Strengthening Your Grip On Prayer
And it was this intensity that caused prayer to degenerate from a flowing spontaneity to a rigid, packaged plan, dispensed routinely by the religious leaders. Prayer changed from privilege to an obligation.
And it was this intensity that caused prayer to degenerate from a flowing spontaneity to a rigid, packaged plan, dispensed routinely by the religious leaders. Prayer changed from privilege to an obligation.
Life is not static; things are constantly changing. Have you ever stopped to thank God for not telling you the future? He dispenses life one day at a time and that’s how He wants us to live—trusting Him for each moment of every day.
It’s difficult to make sacrifices and give others our time, possessions, and money. But it’s in the giving we learn to rely on God instead of ourselves and it’s in the process we learn faith.
We live in a world full of jargon. Chuck studied the Scriptures and found Psalm 23 has 73 per cent single-syllable words. The Lord’s Prayer has 76 per cent single-syllable words. First Corinthians 13 is 80 per cent single-syllable words. What does that teach us about communication?
To summarize Scripture, the issue is not that possessions are wrong. It’s our attitude toward them. It is the LOVE of money and things that Scripture condemns. Anything we trust in besides God is an idol.
Do you become paralyzed by “what if” questions? What if it happens? What if it doesn’t? That’s what I call living hypothetically. There is a better way! Here are four ways the Bible instructs us to think.
Many of us are currently enduring a crisis. Yes, crisis changes the course of our lives. But what we often forget is that the changes can open doors to a life better than what would have been if the crisis had not happened.
In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus took on the hypocrites with both guns blazing! Drawing on common examples of showy righteousness, He instructed us on the importance of being people of quiet sincerity, seeking to glorify God rather than impress others.
If your work has become your all-consuming interest, you need to plan some fun into your schedule. Give yourself permission to make leisure a priority in your life.
Pastor Chuck Swindoll unfolds the essence of Jesus’ warnings to help us avoid the deadly trap of religious performance so we can have true interaction with and enjoyment of the God who made us and loves us.