As a friend and I were ending our college career together, we were sitting and talking about next steps. He shared with me that God was calling him to move across the country to go to grad school. At the time, I was a fairly skeptical believer. I asked, “What’s her name?” In case you missed the sarcasm here, in my question was the assumption that my friend was not hearing from God. Rather, he had probably just found a girl to follow. So, I just got straight to the point. Of course, if there was a girl, he would confirm what I already believed, most people use God to…
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My Word for 2020: Abide
As I’ve been praying about this year, the Lord led me to the word “abide.” I do not hear this word outside of church much, nor do I use it in my everyday life. I was not crazy about it, so I kept listening. The word continued to come to mind as I prayed. In John 15, Jesus tells his disciples to “abide in me.” He tells them he is the vine and they are the branches. We must abide in him in order to bear fruit. Some translations use the word “remain” instead of “abide,” which is more familiar of course. As I prayed, I got a picture of…
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How Do You Hear From God?
I was sharing how God has spoken to me with a friend. He was asking some questions about the specifics. Then he asked a great conversation starter. “Adam, how do you hear from God?” This led us into a great talk about listening to Jesus, when we know it is God and when we have missed God’s voice. How about you? How do you hear from God? Please share in the comments. Would love to hear from you. Thanks.
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Pray Without Ceasing
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 What does it look like to pray without ceasing? Did God have something specific in mind when he inspired these words to be written? We do not have any clear strategy for praying without ceasing in the pages of Scripture. However followers of Jesus over the last two millennia have created multiple strategies for praying without ceasing. Two of the most popular and well known are these: The Divine Office The Jesus Prayer The Divine Office Also known as the Liturgy of the Hours,…
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Love: A Poem About Hate
God help me to love. Help me to love people like me. Help me to love people different from me. Holy Spirit make me a lover of my enemies. Make me love those who accidentally offend me. Make me love those who hate me. Jesus, may I love when it is inconvenient. May I love when it interrupts. May I love when it hurts. Amen?
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Beginning With Jesus
The first thing I remember about Jesus is the gigantic painting of him hanging in my Irish Catholic grandparent’s living room. It was the bleeding heart Jesus. Do you know that one? The second thing I remember about Jesus involved spending time with Sister Austin, a retired nun who lived at the convent where my grandmother worked. When I visited my grandparents, she would take care of me for a few hours while my grandmother finished the end of her workday. This is how my journey with Jesus began. Up and down the halls we would go. Around the beautiful acreage we would stroll. We would pray. She would introduce me to…
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Does God Laugh?
Does God laugh? Does Your Jesus laugh? I think God laughs. If you were to believe God laughs, how would that change your life?
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Where Are You?
In Genesis 3:9, after Adam and Eve have sinned in the Garden of Eden, God appears to be looking for them as he calls out, “Where are you?” I had never thought about it much, but I was encouraged to think about this part of the story again. Did God lose Adam and Eve? Had God created a part of the Garden he had forgotten about somehow? What exactly is going on here? No, God did not lose Adam and Eve. There was not some extra part of the Garden or Earth that had slipped the mind of the God of the Universe. When He asks where they are, God…
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Pray for Creativity
What do you pray for? One of my kids, during our family prayer times, has begun to ask, “God help us to learn and be creative.” I love that prayer. I need it. Our family needs it. Our community needs it. Yeah, our country and world need people who seek God for learning and creativity.
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Lectio Divina
Want to grow your prayer life? Have you heard of Lectio Divina? Lectio (as it is sometimes called) is an ancient form of prayer and Bible reading that has its roots all the way back in the second century. The idea is to invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you through God’s Word. Lectio Divina means “Divine Reading.” If prayer is a new spiritual discipline for you or maybe just was not emphasized in your background, it might be stretching for you. This is okay. Don’t get frustrated. A quick search will give you all kinds of information on the topic. There are multiple ways to do Lectio, but…
