Promises for the Battle
Just Thinking
I Was Just Thinking … About Encouragements to Pray
In Luke 18:1 Jesus said that we ought always to pray and not to give up. There are several features about this exhortation that bring much encouragement. 1. When we are faint and think that all we can do is give up, how encouraging it is to know that there is another way to go, … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Reasons To Be Content
Miss Fanny Crosby (1820–1915), who wrote such popular hymns as “Blessed Assurance,” “Rescue the Perishing,” and “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,” became blind when she was just six weeks old. At an early age she realized that, unlike other children, she would never see the faces of her friends, the flowers of the field, … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Kisses: Sweeter Than Wine
Many people I have known over the years have confessed that they are saddened by the lack of affection they receive or express. As it turns out, few things express affection as satisfyingly as a kiss. Indeed, one of the wonders of creation is that God designed lips for kissing and for being kissed. Kissing … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Resting Work
We all want rest for our souls, and we come to Jesus because he wants to teach us how to receive it from him. One part of his prescription for finding this rest reads, “Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). Working heartily brings rest because it dispels the tension that … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … about Living With Confidence
When I go, I will send the Helper to you. When he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Jesus’ Test on Palm Sunday
Shortly before the day that we now call Palm Sunday, Jesus walked into the village of Bethany and raised his friend, Lazarus, from the dead. This event did not go unnoticed. Word spread. This sign, as John’s gospel labels Jesus’ miracles, was the capstone of a series of signs that began when he turned water … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Working Rest
Jesus invites all who labor and are heavy laden to learn from him, so that they might experience rest instead of travail in their lives (Matthew 11:28–30). But we may ask, What does Jesus prescribe in order for us to experience this “rest for our souls”? For one thing, he would tell us to give … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Having a Clean Conscience
From the perspective of someone who has experienced a personal injustice, the purpose of forgiving the offender is reestablishing the relationship. When God forgives us, he removes the barrier our sin erected between us, demonstrating that he wants us to refresh our friendship. The same is true of human relationships, such as those between marriage … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Looking for Grace
To live as a Christian is to engage in a battle: “Fight the good fight of the faith,” Paul admonished Timothy (1 Timothy 6:12). But the Bible’s way for waging this warfare differs markedly from the way ordinary warfare is carried on. Only armies that keep their attention on every move the enemy makes can … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … About Close Fellowship with God
God wants close fellowship with each of us. Jesus pictured himself as knocking at our heart’s door, with the hope that we will open it so he can have, as it were, table fellowship with us (Revelation 3:20). But in order for fellowship to occur, there must not only be that other person with whom … Continue reading
Promises for the Battle 