Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. -Ephesians 5:1-2 The new year has begun and many of us have resolutions we want to accomplish. As followers of Christ, we should take a moment to think about what we need to change in order to be more like him. In this passage, Paul encourages us to be imitators of God as his beloved children. These words are very difficult to understand. How can we...

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:10-11 “A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed...

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us whatever we ask we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15As humans, waiting on God can be very difficult for us. In the world that we live in, everything that we want can be acquired rapidly. For example, if we are hungry, we can order fast food and if we wanted any other thing, we could order it through the internet and it would arrive the...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6It has been told that a monk from long ago needed oil to plant a sapling. Worried about the development and growth of his plant, he prayed to God. In his prayer he said: “God, in order for the fragile roots to grow and develop well, there needs to be plenty of rain. Please send rain.” After hearing his prayer, God sent rain. Once again, the monk prayed and said:...

“My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” Psalm 42:6-8 In times of sorrow or anguish, in times of disillusionment or discouragement, it can appear that it was the “waves” of God that caused us harm. It can become very difficult to seek God...

“Get up and go! You can’t stay here! Because the land is now unclean, it will destroy you with a grievous destruction.” Micah 2:10 Many times in our spiritual lives we arrive at a place where we feel comfortable with the way that we live our lives, despite knowing that there are things that are not perfect. We have removed the greater sins in our lives, however, there are still tiny fragments from our sinful nature that are left behind and that we do not desire to remove. It is very difficult to live completely for God in the midst...

“Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14 Egypt had been destroyed due to the plagues. The people of Israel had fled Egypt under the mighty hand of God. There was great joy among the people when they finally saw their dream come true. They were free at last from the agonizing slavery that had oppressed them for more than four hundred...

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:31-33 Due to our human nature, we all tend to stress and worry in the midst of any difficult situation. In moments of crisis, our minds are prone to consider common questions such as: “Will I be able to have enough money to support...

Isaiah 26:3 3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast,     because they trust in you. Many Christians live their lives full of fear, confusion, and despondence. They live trying to find peace and continually pray to have a moment of tranquility but are not able to find it. Their lives are always full of tension despite the fact that Jesus came to give us an abundant life. The constant fear of what tomorrow will bring, the fear of not having enough money to pay the debts, the fear of getting sick, the fear of having their families...