Fatherhood Is AuthorityBy Danny SaavedraHeavenly Father, I thank You and praise You, to whom all authority in heaven and on earth belong. You are supreme in everything, and all authority any of us have on earth is given by You to accomplish Your good and perfect purposes. This includes the authority You have bestowed upon each and every father. Today, dear Father, I pray and ask that You touch the...  Read More

Fatherhood Is ProvisionBy Jimmy PurchaseLord, thank You. I see Your hand in every area of my life. I see the mountains You've moved, the ways You've provided, and the peace You've given me in my most anxious seasons. Looking at Your providential care, I'm reminded You hold all things together. I'm free to release all my cares into Your hands because of who You are and what You've done on my behalf...  Read More

Fatherhood Is EncouragementBy Pastor Dan HicklingDear God, You are our heavenly Father who delights in encouraging Your children. You are constantly working in our lives to edify and build us up, never to discourage, disparage, or demoralize us. It’s never Your will to snuff out the smoldering wick or break the bruised reed, but to mend and strengthen them. You know where we’re weak and faltering ...  Read More

Fatherhood Is ProtectionBy Pastor Tony DavisFather, I come before you today humbled and in awe of Your grace and mercy. Lord, I thank You for how You have designed what a family is supposed to look like and the specific role You have ordained for fathers. Within this role, You have called us to be protectors. I pray You would give dads the strength, perseverance, and discipline to protect their ch...  Read More

We use the phrase “thorn in the flesh” to describe a persistent problem we can’t seem to solve. But the wording originates in the New Testament writings of Paul, who wrote about a thorn in his flesh and how he prayed three times for it to be removed.Surprisingly, God didn’t remove it.As a missionary, Paul devoted his life to serving God and experienced extreme suffering. Surely God would grant him...  Read More

1 John 5:18-21We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.  We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.  And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is th...  Read More

I hate spiders—let’s be honest, none of us really like them.But when I think of the metaphor of my life leaning on a spider’s web, it is a picture of having confidence in the wrong things. No spider builds its web to last forever.They are not engineered to bear structural loads.They are temporary.At any point, a web could give.They were never designed to be a support structure.The picture is a war...  Read More

The question is this: Where do we turn when there is nowhere else to go?When we are down and out, messed up, fearful, and stressed, to whom do we look?When bankruptcy brings us to our knees, when the death of a loved one takes our joy away, or when our errors in judgment shipwreck our lives, how do we dig ourselves out of the difficulties we find ourselves in?An eternal view is what puts our earth...  Read More

Jesus was like Job, but even better than Job because He offers a life of hope to all. Indeed, it is the name of Jesus that has brought and still brings hope to generations of people around the world.What did Jesus say about life?Just before His time on earth ended, Jesus spoke to His closest friends about eternity.In this world, you will have trouble. It’s a statement that feels brooding. Clouds a...  Read More

Hold up your hand and measure the width—that’s your life.Breathe one breath and see how long it lasts—that’s your timeline.Hope must be connected to more than circumstances and troubles that resolve themselves here and now. If we measure life based on the time on our wristwatch, we will often struggle to live with hope.There is another clock we can look to that gives us a better measure of our liv...  Read More

"This is the Way, Walk in It"Isaiah 30:18-22Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.For the Lord is a God of justice;How blessed are all those who long for Him.O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you.  Although ...  Read More

I looked at some of the other personalities in Scripture who endured the most scandalous downfalls and the most devastating crises.The result was dramatic.I found that God specialized in hard situations.God is most active, most at work, most powerful, and most strategic when the odds are stacked against people.Consider a few examples from Scripture:Adam hiding in shame in a gardenAbraham leaving f...  Read More