After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed (Jn 17:1) Jesus had just finished sharing the Passover Feast with His friends and disciples. In a matter of hours, He would be arrested. So He headed to the garden to pray. Facing His greatest trial, Jesus looked toward heaven. How much more should we? Jesus prayed that He would bring glory to God. He prayed the same for His disciples . . . for us. This is a prayer we should continually pray for one another, as well. T

Another important juncture in the timeline of Israel’s history is the birth of the priesthood. Exodus contains the revelation of God in Word and deed for this sacred inauguration (as do other books that follow in the Pentateuch). Aaron, brother to Moses, was given the high and holy calling from God to serve as the first in a long line of Levitical priests. He was to be crowned with a seal, a crucial reminder: Holy to the Lord (Ex 39:30). But the particular item I want us to b

Some things need to be prepared from the inside, out. Like us, for Christmas. Before we prepare the first thing on the outside of ourselves, we would do well to first start on the inside. And the absolute, best way to do that is in prayer before God. We can commit ourselves wholeheartedly to Him and ask that He prepare us wholly—heart, mind, body, soul, and strength. Prayer will prepare our hearts, so we aren’t preoccupied, prevented from enjoying Him. Throughout the Christma

A tree that stood in my backyard seemed fine to the naked eye. But it was faulty . . . weak . . . vulnerable. It was plagued on the inside. Beneath the bark, unknown and unseen, it was slowly being eaten away. So, under the intense pressure of a storm, it splintered . . . and fell with a mighty crash. Faults, under severe conditions, often surface. We all carry in our inner selves, in varying degrees, some form of weakness inflicted by the fallenness of this world. Some we tr

For our Tuesday gathering, I selected three groups gathered before God in prayer from the New Testament in order for us to identify the purpose for intercession by those assembled. Of the first group, from the record of Zechariah’s service in the temple (found in Luke 1:8-10), we discussed how the group interceded in service to God. The second group of servants, praying to share the gospel in the face of persecution (found in Acts 4:23-31), prayed in service to the Lord Jesus

Have you ever seen a horse from this angle? I have! Do you know what causes it? You guessed it: hard stops. (Go ahead and chuckle. I know you want to.) Sometimes, a horse has a mind all of his own. He might suddenly decide to stop . . . at full canter, no less. Life has a way of doing that sometimes, too. And that’s just where I landed this last week. Fortunately, I didn’t end up sprawled on my back with a snickering horse staring me in the face! Life was set to full-throttle

"LORD, there is no one like You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You." Asa, King of Judah 898 B.C. These are words for worship; words for praise; words for prayer; words to remember. These are words to use when calling upon the One with might and control when our own words won't come. These are words to evoke the

It was the last e-mail she ever expected to get. You know–you’ve likely gotten one yourself. That gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, dream-shattering e-mail. She had been hoping, praying, dreaming, planning, working, and saving toward a thrilling opportunity. And then she wasn’t. It’s a dreadful halt when a door you’ve been striving toward is slammed shut in your face. Her voice quivered on the other end of the line. I choked on her disappointment. And I strained against the nois

My momma often said, “There are no easy answers.” Sometimes, when you get bad news, there’s no easy or ready-made solution. Some problems just don’t get solved right away. Some, it seems, linger. They hang around awhile . . . a good, long while. We just can’t do anything about it. Or can we? Consider Nehemiah. Nehemiah received the bad report from his brother about the grievous state of Jerusalem (Neh 1:1-3) in the month of Chislev. It was the month of Nisan before he spoke o

My phone was clipped to my hip pocket and my earbuds were streaming. I was listening to a favorite podcast during my morning prep routine. The podcast usually finishes before I’m ready, but this particular one ran a bit long. I dawdled around the house until the clock demanded it was time to go. Still tuned in to the podcast, I headed out the door, but halted with, “I can’t leave without my phone!” “But where did I leave it?” I chimed back. I retraced my steps, scanning every

So many questions! Maybe one of the questions you find yourself asking is “what’s next” and you’re waiting for an answer

Excuse me. May I interrupt? Please? Just pause a minute. Stop everything. And slowly read this great prayer of Jehoshaphat (it’s a prayer that bears repeating). “Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in Your presence before this temple where Your name is honored. We can cry out to You to save us, and You will hear us and rescue us.” (2 Chron 20:9 NLT) Apply this to your faith-life in Christ. Right where you’re at. Right n