Discernment is essential. Undiscerning love spawns and invites more heresy than any of us are ready to believe. One of the tactics of survival when facing “the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16) is to make certain we have cinched up the belt of truth rather tightly around ourselves. And what helps us do battle with the enemy also strengthens us in relationships with friends.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Prayer
Finding Peace in Conflict
PAUL WANTED TO BE IN HEAVEN but needed to be on earth. In a temporal sort of way, this time of year, I share his frustration. I am hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and watch the NFL . . . yet to remain in the pulpit is more necessary for your sake. PHILIPPIANS 1:23–24, SWINDOLL PARAPHRASE – Now don’t get me wrong. I love to preach. But I also love professional football.
Read MorePraying for Others
IF WE HAD THE unusual opportunity to spend a day talking to the apostles, men like Paul, Peter, James, and John, I think they’d emphasize an oft-spoken discipline—but one that’s rarely deployed in our lives: praying for others.
Most things in our lives conspire against such a commitment to prayer. Our busy schedules, our intense desire to give our kids the best education and life experiences, and simply forgetfulness.
Unanswered Prayers
LONG AFTER Abraham and Sarah had given up hope of experiencing this joy, they held their very own son in their arms. It would have been easy for them to lose hope.
Read MorePerfect Timing
GOD ISN’T in a hurry, so He didn’t have a problem waiting a quarter century before fulfilling His promise and allowing Abraham and Sarah to conceive. Who knows why He waited that long?
Read MoreThe Secret to Prayer
LIKE MANY PEOPLE, I approached prayer simplistically when I first learned how to pray. Ask God for what you want. If you ask Him correctly or impress Him sufficiently, He just might grant your request. Or not.
Read MoreGoing Deep
NEARLY TWENTY-FIVE years had passed since the Lord first spoke to Abram in Ur. Since then, his spiritual roots had pushed deep into the soil of faith in his God. At long last, he trusted in the Lord’s promise and rested in His sovereign will.
Read MoreThe Workings of God
The workings of God are not related to our clocks; they are related to our crises. That’s why God doesn’t care if this is the last day you can buy that car on sale. It doesn’t bother God that it is the first day of summer or high noon or a quarter after seven.
Read MoreWait . . . and Listen
During the three days of waiting, there is a “white space” when nothing is happening—at least nothing visible. You could easily tell yourself at the time, “I’m waiting in vain. Nothing’s going to change.”
Read MoreAsk and Trust
God does not mock us with the things He includes in His Word. He isn’t in the business of making His people squirm under some unrealistic expectation that they can never attain—something that is totally unique to one person.
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