This devo is being written days before observing the close of Daylight Savings Time, the weekend we “fall back” by turning our clocks back one hour. In essence, we are given an extra hour. This brings up a question: Why not do something special with that extra hour? And if you are reading this devo and it’s nowhere near “fall … [Read more...]
School-Year Prayers
You’d think that key prayers and teachings in Scripture were prayed and delivered with the American school year in mind. And, well, they might have been, given God’s omniscience. The child and teen years are years of significant spiritual formation. And in the course of a school year students spend a big chunk of their waking … [Read more...]
What’s the Plan?
Quick Backdrop Has this ever happened to you? You do something bad. Your parents say, “If you do that again you will be in trouble.” Then you do it again. And your parents say, “If you do that again you will be in trouble.” And you do it again. Still no trouble. Your parents have been gracious, or maybe lenient. You do it … [Read more...]
How Should I Pray?
Bring to mind two or three of your closest friends. Do you remember how you met? Where you were? Who introduced you? Can you remember the first things you talked about? How do those “first things” compare to the things you talk about today? It takes time and effort to develop close friendships. But when we do, the conversations … [Read more...]
Three Lies About Prayer
As Christians, we know a lot of truth about prayer and its effects, but we can still fall prey to common misconceptions. Sometimes praying to God feels lonely or like a duty. Sometimes, we only reach out when we need help out of a jam. What if God wasn’t just waiting to hear from us, but what if He was waiting to talk with us? … [Read more...]