The Working Believer

The belief and trust of a child is are precious things. Christian parents, please be cautious. Traditions of Santa, or Elf on a Shelf, may be fun, but in reality, they are simply delusions. Lies. If we have to foster and encourage real belief in fictitious characters to create the wonder and excitement of Christmas, I wonder do we truly know the wonder and excitement of an infinite God putting on finite flesh to fulfill a requirement we could never achieve to gain a favor with God we could never earn? Christ, born of a virgin, Emmanuel, God with us, living a perfect life to fulfill the law on our behalf, taking the full wrath and judgment of God for our sins that we could never survive, conquering death that would see us eternally defeated, and rising again to grant us life eternal with the Father which, without The righteousness of Christ, we would never know. If THAT isn’t wonder enough, then nothing ever will be. Christ alone is more than enough! This may seem dreary or hard...

  A Prayer of Appreciation The Refreshment of Onesiphorus May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. 2 Timothy 1:16-18 We've all done it. Admit it. You know you have. You plan a time to sit down and read your Bible, and you've carved out some time specifically for that purpose. However, you also know that you have X, Y, and Z to get done today, and before you realize it...you are speeding through your Bible reading thinking more about what has to be done NEXT rather than what you're doing right NOW. It's a shame, really. When we allow ourselves to simply "go through the motions" with our Bible reading, we may end us missing out on some amazing encouragement because God gave us the Bible...includi...

  Expectations It is entirely possible that you have been through difficult situations in your life. Actually...Jesus promises us that we will go through difficulties. "In the world you will have tribulation," says Jesus in John 16:33. In our mad dash to get to the part of the verse that says, "But take heart; I have overcome the world," we forget to stop and pause that Jesus' statement about having trouble in this world was not just a passing phrase. It was a promise...and it is a promise that we often neglect to remember. Paul's Thorn This passage in 2 Corinthians is probably one of the most well-known, and widely preached passages within Paul's epistles. And, like many, I also derive great encouragement from being reminded that God's grace is sufficient and that when I am most dependent on God, He has the most opportunity to work by His might through me. But do we remember something very pointed about this passage? God's answer to Paul's p...