When you hear someone pray, you get a glimpse right into their heart. It’s like reading their diary — it’s their honest, open, passionate pleas before their Father of what’s really going on in their heart.
Dear Church of the Open Door family, This is the time of the year where my kids start giving Nancy and me hints about what type of gift would make their Christmas dreams come true. Each year what’s on their hearts seems to vary. This year, one of my daughters wants her own purple beach-cruiser bicycle. One of my sons…
Is there more to this Christian journey than chasing down the right circumstances?
God’s plan, from the very beginning until now, has always been to take men and women who are willing to be different, who are willing to give up their plans for their lives and step out into His plan for their lives.
We need to trust who God has re-made us to be and live out this salvation life, especially in our fellowship.
Jesus tells us not to trust the instincts of our past or any of our survival skills before Him – we are to trust the Spirit who has come to be our advantage; He is in us and He is trustworthy.
We are simply not going to fit in. We can’t accommodate or blend in. That’s not our calling. We are called to take Jesus’ love and Spirit into a hateful world.
Jesus asks us to remain in his love, and to love others because we have been loved by him. If the foundation of our lives rest on the unfathomable and glorious riches of Christ’s love for us, then we are equipped to fulfill the greatest commandment—to love God and others. The result of partaking in this loving, intimate relationship is that we will bear fruit that remains.
