Robert Barclay described this beautifully three centuries ago when he told how the secret, silent, inconspicuous prayer and silent ministry of just one person could lift and center an entire meeting

In times when my faith is tested and tried by the storms of life, I learn that God really is with me.

Joy in the New Testament comes from the Greek word chara (khar-ah’) meaning cheerfulness or calm delight – and who doesn’t need a big dose of this fruit of the Spirit on a daily basis?

We are daily being made whole by God’s love received, which turns into blessings to be shared as God’s hands and feet to others. God desires to provide for his children through his children!

I like to focus on the fact that each new morning, or This Day as I call it, God’s mercies are new to me if I have eyes to see them. God provides all that I need each day, but some days it is hard to see

I, too, have failed in proving my faith in Jesus. Over and over, I have denied the power of his name and walked instead by sight. But thankfully, Jesus lives to make intercession for us, and my faith does not fail, but grows, as he gives me more opportunities.

God will not be mocked; you hypocrites, be not sayers, but doers. And you talk of the Scriptures being a golden Rule, but your ways prove, how little you are ruled by it; Do ye seek to be perfect? for God is perfect, holy as he is holy? Do ye love God above all, and your neighbours as yourself, when you make them your footstool? Do you to all as you would be done by

No one has reached maturity until he has learned to face the fact of his own death and shaped his way of living accordingly.

Then the true perspective emerges. The preoccupation with material things, with accumulating goods or fame or power, is exposed.

I have found that God moves mightily when his people ask with specific and consistent prayers. In fact, I believe that specific and consistent prayers get specific and consistent answers.

Yet he says, ‘You will do greater works.’ As I attempt to understand these words, I believe Jesus means that his followers will do greater works by extending his kingdom.

The Jesus way, the Jesus truth, and the Jesus life require something far greater than clinging to good and refusing evil. No, God requires forgiveness and relationship, and this is exactly what Jesus offers to all who follow him.

I have observed a number of people take their final breath. Those who die with the hope of Jesus coming for them, die with a calm assurance of what lies ahead.

God has graciously provided a place for us to serve that has fit us best. Don’t get me wrong, I long for that place to which I will one day reside (I have many loved ones already there). It is just that in the meantime, I will revel in the place God has currently called me to serve.

If he that had loved God, and his neighbor, and kept the commandments from his youth, was excluded from being a disciple because he sold not all and followed Jesus; with what confidence can you call yourselves Christians, who have neither kept the commandments, nor yet forsaken anything to be so?

There’s nothing to do in rest, there’s nowhere to go, there’s nothing that’s more important or less important in rest. Rest is our birthright, and rest is part of our healing process.

Usually, affection is reciprocal: I like you, and you like me. So if Jesus likes us, shouldn’t we express our affection for him? Shouldn’t we let him know we enjoy his company, that we like him walking with us through our days?

When God can rest in our love, as we rest in his love, then our relationship grows stronger and deeper. We become more like God and still have the freedom to be ourselves.

Sometimes we keep dreams or hopes to ourselves. Sometimes it is independence and resistance to change or failure to accommodate the needs of others. Surrendering our will is hard.

Intimacy in a relationship is not easy to accomplish. The deep knowing we share with another person is precious

Sharing the things of the soul is an integral part of building intimate relationships. Trusting another person enough to share the burdens of your heart and discuss the secrets of your innermost being is a huge milestone in this development.