In John 15:1-5, Jesus paints a powerful image of our dependence on Him, saying, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit… Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can
If I had known at 20 that at age 30 I would be serving as a single female missionary in the Middle East, I would have probably married the next guy that came along, forsaking my commitment to God’s calling. And, I would have regretted it, I’m positive. Why? Because I am right where I am supposed to be, fulfilling my commitment to God’s plan for me. On the good days, my heart is so
At times God places a vision inside your heart, or permits some difficulty into your life for your own good, or tells you to move to an unknown land (Genesis 12:1), or tells you to sacrifice your eldest son (Genesis 22)? (Well, not you. Abraham in this case, but you get the idea). Yeah…my instructor did that. Pushing through challenges becomes necessary in such moments.I like the instructors that tell me how many reps or
I have this problem called self-reliance. Lately, it’s been popping up in my prayers in the form of raw inappropriate confession. “I want to do this by myself!” “Why do I have to wait for you! Why do I have to trust you for everything! Isn’t what you have enough?” Yikes. I know, right. But, before you click exit, you should know that I’m candid, not rebellious; besides, God knew it before I said it.
And I will make my mountains into level paths for them. Yet Jerusalem says, ‘The Lord has deserted us, the Lord has forgotten us.’ Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? See I have written your name on the palms of my hands. All the world will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel. Isaiah 49:11, 14-16, 26 (The Living Bible) As a single, you
Why do we have difficulties? As followers of the Way, we are called to hard lives. Jesus is pretty clear. Carry your cross. The more we traverse through scripture, the more plain the cross becomes. Lives of sacrifice. Lives where we choose others over ourselves. Lives where we believe and act as if others are better than ourselves. And, turning the cheek and humbly accepting criticism and persecution that comes with that territory. No wonder
Sometimes, I like to play a little game with my students. it’s called “telephone.” The objective of the game is to transfer the same message from the front of the line to the end of the line. When we are ready to begin, I communicate the message to the first person, and then I let the message go! Sometimes, when I check with the last person, the message got through…and sometimes… the message failed mid,
John Piper’s article, “Satan Takes the Word” from DesiringGod.org resonates as it explains the parable of the sower. In the explanation detailed in the above article, Piper tells his audience how to prepare their hearts for the Word. It is tremendously valuable; I advise you to read it. It is in reflection of that article that I pose the following question: how do you prepare your heart for God’s Rhema Word? If you follow the
rusting God in challenging times, my plane landed in Central Asia in the wee hours of the morning. After training, I couldn’t get here fast enough. This is where I felt called to and had been working towards for a long time. It was finally happening. I was joining the work of taking the Good News to the nations. I piled my four VERY heavy bags on a cart, and basically skipped to the exit
“I sometimes indulge in avoidance by sticking my head in the sand. It’s comfortable down there. Especially around the 1st and 15th of the month when I have to sit down, write checks and pay daunting companies for the services they provide out of my already low bank account. Indeed. Punching numbers and paying the Piper has lost its joy these days, but not paying the Piper brings unwanted rats into my life. As I
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