Christian Living on Thirst

liturgy

Precious Lord, take our hand, Lead us

Author

Scripture

James 1:5, John 14:27, Psalm 34:18, Philippians 3:6-7, Matthew 6:31-33

Precious Lord, take our hand, Lead us on, help us stand; We’re tired, we’re weak, we’re worn; Thru the storm, thru the night, Lead us on to the light, Take our hand, precious Lord, Lead us home. The o...

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How Good to Center Down!

Author

Howard Thurman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:10, Psalm 62:1, Isaiah 30:15, Psalm 25:4-5, Lamentations 3:40, Matthew 6:19-21

How good it is to center down! To sit quietly and see one’s self pass by! The streets of our minds seethe with endless traffic; Our spirits resound with clashing, with noisy silences, While some...

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Author

Christopher Lasch

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30, Luke 10:39-42, Colossians 3:1-2, Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 6:19-21

People today hunger not for personal salvation, let alone for the restoration of an earlier golden age, but for the feeling, the momentary illusion, of personal well-being, health, and psychic securit...

liturgy

Adapted from “A Cry for Deliverance” in The Valley of Vision

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9, 1 Corinthians 10:13, James 4:7, Matthew 6:13, Romans 12:2, 1 Peter 1:15-16, Galatians 2:20

Pastor: Heavenly Father, save me from sin! I know I am righteous only through Jesus’ righteousness, but I greatly desire to be more like him! I am your child, so help me to resist the temptation to si...

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Fearing to Want

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 5:18-21, Proverbs 20:1, 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, Colossians 3:5, James 1:12-15, Matthew 6:19-24, Ecclesiastes 6:9

In her thought-provoking book, Teach us to Want , Jen Pollock Michel describes the tension in listening to our deepest desires: some of them these desires are integral to our identity, but they a...

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Author

Eugene Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:11, John 15:5, Philippians 4:19, John 6:1-14, Luke 11:5-9, Psalm 34:10, 2 Corinthians 12:9

When we listen to and follow Jesus, who lived in continual dependence on his Father, we become convinced of our poverty as men and women. We realize our absolute neediness. We are all beggars. Father ...

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The Inuit and the Wolf

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 10:13, James 4:7, Hebrews 2:18, Matthew 6:13, Galatians 5:16, James 1:13-15

In the vast, frozen wilderness of the Arctic, an Inuit hunter used a clever technique to trap a wolf. He took a sharp knife and carefully coated its blade with layers of animal blood, letting each lay...

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Starving Amongst Abundance

Author

Dave Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 9:8, 1 Timothy 6:6-10, Luke 12:16-21, Matthew 16:24-28, Matthew 6:19-21

Dave Nessia was starving himself to death while hoarding food. It was on the hit reality show Alone. After 73 days alone in the wilderness, he had lost 40 lbs. and his blood pressure had fallen to 80/...

liturgy

A Call to Prayer

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 104:24-25, Matthew 6:25-34, Job 38:41, James 1:5, Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1-4, Job 12:7-10

O Great Spirit, whose breath gives life to the world, and whose voice is heard in the soft breeze; We need your strength and wisdom. Cause us to walk in beauty. Give us the eyes ever to behold the red...

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Made to See

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

Ezekiel 36:26, Mark 10:21-22, James 1:14-15, Jeremiah 17:9-10, Psalm 139:23-24, Matthew 6:22-24

In her engaging treatment, Teach us to Want , Jen Pollock Michel describes both the beauty and pain of seeing our own sinful nature: It is often true that once we are made to see, we don’t like w...

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Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:19-21

The heart clings to collected treasure. Stored-up possessions get between me and God. Where my treasure is, there is my trust, my security, my comfort, my God. Treasure means idolatry.

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Discontent is Everywhere

Author

Andrew M. Davis

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:31-33, Proverbs 14:30, Psalm 131:1-2, Hebrews 13:5, Ecclesiastes 5:10, 1 Timothy 6:6-8

In this tragic world, we are surrounded by discontented people. Every minute of the day, it is possible to see evidence of this restless discontentment in the way people respond to circumstances. Peop...

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Author

Thomas à Kempis

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:15, Colossians 3:1-2, Romans 12:1, John 15:4-5, Philippians 3:7-8, Galatians 2:20, Matthew 6:33

Let this be thy whole Endeavour, this thy prayer, this thy desire, that thou mayest be stripped of all selfishness, and with entire simplicity follow Jesus only.

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A Reminder of our Dependence on God

Author

Tim Chester

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:11, Matthew 26:28

Every meal—not just Communion, but including Communion—is a reminder that we are dependent on God as creatures. We are not self-sustaining. Much of our food is grown, processed, distributed, and possi...

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Our Loves Can’t Hold the Weight of our Expectations

Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

John 4:4-26, Genesis 22:1-19, Luke 10:38-42, Mark 10:17-27, Matthew 6:33

The ultimate reason for our misery, however, is that we do not love God supremely. As Augustine so famously put it in prayer, “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they fin...

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Lacking a Clear Path to Faith

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Scripture

1 Kings 20:40, Matthew 6:34, Romans 7:19, Romans 8:11-14

One common mistake is assuming that everyone else finds faith easy, while we alone struggle. Yet there is comfort in recognizing that we are not alone in our pursuit of Christ in the midst of a broken...

Quote

Author

John Stott

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:14-15, James 2:13, Micah 6:8, Luke 6:36-37, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:12-13

If I withhold mercy, I have lost touch with the gospel. I have lost touch with God’s undeserved kindness and pardon.

Quote

Author

Thomas Kelly

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:10, Micah 6:8, John 3:30, Colossians 3:1-2, Isaiah 26:3

Humility rests upon a Holy blindedness, like the blindedness of him who looks steadily into the sun. For wherever he turns his eyes on earth, there he sees only the sun. The God-blinded soul sees naug...

liturgy

Prayer of Confession for Transfiguration Sunday

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, Micah 6:8, Matthew 6:33, James 1:5, Philippians 2:3-4

Save us, Glorious Christ, from every false understanding and motivation Save us from the temptation to just stay on the mountain Save us from the temptation to never engage Save us from the temptation...

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Contentment Defined

Author

Richard Swenson

Keywords

Contentment

Scripture

Matthew 6:33, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Timothy 6:6-8, Philippians 4:11-13, Psalm 23:1

Contentment is when we tell the Shepherd that His provision is enough for all our physical and material needs. If our old car gimps down the road, that is fine. If we get a shiny newer auto with less ...

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Author

Esau McCaulley

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:1-21, Matthew 5:16, Luke 6:20-21, Matthew 25:34-36, Mark 12:41-44

Yes, we mark our heads with ashes—public shows of piety are not in themselves evil. But we must guard our motivations and do most of our spiritual work in private, because the privacy of those acts re...

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Listen to your Life

Author

Frederick Buechner

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 118:24, Colossians 3:17, Matthew 6:34, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Proverbs 3:6, James 1:17

Listen to your life. All moments are key moments. I discovered that if you really keep your eye peeled to it and your ears open, if you really pay attention to it…Taking your children to school and ki...

liturgy

Good morning, Father

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 4:6-7, Luke 15:11-32, Matthew 6:19-21, Psalm 51:10-12, James 4:8, 1 John 1:9

Prayer of Adoration Good morning, Father. While we slept last night – You were awake, sustaining our world, protecting us and readying a new day. Jesus – You hold us in the palms of Your hands: str...

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Wholeheartedly Committing to God's Will

Author

Frank Laubach

Keywords

Scripture

John 4:14, John 4:1-26, Isaiah 58:11, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Psalm 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Matthew 6:10, Proverbs 16:9, Hebrews 13:20-21, James 1:5, John 6:38-40

Frank Laubach recounts the profound shift in his life that came when he wholeheartedly committed to following God’s will: Before that moment, I was barely alive—like a tree rotting from within. Bu...

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If You Need Anything…

Author

John Ortberg

Keywords

Contentment

Scripture

John 15:5, Hebrews 13:5, Luke 10:41-42, Psalm 23:1, 1 Timothy 6:6-8, Matthew 6:19-21, Philippians 4:11-13

Philip Yancey writes of a spiritual seeker who interrupted his busy, acquisitive life to spend a few days in a monastery. “I hope your stay is a blessed one,” said the monk who showed him to his simpl...

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Without Applause, I die

Author

Ryan P. Tinetti

Keywords

Scripture

James 3:16, 1 John 2:16, John 5:44, Matthew 6:1, Philippians 2:3

There’s undeniably a dark side to restless ambition, however. You can see it in dramatic fashion in the documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop , which follows the comedian on tour after he left the To...

liturgy

Adapted from Matthew 6:25-34 (WEB)

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:25-26, Matthew 6:25-34

Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, Do not be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body m...

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What Drives Success?

Author

Donald Miller

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:25-34, Galatians 1:10, Philippians 2:3-4, Matthew 23:1-12, Romans 12:2

In his book, Scary Close , Donald Miller acknowledges that over time he developed a mask, or a persona that kept even those closest to him from experiencing with him. As he began to peel back layers ...

liturgy

God our Father, Lord our Shepherd,

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 9:8, Romans 8:28, Psalm 34:8, Matthew 6:25-26, Isaiah 41:10, Philippians 4:19

God our Father, Lord our Shepherd, Spirit of the Living God, One in Three … and Three in One: We praise You our Creator, Savior, and Provider. By Your grace, we lack nothing. You feed us in body...

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Author

Craig L. Blomberg

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:null

In this context (Matthew 6)…storing up treasures focuses particularly on the compassionate use of material resources to meet others’ physical and spiritual needs, in keeping with the priorities of God...

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