The Word in Attitudes and Actions

Jim Leffel

Romans 12:10

When we try to hear from God through His Word it's important that we are open to His input in our lives. Often people come to God with their minds already made up. We are called not just to be readers of the Word, but doers of the Word.

Overcoming Our Fears

Gary DeLashmutt

Isaiah 8:12

When we focus on our fear, the object of our fear begins to grow, and our view of God begins to shrink. When we put our focus on God, He will grow, and our fears will be diminished. Our reverence for God for who He is and His power drives out our fears of the world. We have to practice doing this reactively when situations of fear come up in our life. We must go to scripture to reaffirm in our hearts who God is, His power, and ask for help.

The Pain of God's Hiddenness

Gary DeLashmutt

Psalms 42:1-11

What is this pain of God's hiddenness? Is it God abandoning us to leave us on our own through troubling times? No! Those are the lies of Satan who actively tries to accuse us and put lies about God on our mind. In fact, this is a pain that every believer may go through in their life and often it is caused by our own choices. We have two ways we can respond to this. One is that we must talk to God very openly about this pain, and two is we must talk very aggressively to ourselves about how to interpret this pain. Even Jesus had to turn to God in the garden of Gethsemane about his pain. We are no different and God has promised us that when we turn to him in supplication that He will move towards us in love.

A Trustworthy Statement

Jim Leffel

Romans 9:31

Paul leads us through his statement on why we can be confident in God's promises to us. God has not chosen us to improve us, He wants to make us entirely new and the be heirs to His promises. God has provided for us in every way so that we can live for God and go out and represent Him to the world and share Christ without fear.

Striving with God

Ryan Lowery

Genesis 28:12-32:30

Most human relationships are based on conditional love, and many of us relate to God this way as well. Jacob wrestled with God throughout his entire life, trying to force God into his will. But God has a different way that He wants to relate to us, and He does this by showing us an example of unconditional love. Instead of demanding a blessing from God, we must learn to see and believe that we have already been blessed.

Gateway to Prayer: Meditation on God's Word

Gary DeLashmutt

Romans 12:2

We can read the word of God but how often do we ponder it deeply in meditation? Biblical meditation is not about emptying your mind but instead interacting with and understanding something deeply. We need God's help in a world that never stops moving and where we intake information at higher speed than ever. Being connected to God through His Word in meditation promises to grow us and root us deeply in Him. \r\n

Walking on Water

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 14:22-33

Jesus comes walking on water in a heavy storm and the disciples are amazed. Jesus challenges Peter's lack of faith that he can provide for them. The doubt of Peter highlights what happens when Christians adopt a horizontal perspective and focus on other things rather than looking to Christ for provision. Often, the horizontal perspective leads to more problems, including anxiety, anger and ingratitude. What Jesus is trying to teach his disciples is to look towards him with a vertical perspective amidst the "waves" or problems that arise in our lives.

Creation

Ryan Lowery

Genesis 2:4-25

The Bible claims to be God's instruction manual for the human experience, so we should expect it to explain how we got here and what our purpose is. The creation account argues that there is a personal and powerful God. It also argues that we are significant to Him and that He created us for noble purposes. But we have squandered many of the good things God created for us and have a need to be redeemed.

Where God Leads, God Provides

Jeff Gordon

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Once Nehemiah decided he was going to go God's way, he needed permission from the King of Persia to go to Jerusalem. As he stepped out in faith, he learned that where God leads He also provides and changes hearts. Our role, as followers of God, is to pray and be willing to go where He leads. While we pray we can actively prepare because we know that God will lead the way.\r\n