Let it RainAs we begin 21 days of prayer and fasting, there are specific things we are seeking the Lord for. Certainly, you have things you are asking the Lord to do in your life or in your family through this time of fasting, which is good and appropriate because God loves to pour out His blessing on our lives. In Ezekiel 34:26 God says, “I will bless My people and their homes around My holy hill...  Read More

Titus 2:1-10But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.  Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.  Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children...  Read More

I Do BelieveToday you’re going to read what may be one of the most keeping it 100 examples of a totally desperate prayer in the whole Bible: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"Those words come from a dad who has tried everything to get help for his son and was met with nothing but discouragement, disappointment, and bitter defeat. He’d even tried God—he took his son to see Jesus’ discipl...  Read More

We who live since Jesus inaugurated the new covenant have seen God keep his greatest promises at the greatest cost to himself. Trusting God’s life-restoring power, Abraham was prepared to perform a heart-wrenching act and received God’s commendation: “You . . . have not withheld your son, your only son” (Gen. 22:16). His son was spared, replaced by a substitute that foreshadowed God’s ultimate gif...  Read More

Jesus wants to make your life brand new.In a letter to another church, Paul told them that because Jesus died for everyone, they could become brand new people. It’s the same for us! When we love and follow Jesus, we become new. Then, over time, Jesus continues to make us new — particularly as we keep asking him to renew our thoughts and our mind so we can think the way He thinks.Since we believe t...  Read More

...Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. - Ephesians 4:23,24What we think about will form us into the people we become. We can focus on what drags us down, or we can focus on content that builds us up and can begin to fill our lives with good things. Thankfully, there are a lot of good and beautiful things to thin...  Read More

..Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8We’ve asked Jesus to help us become new, to renew our minds and to begin renovating us from the inside out.There’s another place in Scripture where Paul gives good advice about how to be made new. Pa...  Read More

Titus 2:1-10But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.  Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.  Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children...  Read More

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. - Romans 12:2aOften, Jesus makes us new slowly. For most of us, it’s going to feel like choosing to trust Jesus everyday. But here’s the good news: Jesus will continue to make us new each day, if we ask Him.In Scripture, there was a church leader named Paul. He had a radical life change (read Acts 9 for h...  Read More

“I am making everything new!” - Revelation 21:5Have you ever wished you were different? Is there a part of your life that you wish you could change? Can you become more of the person you long to be?There is something in all of us that longs to be different than who we currently are. We want to be more confident, to be braver, and to stand up for what’s right. We want to be free from the shame that...  Read More

he Lions' DenWe sometimes think that if we’re doing it God’s way, we’ll never get into trouble or difficult situations.WRONG!Daniel was a powerful man of fasting and prayer, committed to God to the extreme. Yet today you’ll read that his enemies set him up to be destroyed by the very thing that set him apart: his devotion to God. Daniel was doing it right, serving God with everything he had—and it...  Read More

Play OffenseToday is a total setup.You’ve been doing your Daniel thing, hitting your reading plan, and making room for God persistently in prayer by praying three times a day—and those very things are going to cause your enemies to show their face.I am, of course, describing the life of Daniel. You’re about to read how Daniel’s enemies created a setup, and he walked right into it. They’re getting ...  Read More