Delightsome Land

Scripture tells us that when we say prayers of intercession, we are building bridges between God and the people for whom we pray. Remember, this isn’t just a prayer, it’s a deliberate action. It isn’t just saying words, it’s a construction project. In 1 Timothy 2:1–2, Paul writes: Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. Because Jesus has done the work of intercession and still intercedes for us with the Father, and because the Holy Spirit intercedes for us as well, helping us unburden ourselves, we can now intercede for others. The Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit have built bridges to God that we may cross over, so that we, too, can be in that bridge-building business. We have the incredible privilege of building a span from heaven to earth, from God to the person for whom we are praying. Let...

Love Does Challenge Day 4 : Welcome a Stranger Read Hebrews 13:1–3 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Behind some of our most primal fears is often a basic fear of the unknown. The unfamiliar or unseen is usually scariest to us. This is why one of the classic Christian disciplines that can heal our fear is the practice of hospitality. Through hospitality - welcoming strangers (or the unknown) into our home, reaching out to the sick and needy - we turn our fear into friendship and do another small part in bringing heaven to earth. Today's Challenge Welcome a stranger in one of three ways: First, you can have a meal with a “stranger.” This can be anything from buying lunch for a...

Faith in Action When we told our close friends and family that we were pregnant and that we still felt called to adopt, many people thought we were crazy and cautioned us to reconsider the timing. But Ari and I held fast to an unexplainable, unwavering faith that this was God’s plan. This plan didn’t have to make sense to anyone else. We just had to have faith in what we couldn’t yet see and trust that God was going to take care of us. Cultivating means coupling faith with action. Out of our gratitude for His grace, we are compelled to do something about it. We often take uncharted paths, letting go, surrendering, trusting, and knowing that we don't have to do the heavy lifting. In a sense, faith in action is a lot like working in the garden. No matter how hard I work in my garden, my efforts alone don’t force plants to grow. I do my part by carefully planting, watering, fertilizing, and pruning — and then I wait and trust that God will do His part to cause the growth. There’s ...

Love Does Challenge Day 3 : Audacious Love Read the story of Jacob from Genesis 28:10-17 Jacob’s Dream at Bethel Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I ha...

There was a long time when I wanted to be anywhere but my real life. I lived for the next big life development that might make me feel content and comfortable in my skin. Maybe you can relate? During grade school I thought summer would bring happiness. When I was a teenager I assumed moving out of my parent’s house would make me feel free and alive. When I was dating my husband, I knew without a doubt that getting engaged would make me feel whole. I wiled away years of my life just waiting for things to actually get good. I am remarkably good at making things happen for myself. I used to think it was a great quality, but now I realize it’s my most masterful escape strategy. I didn’t like something in my life? I changed it. The problem is, changing your circumstances isn’t always possible, and it’s certainly not always obedient to God. You can find yourself chained by your own expectations of life. There are times when we must faithfully endure, and there are other times when it wo...

“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! Psalm 81:8 NKJV One of the most important lessons we can learn is how to listen to God. In our complex and hectic lives, nothing is more urgent, nothing more necessary, and nothing more rewarding than hearing what God has to say to us and obeying Him. A true conversation, of course, involves both talking and listening. Most of us do better with the talking part. Throughout the Bible, we read of prophets and other men and women of God who implored their people to hear the word of the Lord. Obviously, God earnestly wanted His people to hear His voice. He still does. So how do we hear God when He speaks to us today? What steps can we take to make ourselves ready to hear what He has to say? 1. Read God’s Word: By studying God’s Word, we begin to see His established order for our lives. We learn about His truth, mercy, love and forgiveness. 2. Seek Him in Prayer:  Many times, bowing our ...

Bob talks in Love Does about how our failures become opportunities for God  to break pieces off of us so there’s more for Him to work with. Today you’re going to give God some new raw material. One of the deep, inner dynamics of experiencing the love of God is recognizing when you are in a place of failure and receiving love right then and there. This is hard to do. When we fail,  we want to judge (ourselves or others), get angry, or make excuses to protect our hearts. We end up only doing things we already know we’ll be good at so we don’t have to experience struggle. W hat if, instead, we intentionally put ourselves in a place of failure and then practice keeping our heart open toward God and receiving His love? Today's Challenge Think of an activity you know you’re not very good at or is a challenge for you. Some suggestions are listed here, or you can pick your own: Take a class at the gym or engage in an exercise that you don’t normally do. Write a poem and...