Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 27 – Hope, Now
by TJ Bates "How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues." -Psalm 31:19-20 I can remember that when things weren't going as they should, my mother would start singing: "This world is not my home, I'm just
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 26 – The Little Things
by TJ Bates Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God, Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. -Luke 12:6-7 When you think about these verses, that the very hairs (even though there may not be as many as there used to be) are numbered, doesn't it make you realize just how much God cares about us and every "little
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 25 – The Highest Appeal
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all thing were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. -Colossians 1:15-17 I'm often amazed and confused by some of the judgments that come down from the Supreme Court. It is encouraging to read
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 24 – Who’s Behind It?
"For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men." -Lamentations 3:31-33 The question of the day: Why does God allow bad things happen to good people? "So there's a huge gulf separating God from Satan, good from evil, but God can still bring us grief and affliction whenever it contributes in some way to
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 23 – How to Save a Life
"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.'" -Mark 8:34-35 “Here's one of life's best-kept secrets: If we try to fulfill ourselves by ourselves, or to realize our dreams on our own steam and our
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 22 – See for Yourself
In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. -Psalm 22:4-5 This Psalm is a continuation of the Psalm (Psalm 22:1) we read on Day 18 where David was expressing his sense of total abandonment from God. In this part of the Psalm he seems to be saying that if his ancestors trusted God and found him faithful, he will also see
Holy Week: Day 8 – Easter Sunday: The Day Death Died
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will
Holy Week – Day 7: New Life
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. -Galatians 2:20 How are we supposed to view our present life of faith? This passage tells us to look at our present lives as servants of the Lord Jesus. Just as Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried, and then raised to new life,
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 21 – First Things First
by TJ Bates Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. -Matthew 7:7-8 So does that mean I can ask for a new Jaguar and get it? Hardly. In fact, if my house is straightened up, I wouldn't even ask for it. "Let's put it this way: When the Spirit
Holy Week – Day 6: Good Friday – What’s Good About It?
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. -Isaiah 53:5–6 Our human minds can’t even begin to grasp the enormity of the price Jesus paid for us on the cross. If we did,
