June 23


The Powerful Gift of Prayer


... I will pray to the LORD for you.

I Samuel 7:5 (NKJV)


I make mention of you always in my prayers.

Romans 1:9 (NKJV)


In October, there was a special week for recognizing and honoring pastors. We have a pretty close staff at church and everyone loves Pastor John, our Senior Pastor, so we made him a certificate and all 15 of us signed it.

The simple paper expressed our deep appreciation for John, for his ministry and commitment. It also stated our commitment to him—to pray for him every day for the next month. He was almost speechless. When he finally did speak, he said, “You don’t know what this means to me. You couldn’t have gotten me a better gift!”

This gift of prayer is a powerful gift indeed. And I think Pastor John is right. There is no better gift, no better way to express love than to pray for one another—in God’s Spirit and in God’s power.

This is a gift worth sharing.


Father, thank You for Pastor John and for friends who mean so much. May You bless their lives today and always, and may they know the power of prayer. Amen.

June 22


Tracking on the Path to Life


He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James 1:8 (NKJV)


God, the one and only—I’ll wait as long as he says.

Psalm 62:1 (The Message)


Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

James 1:12 (The Message)


Single-mindedness, not narrow-mindedness. It is focusing on priority, and our ultimate, over-riding priority is nothing less than seeking God, His will, His good, His desire.

When we want nothing more than to do what He calls us to, everything else settles down. The ups and downs, “being tossed to and fro,” as James says, end. There is great hope for double-minded people just as James points out.

This morning James speaks to my heart and so does David in his psalm. “Yes,” I say to myself. “God is my one and only—I’ll wait as long as He says.” His purpose, His desires have become my own.


LORD, lead me ... even now, in Your time, show me the path of life. Amen.

June 21


A Hard and Heavy Month


I have been crucified with Christ.

Galatians 2:19b (NLT)


... what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

Philippians 3:8 (NKJV)


I myself no longer live....

Galatians 2:20 (NLT)


I don’t weep in public ... but my eyes water. I don’t break down behind closed doors ... but the tears flow, yet not for me. January has been a hard month. The loss of Army Sergeant Zack McBride in Sinsil, Iraq, the pain and suffering missionary Shayla Jacquot has witnessed in Nairobi, Kenya, the big things that weigh on my soul weigh heavy indeed.

This morning I am on my knees in complete surrender to Him. I hear the song, Lead Me to the Cross by Hillsong United and it moves me. This morning, this month, this song expresses my heart:

Savior I come
Quiet my soul
Remember redemption’s hill
Where Your blood
Was spilled for my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as loss

Lead me to the Cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Oh lead me
Lead me to the Cross

You were as I
Tempted and tried human
The Word became flesh
Bore my sin in death
Now You’ve risen

Everything I once held dear
I count it all as loss

To Your heart
Lead me to Your heart

I hear the song ... and I weep.


Father, Abba Father, I lay me down ... this life is Yours....

June 20


Uncovering His Love


God showed how much he loved us ... This is real love.

I John 4:9a, 10a (NLT)


Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them ... Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Romans 12:9, 10 (NLT)


And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should ... how deep his love really is.

Ephesians 3:18 (NLT)


I did not know how deeply I cared for my friends until now. Until this month. I have always liked my friends, even loved them with an easy-going kind of love, but now I treasure them. Truly, I do.

Our friends, the McBrides, were a part of our church before we even arrived, and they’ve always been a part of our church experience: so many times up front, sometimes behind the scenes. They have led; they have followed; they have always been there. They have been there for us.

And now we have been there for them.

When their son and brother was killed in Iraq, early this month, their pain became our pain. Their loss was shared. And the love we felt in our hearts, the love I harbored deep in my own soul intensified beyond anything I could imagine. I was caught by surprise.

There is pain, but it recedes like an ebb tide. And as it slowly drifts into the sea of yesterday, it reveals a certain goodness—so much good that hard loss is softened and our melancholy is colored with a deep-down and gentle joy.

God has drawn us in. He is showing us, this month, a little more of His love ... His compassion ... His big heart. And it is good.


Father, help us to love deeper ... like You. Amen.

June 19

Pursuing God

“For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel:

‘In returning and rest you shall be saved;

In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.’”

“Blessed are those who wait for Him.”

“He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry;

When He hears it, He will answer you.”

Isaiah 30:15, 18, 19 (NKJV)

Sometimes the thing we need more than anything else is quietness, time alone and opportunity for God to speak to our hearts. Indeed, patience is a virtue and waiting on God and God’s time is a thing that pleases Him. It all goes back to trust and obedience—doing things His way as we pursue Him wholeheartedly.

There is a great peace here, and hope, when we look to God, wait and trust in Him.

Lord, I know so little, but I do know this: where You lead ... is for the best.