June 30, 2014
What has God helped you learn about finances and how to honor Him with them?
He hears our cry
Have you ever felt as if no one was there for you when you faced a difficult and trying time? Perhaps King David’s words reflect what you were feeling: “I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me” (Psalm 142:4).
the opposite spirit
A few years ago, I worked as a supply (substitute) teacher in Birmingham, England. I initially embraced the help of the teaching assistant, but when she started taking over in class I was tempted to give in to resentment and insecurity. Instead, I decided to act in a way opposite to what I felt by vocalizing my genuine appreciation of her, praying for her, and challenging her in love. When it came time for me to leave my position, she gave me a gift and a thank you card. Acting in the opposite spirit had disarmed a teaching assistant who might have felt threatened and unappreciated.
extending grace
When I was growing up, my family often became frustrated because I would take whatever I wanted into my possession. If anything went missing, the invariable response was to “look in Gina’s room,” for I was sure to have nabbed it. In a just vindication of their frustrations, my hairbrush now shows up in my daughter’s room, my scissors can be found in my son’s art case, and my phone charger is in my husband’s possession as much as my own.
prayer for revival
Blasio Kugosi was tired. This schoolteacher from Rwanda was tired of simply sitting back in quiet discouragement over the lack of spiritual fervor in the church and his own spiritual life. So in 1935, Kugosi fasted and prayed for a week. During that time, God transformed him.
who holds the reins?
read> Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding (v.5).
An ex-racehorse at my stable, Dawson, is a talented jumper, but he struggles with overanticipation. Whenever we begin a ride, he speeds up, dances in place, and tries to anticipate my commands, not because he’s being defiant but because he’s eager to…
why didn’t He protect us?
Our lives began to fall apart when my daughter took her life,” the woman told me during a break in the conference we were both attending. “And then our second daughter spiraled into depression and started to ‘self-harm.’ After several months we discovered the reason why: While my husband and I were missionaries in Indonesia, two of our three children had been sexually abused at a mission-run school. We had given our lives to serve God. . . . Why didn’t He protect us?” I would hear similar stories at that conference—people who felt betrayed by God.
who can i trust?
In 1942, more than 250,000 Jews were transported by the Nazis from Warsaw to the death camp in Treblinka, Poland. Most of these Jews were killed. A social worker named Irena Sendler, however, posed as a nurse to get into the Warsaw ghetto and rescue children. She managed to smuggle more than 2,500 to safety. In hopes of reuniting the children with their families after the war concluded, she hid the children’s names in two jars buried under an apple tree.
India
The devotional Our Daily Journey is worth its weight in gold! It really touches my heart when I read the devotions. —David, India
read this! from an our daily journey community member in India . . .
The devotional Our Daily Journey is worth its weight in gold! It really touches my heart when I read the devotions. —David, India
you choose Q: how do we know that Jesus and God exist, and where did that information come from?
Q: Recently I spoke to a friend from Germany, and that person asked me how do we know that Jesus and God exist and how we get this information and from whom? Because the Bible was written from prophets, how did they get this information all about Jesus and God? —Kofi
A: We can know that God exists because God Himself told us…
June 23, 2014
How has God helped you through a difficult challenge in your personal life recently?
