Christian Living on Unchanging

liturgy

Lord Jesus—the same yesterday, today

Author

Scripture

Matthew 5:9, Ephesians 4:32, James 5:15-16, John 14:27, Psalm 34:18

Lord Jesus—the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and the author of change, who’s constantly doing “a new thing,” which makes us sit up and take notice. We admit, we’d be more comfortable with a pred...

liturgy

God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—You are

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 17:14, Psalm 51:10, Philippians 1:6, Psalm 147:3, James 5:14-15, Isaiah 40:31

God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—You are ever the same in Your grace and truth, Your power and love; Yet, You always challenge us to grow, change and become more like Jesus. We’re not yet what we w...

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Unfulfilled Prayers

Author

Cody Sandahl

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 1:2-4, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Lamentations 3:25-27, James 5:13-16

My son has seizures and intellectual disabilities. A couple of years into that journey, I organized a global prayer vigil for my son. I recruited friends and colleagues in North America, South America...

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Patience is a Hard Discipline

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:25, James 5:7-8, Isaiah 40:31, Galatians 5:22, Habakkuk 2:3

Patience is a hard discipline. It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a co...

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The Old Bell Keeps Swinging

Author

Chris Stroup

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 32:5, James 5:16, Romans 12:17-21, Luke 6:37, Mark 11:25, Colossians 3:13

Corrie ten Boom told of not being able to forget a wrong that had been done to her. She had forgiven the person, but she kept rehashing the incident and so couldn’t sleep. Finally Corrie cried out to ...

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Aesop's Fables: The Power of Unity

Author

Mia Levetan

Keywords

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 4:12, 1 Corinthians 12:12-21, Ephesians 4:3-16, John 17:21, Galatians 6:2, James 5:19-20

In one of Aesop's familiar fables, an old man has several sons who are always fighting among themselves. He had often, but without success, exhorted them to live together in harmony. One day, he c...

liturgy

Heavenly Father, give us hearts that

Author

Allen Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 27:13-14, Isaiah 40:31, Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 8:28, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 5:7, Lamentations 3:25-26, Psalm 37:7, Colossians 3:15, James 5:7-8

Heavenly Father, give us hearts that wait with faith. Build in us the assurance that you are at work and in control. Forgive us for our impatience, our uneasiness, and our wandering desires when we do...

Quote

Author

Robert Louis Wilken

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:24-25, James 5:7-8, Galatians 6:9, Psalm 37:7, Romans 15:4

The singular mark of patience is not endurance or fortitude but hope. To be impatient . . . is to live without hope. Patience is grounded in the Resurrection. It is life oriented toward a future that ...

liturgy

God of the common and of the uncommon.

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:17, Matthew 5:16, Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 43:18-19, James 5:14-15

God of the common and of the uncommon. You meet us in the ordinary routines of life–when we play and when we rest, while we work and while we worship. And You reveal yourself in the extraordinary, too...

liturgy

God of all nations, Savior of the

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:12, Revelation 7:9, James 5:16, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Isaiah 2:4, 1 Timothy 2:1-2

God of all nations, Savior of the Church and Lord of our hearts: We come to You, at this time, with our hands empty and our souls crying out: “Lord, help us!” “Do what only You can do!” Change the cou...

Quote

Author

Blaise Pascal

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 3:13-14, Romans 12:18, Colossians 3:13, James 5:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 147:3

Time heals griefs and quarrels, for we change and are no longer the same persons. Neither the offender nor the offended are any more themselves.

Quote

Author

Martin Luther

Keywords

Scripture

1 Thessalonians 5:17, James 5:16, Colossians 4:2, Romans 12:12, Hebrews 5:7

Prayer should be brief, frequent, and intense.

Quote

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Forgiveness

Scripture

1 John 1:9, James 5:16, Luke 6:37, Colossians 3:13, Ephesians 4:31-32

Forgiveness vacillates like this. It has fits and starts, good days and bad. Anger intermingled with love. Irregular mercy. We make progress only to make a wrong turn. Step forward and fall back. But ...

Quote

Author

Christine Langley-Obaugh

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 31:19, Colossians 3:13, Matthew 5:23-24, Isaiah 1:18, Proverbs 28:13, James 5:16

We repeat what we don’t repair.

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Waiting is More than In-Between Time

Author

Jason Farman

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:25-26, James 5:7-8, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Habakkuk 2:3

Waiting isn’t an in-between time. Instead, this often-hated and under-appreciated time has been a silent force that has shaped our social interactions. Waiting isn’t a hurdle keeping us from intimacy ...

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My First Experience of Unhurried Time with God

Author

Alan Fadling

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 5:16, John 10:null, James 5:16

I’ve often shared the story of my first experience of solitude and silence at the beginning of 1990. It was led by one of my mentors, Wayne Anderson, as part of a class I was taking at Fuller Seminary...

Quote

Author

Lewis B. Smedes

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 10:36, Habakkuk 2:3, Psalm 37:7, James 5:7-8, Lamentations 3:25-26

Waiting is the hardest work of hope.

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Praising Slowness

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 37:7, Proverbs 19:2, Lamentations 3:25-26, 2 Peter 3:9, James 5:7-8, Ecclesiastes 3:1

In our culture slow is a pejorative. When somebody has a low IQ, we dub him or her slow. When the service at a restaurant is lousy, we call it slow. When a movie is boring, again, we complain that it’...

liturgy

Lord–in the words of the Psalmist, “You

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

James 5:13-16, John 14:1-3, Isaiah 40:29-31, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 34:17-18, Philippians 4:19

Lord–in the words of the Psalmist,“You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations,” our safe place to run to, and the One who opens the door when we knock–no matter what. Because of Your ...

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The Value of Patience

Author

Heather Thompson Day

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:22, James 5:7-8, Romans 8:25, Habakkuk 2:3, Isaiah 40:31

A 2007 study conducted at Fuller Theological Seminary found patient people were less likely to suffer from depression. Patient people were found to be more grateful and expressed they felt more connec...

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Recording Your Prayers?

Author

Donald S. Whitney

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 1:12-15, Daniel 6:10, James 5:16, Ecclesiastes 5:2, Romans 8:26

When prayer consists of the same spoken sentences on every occasion, naturally we wonder at the value of the practice. If our prayers bore us, do they also bore God? Does God really need to hear me sa...

liturgy

Father–Father of the Lord Jesus and our

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:9, James 5:14-15, 2 Corinthians 5:20, Matthew 9:37-38, Galatians 6:9-10, Romans 12:5, 1 John 3:1

Father–Father of the Lord Jesus and our Father: You’ve blessed us beyond imagination. You redeem us, forgive us and lavish Your gifts on us: Thank You. You choose us, when we wouldn’t choose ourselves...

liturgy

Risen and present Lord: There’s no

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

James 5:14-15, Romans 8:38-39, Matthew 28:20, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 23:4, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Psalm 139:7-10

Risen and present Lord: There’s no place we go–near or far, high or low, familiar or strange–where you aren’t there with and even before us. There is no experience we have or feeling we feel that’s un...

liturgy

Gracious God, we know that You have

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:10, 1 John 1:9, James 5:16, Matthew 6:14-15, Romans 12:18, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Gracious God, we know that You have forgiven us in Jesus Christ, but we often remain slow to forgive one other. You have sent Your Spirit to reconcile us to each other, but we resist Your work to bind...

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Dirty Boots

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 13:4, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Matthew 25:14-30, Philippians 3:13-14, James 1:22-25, 1 John 1:9, James 5:16

Pope John Paul I recounted a story about Jonathan Swift and his servant. One morning at an inn, Swift asked his servant why his boots hadn’t been cleaned. The servant replied, “I didn’t see the point,...

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Love for the Long Haul

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 30:18, James 5:7-8, Psalm 37:7

Patience is love for the long haul; it is bearing up under difficult circumstances, without giving up or giving in to bitterness. Patience means working when gratification is delayed. It means taking ...

liturgy

God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We Need

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

1 Timothy 2:1-2, Isaiah 58:10-11, Psalm 34:18-19, Isaiah 41:10, James 5:14-15, Psalm 32:8

God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit: We need to hear Your invitation and promise to come to us when we are weary and burdened, and you’ll give us rest ... rest for our souls. So we come. We come with our...

Quote

Author

Ayishat Akanbi

Keywords

Scripture

James 5:16, Psalm 147:3, Philippians 4:6-7, Proverbs 19:11, Colossians 3:13

If you’ve decided your healing is dependent on other people acknowledging their faults you’ll still be waiting in your grave.

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The Value of Not Watering Your Plants

Author

William Rowley

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 37:7, Hosea 12:6, Psalm 27:14, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 130:5-6, James 5:7-8

An experienced gardener knows the value of not watering their tomatoes. Well, there's a little more to it, but that's the headline. Suppose you go to the nursery in the spring and get a tom...

liturgy

Heavenly Father: You know all about us

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 21:4, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Jeremiah 17:14, James 5:15-16, Romans 8:28

Heavenly Father: You know all about us – our weakness, our failing, our sin; And you still love us enough to give your Son to redeem us. Hear the cries of our hearts today. There’s someone for who...

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