William Bradford’s History of Plymouth Plantation has recorded the Pilgrims' journey to America, and their life in their new settlement. It gives accounts of God’s providence and miracles that flowed from His loving kindness and His sovereign purposes at work in their lives. Here the Pilgrims gave praise after God delivered...
In Psalm 55, David held back nothing as he cried out to God in prayer. This seemed to be characteristic of David when he approached God. He was “distraught” perhaps as revolution began with his son Absalom. He desperately pleaded with the LORD to hear his prayers three times in...
Sometimes circumstances are out of our control. This often requires a response of waiting. If in a hurry, waiting may come with frustration. If our personal goals are blocked or delayed, waiting can move toward anger. When waiting is the best option, a better response could be waiting with hope...
Prayer is an alternative in the Bible to fretting. Prayer expresses faith and dependence on God even in unfavorable circumstances. In Psalm 37:1-7, David exhorts not to fret, but to trust God, to delight in the LORD, to commit your way to Him, and to be still before the LORD...
The Lord wants you to know and live in His contentment daily. He is the Prince of Peace. Believers are indwelled by the Spirit of Peace. The fruit of the Spirit, which is the character of Christ in the believer, includes the fruit of peace which believers receive at salvation. The...
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most significant historical event, and with perpetual life changing impact for all. Regarding prayer, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in salvation, the resurrection eternally gives access to life, relationship, identity, and all the authority and resources of Christ that...
The early church prayed through transition. The church was always in transition as seen in Acts and the apostle Paul’s epistles, and so they were unceasing in prayer. After the ascension, the disciples and some followers of Christ Jesus, “…returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives…. they...
Christmas is a time of rejoicing in promises answered by God. The passages of scripture in the Gospels where the events surrounding the birth of Christ are recorded also reveal some of the Old Testament passages of promises that were being fulfilled by those events. As you read the Christmas story...
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let’s be encouraged in prayer by the Pilgrims who were part of an English church congregation whose faith, convictions and prayer were at the heart of their faithfulness, decisions and their journeys and voyages that resulted in their now historical settlement at Plymouth. Their Governor, William...
As nations of the world, especially the United States, shift away from the love, character, justice and righteousness of God (vs. 1-3); Psalm 106 holds timely truths including that God hears and responds with forgiveness, salvation and restoration when there is intervening prayer. The Psalmist reviews Israel’s cyclical tendency toward faithless...
“… those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a Spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit...
Paul wrote, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains." (Colossians 4:2-3) Believers in Christ can be devoted to prayer because they...
These are days to pray in faith! Do not lose heart. Paul wrote, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.… if we...
The Holy Spirit’s conviction of each sin brings believers in Christ to the reality that no activity or inactivity in life begins to compare with the daily, fulfilling and enduring fellowship with our Savior Jesus. Giving in to sin’s attractions and self-rewards is a broken rewards program, and the Holy...
Exalt the Lord who has established us! This is the prayer theme for the National Day of Prayer from Col. 2:6-7. I invite you and your family and your friends to the National Day of Prayer Breakfast in the Gatheria at Idlewild, May 5th from 7:00-8:30 am with guest speaker and...
“’Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ Then he said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this, Moses hid his face….’And...