Two weeks ago, we celebrated Pentecost. Most believers commemorated the coming of the Holy Spirit and the launch of the New Testament church—and they were right to associate Pentecost with those things. But it was also the beginning of the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Harvest, which is the Jewish celebration of the beginning of the wheat harvest. That’s why the Jews were in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost anyway.
Our conversations are sometimes robotic when we discuss prayer. Like humanoid android machines programmed with appropriate responses, we say things like “You’re in my prayers,” “Pray for me as I pray for you,” and the classic, “Keep me in your prayers.” But do these phrases reflect a genuine desire and belief in prayer—and a belief that the person will indeed pray for us? Think about it. Do we really expect people to pray for us when we make the frequently robotized request, “Keep me in your prayers?” Let’s concede that we sometimes say these things without thinking.
Since 2014, it has been my privilege to counsel God’s people and see Him heal trauma, grief, abuse, and more. I have come to understand that God is near to the brokenhearted. He is near–even when life is like a box of trauma. I’m grateful to have this article in Reclaim Today magazine. This article was originally published by Reclaim Today at https://reclaimtoday.org/life-is-like-a-box-of-trauma/. Republished with permission.
It’s in the air; they say spring has sprung. Like a public service announcement, the weather is dictating that it’s upon us. Like a king to a scribe, the sunshine and temperatures decree change has come. But what do you do when you don’t feel the newness of spring or see any evidence that God is doing something new in your life?
Purposeful people’s lives have a cadence—a rhythm of work and rest. Even their daily routine moves to its own beat. They move with direction. Their steps are deliberate. But without purpose, life’s everyday routine lags to drab monotony. Humdrum . . . Hmm.
One count, one beat makes a difference in life’s cadence—discouragement, delay, and disappointment from unwelcomed circumstances can bring your life’s march to a standstill. And without the proper response, circumstances can hinder your mental attitude and ruin a whole day, week, or year if you let it.
We don’t celebrate a bunny rabbit on Resurrection Sunday. After all he went through this Holy Week, we cannot minimize what our Savior did on this Holy day. He arose triumphant. He gained victory over death. He restored us to relationship with the Father.
We often overlook that Jesus was busy doing something between his death and resurrection. He wasn’t just lying in the tomb—his spirit never died; it just left his physical body.
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. — Luke 22:44 NIV People usually sweat when their bodies overheat. It’s the body’s way of cooling itself. But people also sweat when under stress or pressure. Interestingly, emotional stress targets the sweat glands in …
Read Mathew 26:26-46, John 13:1-17 NIV While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” . . . dinner was taking place, when the devil had already put into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot that he should …
