A great quote by G.K.Chesterton: You say grace before meals. All right, but I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and the pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen…
live as children of light
SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 5 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. [Ephesians 5:8] Paul continues to explain what it means to follow Jesus. We are called to imitate Him. Paul unpacks what this looks like using a number of applications, the last of which is how…
just like Jesus
SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [Ephesians 4:1-2] Lord, as I read this passage, I sense that I am called to live a radically different…
my prayer too
SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 3 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. [Ephesians 3:6] Paul reveals his mission here: he has been assigned the task of letting the Gentiles know that they too have a share in…
the gift that keeps giving
SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 2 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. [Ephesians 2:17] Lord, I hear Paul reminding us of what we were before You came (slaves to sin), and how Your coming – God’s great gift to us – has removed all the barriers between…
my hand with His!
It’s one thing to celebrate God’s hand in our lives, but its another thing, an essential thing, to join our hands with His, as His partners. The reason that God is not just snapping His fingers to fix the world is because from the beginning His plan was to rule this world in partnership with…
gushing with praise
SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 1 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. [Ephesians 1:11-12] Paul is gushing as…
happy birthday buddy
Oh my, look who’s 17! All growed up, actually taller than me. Thanks for being a great, fun kid. Looking forward to seeing how God is going to use you to bless others! Here is my prayer for you: May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you…
sin and sacrifice
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 24 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the LORD answered prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped. [2 Samuel 24:25] Lord, did You cause the census (2Samuel 24:1] or Satan [1Chronicles 21:1]? Why were You angry with them, was there…
Jesus-shaped living
If I am going to be a Jesus-follower, I need to be intentional about relating with Jesus, interacting with Him through my day to day experience. What makes this hard is that the conversation seems one-sided. I do not hear Him speak, I only ‘sense’ His direction or guidance of wisdom. It’s a thought or…