Do Not Stop NowMany times in life when we get older and we get certain wisdom in some areas of life, we choose to step down and check out. We let the younger generation step in and take charge. Even though that is good, it is not always all we can do. We need to be able to take that wisdom and to know there is something greater; God wants us to pour that back. There are things that He wants us to ...  Read More

A Reason for the SeasonPaul David Tripp, American pastor and author, said in one of his books that when we get older we move from being astronauts to archaeologists. What does that mean? When we are young we want to change the world. We want to explore new places, make things happen, discover the unknown, reach for the stars—sometimes literally. Then we get a little bit older and we move from want...  Read More

FrustrationLife can be frustrating. God intended for it to be that way, in hope that we would walk in freedom. The goal of frustrations in life is not that God would end them or change them. The goal should be that God would use frustration to change us. He does not want to change the circumstances—He wants to change us in the middle of them.There comes a time in a person’s life when things stop m...  Read More

I Do BelieveToday you’re going to read what may be one of the most keeping it 100 examples of a totally desperate prayer in the whole Bible: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"Those words come from a dad who has tried everything to get help for his son and was met with nothing but discouragement, disappointment, and bitter defeat. He’d even tried God—he took his son to see Jesus’ discipl...  Read More

1 Peter 2:13-17Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.  For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.  Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it...  Read More

Comebacks  Have you ever thought of the perfect comeback…about five minutes after you needed it? You’ve pretty much lost your opportunity by then; the moment has passed, and it’s best not to embarrass yourself.Jesus had some pretty good comebacks—the best, in fact. Every time the devil came at Him, He had a ready answer: “It is written.”How did Jesus have these powerful responses ready for each of...  Read More

In SecretDoes everyone know you’re fasting—because you’ve whined to them about it a bunch of times? It reminds me of this joke I heard: How do you know if one of your friends is a vegan?Don't worry—they'll tell you.Seriously, most of my friends who are passionate about diet or lifestyle like being a vegan are really free with telling everyone about it. I’m not sure if they’re bragging, want conver...  Read More

Sun Stand StillShortly before I wrote this reading plan, a rare solar eclipse crossed the United States, with some of the best viewing about six hours’ drive north of me. You normally don’t think about how quickly the moon moves, but if you watched TV footage, it raced across the entire continent in just hours. Total viewing time for the complete blackout? Less than three minutes.But while you wer...  Read More

Ephesians 6:10-18Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore...  Read More

In His NameHave you ever thought about how we end our prayers? Christians often tack “in Jesus’ name” onto the end of our prayers without a whole lot of thought about what we’re actually saying—or what it means.Say you knew Bill Gates, and he really liked you—trusted you. Say he gave you his foundation’s credit card and said, “Go out there and do good stuff in my name!” You would carry the authori...  Read More

A Call to PrayerIn today’s reading we’ll see Daniel’s enemies couldn’t find anything to use to trip him up—so they cooked up a plan to get him in trouble for praying.Could your enemies do the same? Or would a law about prayer not really cramp your style? Daniel prayed humbly before God three times a day, and it definitely got him in trouble. If we threw Christians in jail for praying publicly thre...  Read More

Power Play  Fasting like Daniel isn’t just a spiritual discipline for me: it’s a whole new paradigm! I call it H.S.P.E. (think “high school P.E.”), and it reminds me how God’s people have prayed powerful prayers throughout the Bible: by being Humble, Specific, Persistent, and Expectant.Put simply, humble prayers are powerful prayers! When we get out of the way and let God pray through us instead o...  Read More