Christian Living on Thoughts

liturgy

Lord and God, you know what we are

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:3-4, Romans 8:34, Isaiah 53:4-5, Hebrews 7:25, Lamentations 3:22-23

Lord and God, you know what we are about to say in prayer, you know what we ought to say, and even what we need to say but cannot. Our sins trouble us, though they don’t trouble us as much as they sho...

liturgy

How we praise and thank You for the

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:14, Galatians 5:25, Luke 24:13-32, Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 119:18, John 16:13, Colossians 2:3

How we praise and thank You for the holy Scriptures which You have caused to be written for our learning. Thank You for Your written Word, which reveals to us the living Word of God, in the Person of ...

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An Analogy of Childlike Prayer

Author

M. Basil Pennington

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 18:3, Mark 10:14-15, Matthew 6:9, Psalm 131:2, Romans 8:15

A father is delighted when his little one, leaving off her toys and friends, runs to him and climbs into his arms. As he holds his little one close to him, he cares little whether the child is looking...

liturgy

Heavenly Father, we come before you as

Author

Charles Teixeira

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:105, John 10:27, Hebrews 4:14-16, Romans 8:26-27, Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 Samuel 3:1-10

Heavenly Father, we come before you as beggars in need of your voice. As we lift up our thoughts, songs, and prayers, we lean in to hear how you would speak back to us. We yearn to hear the voice of J...

liturgy

God of grace who knows us intimately

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:1-6, 1 John 5:14-15, Psalm 66:17-20, Romans 8:26-27

God of grace who knows us intimately and wholly; Who listens intently and persistently: We praise You. You hear the prayers of our lips and our hearts. You know our innermost thoughts and intentions. ...

liturgy

We praise and thank you, O Lord, that

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:103, Luke 22:19, Psalm 34:18, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Matthew 28:19-20, John 14:16-17, Matthew 6:9-13, Numbers 6:24-26, Matthew 25:36, Psalm 33:12, Romans 8:26, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Acts 2:42

We praise and thank you, O Lord, that you have fed us with your Word [and at your table]. Grateful for your gifts and mindful of the communion of your saints, we offer to you our prayers for all pe...

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Hope Can Be Hard to Come By

Author

John Piper

Keywords

Hope

Scripture

Psalm 18:6, 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, Romans 8:28, Psalm 34:17-18, Isaiah 41:10, Lamentations 3:21-23, Philippians 4:13

But hope is hard to come by. I should know. I remember the time when I was once busy dying. It wasn’t long after I had broken my neck in a diving accident that I spent one particularly hopeless week i...

Quote

Author

Nelson Mandela

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 29:11, Isaiah 41:10, 2 Timothy 1:7, Romans 8:15, Psalm 27:1, Philippians 4:6-7

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.

Quote

Author

Richard Plass and James Cofield

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 4:15-16, James 5:16, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 147:3, Romans 8:28, Psalm 34:18

What often continues to shape our stories (interpretations) are the implicit emotional responses to our wounds. We must be willing to attend to our wounds and address the emotions embedded in our woun...

liturgy

Adapted from “Weaknesses” in The Valley of Vision

Author

Arthur Bennett

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 30:21, Philippians 4:6-7, James 1:5, Psalm 25:4-5, Romans 8:26, Psalm 51:10, 1 John 1:9

Pastor: O Spirit of God, help my infirmities. When I am pressed down because of my sin, perplexed and not knowing what to do, help me. All: When you see that I desire evil things, delighting in sinf...

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What Are We Grasping For?

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

John 11:35, Romans 8:26, Psalm 42:3, Isaiah 53:3, Matthew 26:38

Our culture is afraid of grief, but not just because it is afraid of death. That is natural and normal, a proper reaction to the Last Enemy. Our culture is afraid because it seems to be afraid of the ...

liturgy

O gracious and holy God, give us

Author

Benedict of Nursia

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 29:13, James 1:5, Psalm 27:14, Psalm 119:18, Isaiah 50:4, John 12:1-8, Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 8:11

O gracious and holy God, give us diligence to seek you, wisdom to perceive you, and patience to wait for you. Grant us, O God, a mind to meditate on you, eyes to behold you, ears to listen for your ...

blog

How Do You Know?

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Grace

Scripture

John 21:15-19, 1 Corinthians 13:12, Luke 19:1-10, Romans 8:1-2, Luke 23:39-43, Matthew 11:28

In his book The Case for Grace , pastor and author Lee Strobel describes a dream he had as a child after having a significant argument with his father. Strobel does what most of us would do at that...

liturgy

God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: You

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:7-10, Romans 8:38-39, Matthew 11:28-30, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Isaiah 40:31, Luke 10:25-37, John 11:32-35

God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: You are always and forever for us: We can’t run away from Your presence; nor out-sin Your amazing grace and forgiveness. We can’t exhaust Your unconditional love nor ...

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The Two Great Questions

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 50:19-20 , Job 19:25-27, Isaiah 25:7-8 , John 11:25-26, Romans 8:38-39 , Psalm 23:4

In a poignant tribute written after his son’s passing in a climbing accident, Nicholas Wolterstorff reflects: When we have overcome absence with phone calls, winglessness with airplanes, summer he...

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...

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Life Without Hope of Resurrection: An Atheist’s Explanation of the Human Condition

Author

Bertrand Russell

Keywords

Scripture

John 3:16, Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 139:13-14, Romans 8:38-39, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Revelation 21:4

Sometimes it is helpful to see what life looks like on the other side of faith, that is, for those who believe that God does not exist. Bertrand Russell, the renowned philosopher and avowed atheist, h...

Quote

Author

Steve Carrell

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 23:44-49, Mark 4:35-41, Exodus 19:16-19, John 15:13, Philippians 2:10-11, Romans 8:38-39

“Would I rather be feared or loved? That’s easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”

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Living in Two Worlds

Author

Ruth Chou Simons

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 12:1-3, Exodus 3:7-10 , Isaiah 40:28-31, John 1:4-5, Romans 8:18-25, Philippians 3:20-21

We all live between two worlds. We are planted here on earth while our hope is in heaven. We are given work to do in temporary soil that, we’re told, has the potential to spring up into unending fruit...

liturgy

No Record of Wrongs, Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:5

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:5, Genesis 45:1-15, John 8:1-11, John 21:15-19, Luke 15:11-32, Isaiah 49:16, Romans 8:1

Love keeps no record of wrongs. We keep to-do lists so we don’t forget We check them twice We carry them in our pockets Holding on to the pain The disappointment The failure Re-viewing the wrong Poi...

Quote

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:16, John 15:12-13, Romans 8:38-39, Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, John 17:21

The vision that Jesus gives us is this: That I am unconditionally loved, that I belong to God, and that I am a person who can really trust that. When I meet another person who also is rooted in the he...

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How Our Limits Help Us

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 32:1, Genesis 18:10–14, Habakkuk 2:3, Acts 1:4, Romans 8:23–25, Psalm 27:14

We must learn to see our limits as the entrance into the good life, not what bars us from it. But as we grow older, waiting feels like an inconvenience or affront. We take out our phones when we’re...

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Do You Know Where You’re Going?

Author

Matt Chandler

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:10, Romans 8:28

Pastor Matt Chandler describes a humorous encounter with his daughter that illustrates the absurdity of assuming we know better than God. Just as a small child couldn’t possibly know better than a par...

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Follow the Bubbles

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:26, John 14:26, Psalm 139:9-10, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Isaiah 42:16, Psalm 119:105

When I graduated from college I was given one of the greatest opportunities of my young life. A group of my friends were told that if we were able to purchase a flight to the Cayman Islands, we would ...

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How Transformation Happens

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:11-14, Galatians 2:20, Romans 8:1-2, Colossians 3:3-4, John 8:34-36, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 8:15-16

In The Good and Beautiful God , James Bryan Smith describes a new Christian he happened to know who came to him one day feeling dejected. He was so excited to be a follower of Jesus, but he just co...

liturgy

Lord, high and holy, meek and

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 16:24-25, Philippians 1:21, Romans 8:18, Matthew 23:12, James 4:10, Psalm 23:4

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory. Let me lear...

Quote

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Isaiah 55:8-9, Proverbs 3:5-6

If you let your circumstances define the way you see God, you are a prisoner of perspective. Or worse, a prisoner of your past mistakes! But if you let God define the way you see your circumstances, y...

liturgy

God, we come with hesitant steps and

Author

Christine Sine

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 139:23-24, Psalm 51:, Romans 8:9-17, 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, John 10:1-10, Job 15:31-32

God, we come with hesitant steps and uncertain motives to sweep out the corners where sin has accumulated, and uncover the ways we have strayed from Your truth. Expose the empty and barren places wher...

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The Value Remains the Same

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 1:6, 1 John 3:1, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 8:29, Ephesians 2:10, Jeremiah 31:3

Garry Smalley was a Christian counselor and prolific author. He was known for one particular illustration about the intrinsic value each of us has as children of God. Speaking at a large event, he ask...

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Rejection and Acceptance

Author

Scott Bowerman

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 3:13, 1 Peter 5:7, Romans 8:38-39, Matthew 11:28, Isaiah 66:13, Psalm 27:10, Isaiah 49:15-16

In his book The Logic of the Spirit, James Loder talks about a woman with whom he had been in a therapeutic relationship for years. This woman’s underlying issue seemed to be a complete sense of rejec...

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