Prayer

When we pray for God’s guidance, we don’t just appeal to God’s promises to guide us well. We use our common sense too. Abraham had sent his trusted servant Eliezer, the man who had run his household for years, on an important mission—to find a wife for his son, Isaac. Eliezer had set out on Read more…

What do you need guidance on? Perhaps you have an important decision to make. Maybe you are trying to find the right person to fill a role or spend the rest of your life with. Perhaps you just need to know the right words to say. How should we ask God to guide us? Today, Read more…

Constantly throughout the Bible, we are told that God is our guide. And with God’s guidance we can be encouraged instead of discouraged, satisfied and feel content instead of being disappointed.

After my daughter and I had stood in line for thirteen hours to show our respects to Queen Elizabeth II and her reign, it led me to consider the sovereignty of God. Who is this sovereign God, and what does his power and authority look like so that we can worship him with complete reverence? Read more…

When Queen Elizabeth II died, my daughter and I traveled to London and stood in line for thirteen hours to pay our respects. We flew to London from New York, went to our hotel, showered, put a few bottles of water and snacks in a bag and headed to the beginning of the “queue” some Read more…

Sometimes though, it’s hard to wrap our minds around the meaning of God’s faithfulness. It’s a term that can be so familiar to us that it can lose its meaning. Or we base our knowledge of faithfulness on our experience with other people. Here are two understandings that I hope help us grasp the extent of God’s faithfulness to us.

Hope is not wishful thinking, but the living God who is around you and within you. You can trust him with your life and this hope will not lead to disappointment (Romans 5:5 NLT).

The idea of being in a place of physical ease and having a nice lifestyle is a more modern meaning of the word “comfort.” The origin of “comfort” in French and Latin has more to do with strength and support than freedom from hardship. This is the biblical meaning of the word too. In particular, it means to strengthen and console in times of grief and distress. 

when the Bible tells us that God is like a shepherd and Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd, we have to use our imagination and search in the Bible for clues as to what this means for us. 

Use the prayer to praise God for being rock solid and commit to running and remaining in him whatever circumstances you face.

I have climbed Quandary Peak, a fourteener in Colorado, twice. It is one of the fifty eight peaks in the Rocky Mountains range that is over 14,000 feet (4200+ metres).   The trailhead starts at 10,850 feet above sea level and the elevation gain to get to the peak is 3,450 feet (1050 metres). The Read more…

When was the last time you were amazed by the beauty of our world and fascinated with the universe in which we live? Perhaps it was this morning or maybe not for a while: the exquisite intricacy of a flower, the breathtaking colors of a sunset, or the magnificence of the ocean. For me, I Read more…

We can struggle to find time to pray when our days are full. Life can be busy from the moment we get up until we go to bed. Or when we do pray, our minds wander and we end up making our to-do list instead of talking to God. Prayer is hard to do. I Read more…

God wants us to trust Him. This might be easy to do when life is going well and we see God at work but when life gets difficult and we don’t see God doing anything, our confidence in him can waver. Here are 3 steps to being reminded of how God works: 1. Sometimes the Read more…

Sometimes, life is overwhelming. We can feel like we’re constantly fighting battles, both big and small. We may feel like we’re always on the go, with never a moment to rest. Or we may feel ill-equipped and poorly organized for the tasks ahead of us. If you are feeling this way, you are not alone. Read more…

Don’t underestimate what God can use. Sometimes, those things we think are a hindrance or threat to moving forward are the very things God can use extraordinarily and mightily. For example, with the Roman Emipire in the first century, tension existed between the local people and their Roman occupiers. Jesus’ followers wanted his kingdom to Read more…

Like me, you probably don’t have much contact with shepherds or sheep. Although on one occasion, when visiting a local farm near our home that was also an education center for children, I came to understand what it must be like to be a shepherd. As we walked around the farm and came to the Read more…

Sometimes we’d rather stay with what we know best and where we feel safest instead of stepping out into the unknown and experiencing God’s transforming power at work in our lives. But a lakeside encounter can change everything. Pebbles crunched under my feet and reeds rustled in the light breeze–the only sounds on a peaceful Read more…

Sometimes we may find it hard to pray. It can feel like a barrier, a brick wall, exists between us and God. Yet, on my trip to Israel, I found a wall to be a reminder of the freedom and open access we have to God through Jesus. To get to the Western Wall in Read more…

Sometimes, we can be unsure if the way we worship God is good enough or the right way. A visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, nestled in a corner of Jerusalem and accessed by the narrow streets of the Old City, gave me some insight. This large rambling church is built on a Read more…

I walked a pathway where Jesus is thought to have walked, and it made me thankful for the path to life he gives. The orange glow of street lights popped up across the Old City of Jerusalem in the failing evening light. In the stillness of the twilight, I walked down an ancient stone stairway. Read more…

Many things can make us feel defeated. Experiencing a loss, failure, losing a battle, or facing a crisis can make us feel like “this is over” whether it is our livelihood, a relationship, or even life itself. Jesus, however, shows us we need not feel defeated. Set on the side of the Mount of Olives Read more…

Jesus needed to pray, to spend time with his Father. Jesus modeled prayer for us. He gave us an example to follow. I went to Galilee, where Jesus prayed. Getting to the top of Mount Arbel took five minutes, a gentle climb along a stony pathway from the parking lot. It was enough to elevate Read more…

I needed some guidance this week and I decided to seek the godly guidance of a friend and colleague.  I apologized to her for offloading a lot of information. I was carrying a heavy burden. And after sharing the dilemma I faced, I asked “what would you do in the same situation?” It was probably Read more…

If you’re looking for God’s guidance but you feel inadequate, especially when you pray about it, then I want to encourage you that help is at hand. Here are three ways God helps you. God’s Spirit prays for YOU. Maybe you feel you can’t find the right words when you pray. Or you think you Read more…

So far, we’ve looked at two ways in which we can get guidance from God—Scripture and Sense. The third way God can guide us is through Signs.  I have to admit, I write this with some hesitation because we can believe anything random is a sign from God, and make our decision based on that.  Read more…

Last week, we looked at how we can get guidance on life from God’s words in the Bible—Scripture. This week, we are looking at the second “S” and the way we get help with our decision-making: Sense.  When we need guidance, we need to consider what makes sense. Sense, which we often refer to as Read more…

There are so many things we’d like guidance on. For instance, how to respond to someone who has upset us. Whether to take that job. The words we should say or advice we should give a friend. Who to marry… And so much more. And often we look to God for help and direction. In Read more…

I’m digging into the stories of many of the women of the Old Testament as I write my next book. One of the themes that keeps popping up is that of journeys.  For someone who likes to travel and who has moved countries, I love the fact that many of our biblical brothers and sisters Read more…

According to a study reported by the Express newspaper in the UK, women spend almost two hours a day worrying, which translates into one month a year. Men worry much less. Maybe you are shocked by those results. Perhaps two hours seems a lot. Maybe, you’re thinking “I worry way more than two hours each Read more…

We had a wild turkey in our yard one winter. I spotted it through the window from the kitchen. “How the heck did it get inside our fenced yard?” I asked myself. It strutted menacingly—head jerking back and forth—towards the chicken coop. “It’s after their food,” I thought, “and it’s going to peck our innocent Read more…

I’d call myself a pretty good skier, although one particular afternoon on the slopes I faced a challenge beyond my ability, or so I thought. Skiing with my family, we took a chairlift higher up the mountain where only single and double black diamond runs—for experts only—could be accessed. Usually, we skied an easy groomed Read more…

If it snows in London, it’s like a sprinkling of wet confectioner’s sugar. Although, frozen precipitation is inevitable during the winter season, Londoners always seem completely unprepared. Sidewalks become skating rinks as commuters walk to and from work in far from suitable shoes for slippery conditions. I was one of them. Then, after having lived Read more…

New Year’s Eve. The cusp of two years. One is about to be left behind. The other stretches out ahead. Our reaction, as we stand at this point, can be fear and apprehension. The days, weeks, months are blank pages, yet to be filled. Uncharted territory, holding the unknown. Some days are penciled in with Read more…

In the middle of the night, I couldn’t sleep. My mind kept me awake as I ran over one problem after another. Eventually, I decided to pray. If I turned my despair into prayer, sleep would be sure to come. However, an hour later I was still awake and still restless. Prayer should be the Read more…

Sometimes I have to remind my young adult children “don’t just text me when you’re having a problem. Get in touch when things are going well.” I am glad to help sort out the insurance claim when a driver failed to brake at a stop sign and crashed into the side of my daughter’s car. Read more…

A bag of leftover Halloween candy sat in our pantry tempting me to slip in my hand and take one piece as I passed the doorway. I knew the candy wasn’t good for me. I can fool myself, though. “One small piece does no harm at all,” I convinced myself. After all, they are only Read more…

I have been humbled by the thankfulness of my friends. I’ve shared in their Thanksgiving Day celebrations, sat as their tables and heard them express their appreciation. Even if someone has had a tough year, they have managed to find something to be thankful for. By listening to them and sharing one small thank you Read more…

Sometimes, I’d rather stay furious than take seriously the words in the Bible: don’t go to bed angry. I find some satisfaction in being annoyed. If I back down too easily, it’s like I’m letting the other person off who has wronged me. I can think of at least one occasion when this has happened. Read more…

Why is it God often seem distant in the middle of trouble? Often, when we’re struggling, he seems silent. I remember crying out to God when my six-week-old twins were diagnosed with meningitis, when I discovered a lump, when my son faced his second emergency surgery in two weeks, wondering if God was there with Read more…

We’re on our way to church. Three teenagers squashed together in the back of the car. My husband was driving and me applying last minute make-up in the passenger seat because, as usual, I’m running late. Our ten-minute journey should be uneventful. Yet, someone makes a comment, an argument breaks out and before we know Read more…

Living in New York City is a painful reminder of the complicated nature of homelessness and mental health issues and the inequalities and injustices in our world. Yet, at the same time, it is a continual nudge to do what we can as individuals to improve justice.

God is the ultimate blessing machine, says Nicky Gumbel, pioneer of the Alpha course. And as his children, we can imitate him in being a blessing to others.

Love is not only made of words and feelings, it is practical. The art of loving and being able to make an impact comes from understanding that love involves action, and it is inclusive. We see this with God’s love: “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and Read more…

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23-24 Have you been on the receiving end of someone else’s road rage? I experienced something similar recently while riding a ski chairlift. As we pulled down the safety bar I heard a grunt from the snowboarder next to me. I turned to ask Read more…

Mother Theresa is quoted as saying, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” Like Mother Theresa, we want to make a difference. We want to make positive changes in our lives, in the lives of others, and in the world. When I think Read more…

Previously, we have understood that God is unwavering in being there for us, even when we fail to be completely committed to him. We have remembered how he has held us up in the past so we have confidence in the present. Now, we can have confidence in our current needs that God will come Read more…

Whenever I read about the Israelites after God rescued them from slavery in Egypt, I am always shocked at how incapable they were at trusting God. Of course, it’s easy to point the finger at other people’s weaknesses than our own. Yet, one thing the Israelites were told over and over again was to remember. Read more…

There is no doubt that we can, and do, wobble in our faith. And it’s clear from many of the Bible stories that we are not alone in our wavering. Think of Moses who questioned God when he was asked to lead the Israelites and confront Pharaoh, even though God assured him through specific signs Read more…

We know what unfaithfulness looks like. People let us down all the time, and it hurts. We may have let people down too.  God, however, is completely faithful. Even though we might know this, it’s often hard to feel God’s faithfulness and trust in his unwavering support in our day-to-day living. Today, and throughout the Read more…