Daily Readings

April 11, 2024
0
0
0

By “mystery” we don’t mean “forever beyond your knowing,” but “something to be explored.”

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,” says the book of Proverbs, “to search out a matter is the glory of kings” (25:2). God yearns to be...

READ MORE
April 10, 2024
0
0
0

The new covenant has two parts to it: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezek. 36:26). God removed your old heart when he circumcised your heart; he...

READ MORE
April 09, 2024
0
0
0

The book “Killing Lions” is a conversation between John and Sam Eldredge about the trials young men face.

 

 

[John]   Sam, What have you been learning as you pursue your dreams, especially as it relates to...

READ MORE
April 08, 2024
0
0
0

The human heart has an infinite capacity for happiness and an unending need for love, because it is created for an infinite God who is unending love. The desperate turn is when we bring the aching abyss of our hearts to one another with the hope...

READ MORE
April 07, 2024
0
0
0

Maybe it would be better to turn our search to the headwaters, to that mighty root from which these branches grow. Who is this One we allegedly come from, whose image every man bears? What is he like? In a man's search for his strength, telling...

READ MORE
April 06, 2024
0
0
0

God promises every man futility and failure; he guarantees every woman relational heartache and loneliness. We spend most of our waking hours attempting to end-run the curse. We will fight this truth with all we've got. Sure,...

READ MORE
April 05, 2024
0
0
0

This motive — reverence for God — is a slippery one. This lets in a great deal of the clutter that gets between us and God, because it seems like the proper thing to do.

“Papa, I come to you this morning” has a totally different feel than...

READ MORE
April 04, 2024
0
0
0

The point of the story of the prodigal is not primarily about the prodigal. It is about the father's heart. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms...

READ MORE
April 03, 2024
0
0
0

O Living Flame of Love...How gently and how lovingly Thou wakest in my bosom, where alone thou secretly dwellest; And in Thy sweet breathing full of grace and glory how tenderly Thou fillest me with Thy love.

These words, penned...

READ MORE
April 02, 2024
0
0
0

"I'm just a sinner, saved by grace." "I'm just clothes for God to put on." "There sure isn't any good thing in me." It's so common this mind-set, this idea that we are no-good wretches, ready to sin at a moment's notice, incapable of goodness,...

READ MORE
April 01, 2024
0
0
0

A story is only as good as its ending. Without a happy ending that draws us on in eager anticipation, our journey becomes a nightmare of endless struggle. Is this all there is? Is this as good as it gets? On a recent flight I was chatting with...

READ MORE
March 31, 2024
0
0
0

Late resurrection Sunday, the two fellows from the Emmaus road come rushing back to town to tell the others they have seen Jesus alive. Let’s pick up the story there:


While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood...

READ MORE
March 30, 2024
0
0
0

Jesus’ silence before Pilate is stunning. The cynical little martinet dares to ask Jesus, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Jesus doesn’t even bother answering. He just stares at Pilate, letting him make the next move. You know how the story goes —...

READ MORE
March 29, 2024
0
0
0

Most people assume that the Cross is the total work of Christ. The two go hand in hand in our minds — Jesus Christ and the Cross; the Cross and Jesus Christ. The Resurrection is impressive, but kind of ... an afterthought. It was needed...

READ MORE
March 28, 2024
0
0
0

There is only the kingdom, friends. Everything else will slip through your fingers, no matter how strong your grasp. Why do we fight this hope, keeping it at arm’s length? We nod in appreciation but ask it to stay outside our yard. It is as...

READ MORE
March 27, 2024
0
0
0

Jesus said we must take up our cross and die to the supremacy of Self every single day, probably many times a day (see Matthew 10:38; 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; 14:27).
We must crucify the exalted, offended Self, that’s clear. But what...

READ MORE
March 26, 2024
0
0
0

If we choose the way of desire, our greatest enemy on the road ahead is not the Arrows, nor Satan, nor our false lovers. The most crippling thing that besets the pilgrim heart is simply forgetfulness, or more accurately, the failure to remember....

READ MORE
March 25, 2024
0
0
0

A personal walk with God comes to us through wisdom and revelation. You will soon discover that we need both.

For a moment the King's grief and anger were so great that he could not speak. Then he said: "Come, friends. We must go up the...

READ MORE
March 24, 2024
0
0
0

The Religious Spirit has turned discipleship into a soul-killing exercise of principles. Most folks don’t even know they can walk with God, hear his voice. He’s stigmatized counseling as a profession for sick patients, and so the wounds of our...

READ MORE
March 23, 2024
0
0
0

The Search is for more of God in our lives as a growing, operational reality. There are a few critical things to believe in order to make this search go well. First off, we must be confident that God wants to give us more of himself. (Do...

READ MORE

Pages