, and hope. Help me see the opportunities you ...

Devotional Acts 3   https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+3&version=HCSB Following Jesus' departure, it was important for Jesus' followers to be confirmed as legitimate representatives of the message Jesus taught. This was done by Peter performing miracles, like Jesus did. Peter was careful to point out that what he did was done through God's power and not his own. Christians can mess up in some big ways sometimes, but, like in this chapter, they can also accomplish some amazing things too. Miracles can happen like healings or changed lives and entire communities transformed, but these are done in God's power. It's important for Him to get the credit!

Devotional Jeremiah 2   https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+2&version=HCSB The chapter today illustrates the relationship between God and Judah in a number of ways. It starts out well, like a couple that is in the beginning stages of infatuation, but turns sour over time. God says that He has been faithful throughout, but Judah has pursued other relationships that are inferior. (Verse 13 'For My people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that cannot hold water. Jeremiah 2:13     https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+2%3A13&version=HCSB  paints an interesting picture that we miss in our time of getting water from faucets. God says He is like a spring of water, while Judah is digging leaking cisterns. Water from a spring tastes great! Water from a cistern is stagnant. Even worse: the cistern doesn’t hold water. God is say...

Devotional 2 Kings 18  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+18&version=HCSB Hezekiah is Judah’s greatest king. He destroyed all of the things that people used for false worship; even those that might only be considered questionable. Back in Number 21, God told Moses to form a brass snake. When people looked at it, they were healed. Now, 700 years later, it had become an object of worship. Hezekiah had the wisdom to understand that despite the object’s noble beginning, it needed to be destroyed. Hezekiah had some military success, but gave into threats from Assyria, which was the superpower of the day. The Assyrians foolishly believed that they could not only attack Judah, but also insult God. Tomorrow you will read how that turns out. Sometimes things that were designed to point to God end up distracting people from God. In today’s reading it was a relic. Even today people can get more wrapped up in preserving a religious object than in loving God. Maybe it is s...

The Spirit that Empowers                                               Matthew 6:9-13    Acts 4:8-13     Luke 22:54-62 Pray… God, thank you for giving us your Spirit. Thank you for giving us the power to know how much you love us and share that love with others. I am who I am because of what you’ve done. Everyday, you’re making me more like Jesus. For this reason and so many more, I worship you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Read… Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one refer...

 Don’t Lose Sight when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem . . . —Luke 2:45 We might as well face it, strife has even infiltrated our church life. It is true enough that the Church is now the Church militant. But, as such, its warfare ought to be that of dedication to revealed truth and divine holiness, and not intramural bickering and carnal disputes. We read in the second chapter of Luke that Joseph and Mary lost Jesus one day. Where did they lose Him? They lost Him in the most unlikely place in all the world-the Temple. I have seen many people lose Jesus right in the church. I have seen them lose Him in a dispute about who was to be choir director, who was to play the organ, who was to be an elder, or who was to be the minister. Yes, because we are human, though Christian, it is easy to lose sight of Jesus right in the temple! Prayer for the day Don't let me lose sight of You, Lord, in the complex logistics of everyday life. B.G.

 A Prerequisite for Discipleship “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26 NKJV) The popularity of Jesus was exploding. Everybody wanted to be near Him. But He could see there were a lot of individuals who didn’t understand what it really meant to be His disciples. He knew that a lot of them were nothing more than fair-weather followers. One day Jesus turned to the adoring masses and laid out the criteria for what it means to be His disciples. His words still ring true for us today. These perhaps were among the most solemn and searching words that ever fell from the lips of Jesus Christ. And this is the only time He explained the severity of His terms for disciples. He began, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26 NKJV). A s...

 Praying with the Spirit When I face a challenge or have a large task to accomplish, I always know that my wife, Jane, will be praying for me. If I feel I need more prayer, I have friends that I can ask. But I always have someone else praying for me, whose voice I have never heard: the Holy Spirit. The Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26 https://biblehub.com/parallel/romans/8-26.htm Paul mentions this mysterious ministry of prayer in the context of a larger discussion about the Spirit’s work in our lives. All those who have the Holy Spirit living in them “are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit” (v. 9). The apostle makes it clear in this same verse that everyone who belongs to Christ also has the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s presence obligates us to live “according to the Spirit” (v. 12). We do this by living in the power of the Spirit. God’s Spirit enables us to resist the impulses of the sinful nature (v. 13). This does ...

 The Message the World Needs to Hear  Mark 16:15-20  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+16%3A15-20&version=HCSB Suppose I asked what the mission of the church is—how would you answer? Although the church accomplishes many tasks, its only message to the world is the gospel of Christ. Everything else we do is merely an extension of that primary goal. The gospel we offer the lost is superior to every worldly philosophy. Never outdated or in need of correction, it is always sufficient to meet humanity's greatest need: reconciliation with the Creator.   Although the message is always the same, methods of making it known are many—including the spoken word, music, printed material, and electronic media. But all these avenues of communication require the individual involvement of God's people. It is every Christian's responsibility to use his or her spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities to help fulfill the Great Commission. Some Christians think that t...

           The Giver of Mercy                                                         Matthew 6:9-13                                       Luke 18:35-43 Pray… God, you are so merciful and kind. When I get caught up in what I’ve done wrong, remind me of your scandalous grace. When I’m focused on what I don’t have, remind me of what you’ve already done. You’ve shown me what living really looks like. You’ve given me the love and joy I’ve always wanted. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Read… As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. So he began shouting, “Jesus, So...

 “They were written for our instruction”(1 Corinthians 10:11), and the typological nature of the old covenant is fulfilled in the new covenant, providing us wisdom for all of life today. C.S.

The Lord of Righteousness                                         Matthew 6:9-13                                     Psalm 103:1-22 When we pray, we aren’t calling out to a ruthless dictator or a distant parent. We are praying to a loving Father. He is a good Father. He is a righteous King. He is totally incorruptible and endlessly compassionate towards His people. So much so, He willingly stepped into the muck and grime of history to die so we could live. There is no one like our God. Today, we are going to read a Psalm of adoration. As we do, allow the deep love and respect of this passage to move you closer to our Lord of Righteousness. Pray… King Jesus, every time I think of the sacrifice you made for me, I’m amazed. You didn’t have to do it, but you did it anyway. Thank you. Everything I am...

 Wait Upon the Lord Glory in the Lord; O worshipers of God, rejoice. Search for him and for his strength, and keep on searching! —Psalm 105:3,4 (TLB) Jerome, one of the early Christians, said, “Ignorance of the Bible means ignorance of Christ.” Job once said, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Jeremiah said, “Thy words were found and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” To read the Bible one needs a “quiet time.” Christian students often ask, “How do you maintain your spiritual high? What do you do on a daily basis?” I tell them about my “quiet time.” Some days it is in the early, sometimes late-morning, sometimes evening. Without it, my Christian life would be a wilderness. Isaiah said, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). So gain the strength of eagles, as t...

As we are looking forward in life, it is so important to put our hand to the plow and serve the Lord. You might say, “I’m going to wait until I get a little bit older before I really start serving Jesus. Maybe when I’m around 95, I’ll really get serious. I want to have a little fun first. I still want to do some things that interest me personally. I believe in Jesus and want to follow Him, but I will get serious later.” No, you need to do it now. In the same way, we must be aware of the danger and tragedy of the unseized moment. God will bring opportunities into our lives to go out and make a difference, and we have to seize them. If we wait or if we’re not paying attention, we might miss them. And we might become so set in our ways that we’ll have no interest whatsoever in the things of God. Put your hand to the plow now—and don’t look back.

 

The Breaker of Chains  Matthew 6:9-13            Exodus 20:1-3 Throughout the Scriptures, we are shown story after story of God rescuing His people from slavery. The book of Exodus gives us the account of God rescuing the people of Israel from their captivity in Egypt. When Jesus shows up, God does something even more significant. He rescues us from our slavery to sin and death. This is why the Gospel is called good news. It’s the announcement that Jesus defeated death, sin, and darkness through His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection from the grave. Now, anyone who puts their faith in Him can be freed from their past and welcomed into His Kingdom. Today, let’s thank God for freeing us from the chains that once held us prisoner. Pray… Lord, thank you for being a God who rescues. Without you, I would still be a slave to sin and my own selfish desires. But with you, I have a new life and I have hope. Thank you. There is no one like you. Help me t...

The Creator of Everything       Matthew 6:9-13              Genesis 1:1-3 As we are learning to become people of prayer, we are letting Jesus be our guide and His prayer in Matthew 6 be our map. This prayer begins with adoration, deep love and respect, for our Heavenly Father. For a lot of people, prayer is often thought of as a way to ask God to give us what we want. While those prayers are important and biblical, that’s not the place Jesus tells us to start. Instead, He tells us to start by recognizing and appreciating the goodness of our Creator. Because more than anything, prayer is a way for us to connect with God and strengthen our relationship with Him. It’s a relationship intended to be built on deep love and respect. Pray… God, I love you because you first loved me. I worship you because you deserve it. You are good and trustworthy. I want my entire life to be devoted to you. Help me to know you more and appreciate all that you’...

You treat your body as a temple you've heard it said so if you committed suicide you would be dis-honoring God and the Holy Spirit by harming your own body?   1 Corinthians 3:16-20 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+3%3A16-20&version=KJV People often wonder if a person who dies from suicide can be saved and get to heaven, but the Bible does not give an answer.  Most Christians believe what matters most to God is how a person lives his or her life rather than how he or she dies. One of the most controversial elements of Christianity’s perspectives on suicide is whether or not a professing Christian can go to heaven if they take their own lives.  The Bible does not say that someone who commits suicide cannot go to heaven. From a Biblical standpoint, there is only one “unpardonable” sin: “‘Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spiri...

 Our Father in Heaven Matthew 6:9-13    Today, we’re going to look at the very beginning of Jesus’s prayer as we learn the importance of prayers of adoration. What is adoration? Adoration is a word that means deep love and respect. Can you imagine a better way to start your conversation with God than with words that communicate your love and respect for Him? It’s probably not an accident that this is exactly what Jesus teaches us to start our prayers with: adoration for our Heavenly Father. Pray… Our Father in heaven, thank you for loving me more than I can even imagine. You truly are a good parent and I’m so grateful that you call me your child. Even when it’s hard, I’m choosing to trust you. Even when I don’t understand, I’m choosing to follow you. Because I know you are good. In Jesus’ name, amen. Read… Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Matthew 6:9 NLT Consider… Jesus begins this prayer with adoration, deep love and respect for His Fathe...

 Forgiven Lyrics I know I'm far from perfect there's trouble in my past, but Jesus cleared my record and I'm not look'n back. So if you see me smile when it seems I should give up, all my faults and failures are covered by His blood. I've been redeemed, I've been forgiven singing a new song about Heaven. Free at last, from the past. Life is worth the living. I've been redeemed, I've been forgiven. Don't get the wrong impression, I know where I stand On the Rock of Ages It's all in His hand When the old life haunts me I know Who to call and Heaven quickly answers "Jesus paid it all." I've been redeemed, I've been forgiven singing a new song about Heaven. Free at last, from the past. Life is worth the living. I've been redeemed, I've been forgiven.

 IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CROSS It's not just about the manger Where the baby lay It's not all about the angels Who sing for him at day It's not all about the shepherds Or the bright and shining star It's not all about the wise men Who travelled from afar It's about the cross It's about my sin It's about how Jesus came to be born once So that we could be born again It's about the stone That was rolled away So that you and I could have real life someday It's about the cross It's not just about the good things In this life I've done Its not all about the treasures Or the trophies that I've won Its not about the righteousness That I've find within It's all about His precious blood That save me from my sin It's about the cross It's about my sin It's about how Jesus came to be born once So that we could be born again It's about the stone That was rolled away So that you and I could have real life someday It's about th...

Devotional Becoming Like Jesus: Prayer Matthew 6:9-13 Pray Like This It’s been said that following Jesus without praying would be like attempting to live without breathing. In other words, prayer is a really big deal. Throughout the ages, prayer has served as one of the most powerful practices to help people connect with God and grow in their relationship with Him. Jesus modeled this better than anyone. His life was shaped and fueled by prayer. His life was defined by intimacy with His Father. So, how do we pray? What does this look like for us? That is the question this plan is designed to help you answer. And who better to show us the answer than Jesus Himself? In Matthew 6, Jesus tells His disciples to “pray like this…” From there, He teaches them the most famous prayer in all of Scripture. A prayer some call The Lord’s Prayer and others the Our Father. Each week of this plan will focus on a different part of Jesus’ prayer to help us learn how to pray prayers of adoration, intercess...

 The Bible’s Supreme Authority The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting. - (Psalm 119:160) Biblical authority means that God has the supreme right to determine our decision making and set the agenda for our lives. God doesn’t want our rationalizations. He wants our response. He doesn’t want us to add our thoughts, opinions, or strategies to the truth of His Word. He wants us to respond to what He has revealed already. You don’t have to try to “help God out.” His Word already has the authority and the truth that you need to access His power in your life when you align your thoughts, actions, and desires within His own. You know you can have a Bible in every room of your house, in your cars, and even at your office, and yet still be missing God’s truth. Unless you read and apply His Word, you will not benefit from its authority. Too many people today want to have their ears tickled by the latest religious fad or clever preacher. But God...

 Four Important Questions If you’ve ever wondered about what’s okay for a Christian to do, consider these questions. Does it build me up spiritually? Does this thing that you want to do promote growth in your Christian character? Some things in life can tear you down because they tear you away from the people of God or dull your hunger for the Word of God. Does it bring me under its power? Some Christians say they have the freedom to do a certain thing because they can handle it. They can control it. But does it bring them under its power? Can they go through a day without it? If not, then it isn’t freedom. Do I have an uneasy conscience about it? There might be something that you feel uneasy about doing. It just doesn’t feel right. Romans 14:23 says, “For whatever is not from faith is sin”  We’re all different. One believer may do a certain thing, but that very thing could harm you spiritually. Could it cause someone to stumble? You may have the liberty to do something, su...

Jesus said something that almost seemed to repel the man: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). In a sense, Jesus was checking his motives. We want the glory, but are we prepared to make the sacrifice? Are we ready to take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ? Are we prepared to obey God?  Revelation 22:18–19 18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and [a]from the holy city, which are written in this book. https://biblehub.com/parallel/luke/9-58.htm

"He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." Luke 24:27 The two disciples on the road to Emmaus had a most profitable journey. Their companion and teacher was the best of tutors; the interpreter one of a thousand, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Lord Jesus condescended to become a preacher of the gospel, and he was not ashamed to exercise his calling before an audience of two persons, neither does he now refuse to become the teacher of even one. Let us court the company of so excellent an Instructor, for till he is made unto us wisdom we shall never be wise unto salvation. This unrivalled tutor used as his class-book the best of books. Although able to reveal fresh truth, he preferred to expound the old. He knew by his omniscience what was the most instructive way of teaching, and by turning at once to Moses and the prophets, he showed us that the surest road to wisdom is not speculation, reasoning, or reading hu...

Messing With God’s Message I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. - (Revelation 22:18) The fact that the Bible is completely authoritative and cannot be broken is a wonderful doctrine for the Christian faith. But the power of God’s Word can be nullified in your experience if you refuse to let the Word speak to you as it is or you start mixing it up with your human viewpoints. The Bible itself cannot lose its power or authority.That will never happen because God said His Word is “forever settled in heaven.” But the Bible’s power may be blunted in your life when you do not respond to God in humility and obedience. A lot of people who try to mix their own thoughts with the Bible’s teaching have many degrees after their name. Education is fine, and the church has benefited from well-trained commentators and scholars who seek to understand what the Word means. But if it t...

  Reader, beware of temptations. Be not secure. The sun is down but sin is up. We need a watchman for the night as well as a guardian for the day. O blessed Spirit, keep us from all evil. Amen. John 9:39 'Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.” 

Muscular Christianity The problem is there are people in the church today who name the name of Christ but haven’t discovered what it means to follow Him. They haven’t discovered that being a Christian is more than just saying a prayer and then going on their merry way. And sadly, many are settling for a brand of Christianity that isn’t biblical, one that embraces Jesus as Savior but neglects Him as Lord. It is big on self-esteem, but it is small on self-denial. It celebrates success but repudiates suffering. This brand of Christianity is not changing our world.The church of the first century, the church we read about in the book of Acts, transformed their culture. People described Christians as “these who have turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6 https://biblehub.com/strongs/acts/17-6.htm ). If our faith is not turning us upside down, then it certainly isn’t going to turn our world upside down. We need to get back to the Christian life as it’s presented in the New Testament, which ...

 THE POWER OF PRAYER We sometimes say “I’ll pray for you” when we don’t know what else to say. But praying for someone or in the face of an impossible situation is always the right thing to do. As Jesus showed in Mark 9, prayer is powerful. Everything is possible for one who believes. MARK 9:23  https://biblehub.com/parallel/mark/9-23.htm When the disciples asked Jesus why they had been unable to cast out the demon in today’s passage, Jesus answered, “This kind can come out only by prayer” (v. 29). His reply raises a question of its own. What method had the disciples used instead? The text does not say how the disciples tried to help the boy, only that they had failed in their attempt (v. 18). Their failure caused the boy’s father to question Jesus’ power (vv. 21–22). Between the two, it is not immediately obvious whom Jesus was talking about when He said, “You unbelieving generation” and then, “How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?” Was it the boy’...

Devotional Knowing that the disciples are going to suffer a great deal of uncertainty in the upcoming days, Jesus gives them a couple of reassurances. He tells them they will have eternity in heaven, and He tells them He is going to send the Holy Spirit to be with them. We have the same assurances today. Right now, while we are living, the Holy Spirit is in us teaching us what we need to know. One day our lives will end, and we will take up residence in the place Jesus has prepared for us. Regardless of what trouble we experience, these important promises will never be broken.

Good question everyone has their own opinions but here are some I found! What does the Bible say about God changing his mind? The fact is that God knows all things (1 John 3:20) and He has known it all forever. To say that God would actually change His mind would imply that God, who is supposed to have known all things forever, decided to act in a manner that was different from what He has always known He would do. Does God change His mind? | GotQuestions.org  www.gotquestions.org/God-change-mind.html Can God really change his mind? There’s one sense in which it seems God is changing His mind, and there’s another sense in which the Bible says God never changes His mind because God is omniscient. He knows all things from the beginning, and He is immutable. He is unchanging. There’s no shadow of turning within Him. Does God change His mind? | GotQuestions.org www.ligonier.org/learn/qas/numbers-14-it-appears-moses-changed-mind-god-how-c/ Can our prayers cause God to change his mind? P...

How to Find Yourself I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NKJV) What does it mean to take up the cross? Sometimes people think it means that whatever is bothering them or plaguing them is their cross to bear. But that isn’t what Jesus meant when He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23 NKJV). The cross symbolizes the same thing to every person. It speaks of dying to ourselves and putting God’s will before our own. Taking up the cross is exchanging our plans for His plans. It’s when we stop trying to seek life and instead seek God. So many people today are trying to find purpose in life. What is life about? What is the meaning of it? The meaning of life, the purpose of life, is to know God. And the best life to live is the Chri...