Sometimes we approach joy as if we were taking a pop quiz. The art of joy requires more than one coat of paint.
When my son turned three, TJ graduated from the crib to an actual bed.
Devotions for Church Leaders: January 2012 Archives
1. "I'm too busy!" (Jesus had a packed ministry schedule but he made time to pray.)
2. "I don't know how to do it right." (How about just try talking to God like you would a friend?)
Read Job 3:1-26
There are times when others' words only make our troubles worse. That may seem too elementary to mention, so why would I? Well, have you learned it? Are you still listening to everybody? If so, it's small wonder that you're confused.
Everyone reveres the prophet after he's dead. But in his own day the prophet is rejected, ridiculed, scorned, misquoted, misunderstood, vilified, and in some cases shot in the head.
In Matthew 6:25-26, Jesus applies all we have covered over the last few days,
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
Do you believe God really answers prayer? Really and truly... that God hears your personal prayers and cares enough to respond? Your answer to those questions probably dictates if, when, where, and how you pray.
