The purpose of the Ministry Journal is to share stories of God's good work among us and to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ in order to cultivate unity of mind and heart in mission and purpose and to remind one another of our true belonging to the family of God.
For many months, I would just pray. I would pray that she would “Run with endurance with her eyes fixed on Jesus … keep the faith and finish strong.” I would pray that God would make Forwood a mission field for her! I would pray Number 6:24–26 over her. Occasionally we would recite Psalm 23 together. It was our chance to share God’s truth with roommates and anyone walking by, because Ginger was VERY hard of hearing, so I had to nearly yell my prayers!
Read MoreOne disadvantage, if there are any, of “growing up Christian” is that profound scriptural truths can become clichés we take for granted before we really understand what they mean. One such phrase is “do it in God’s strength, not your own.” We’re on sound biblical footing with this: “. . . whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—” (1 Peter 4:11). ‘Tired?’ we ask. ‘Well, you’re trying to do it all on your own strength, just rely on God’s strength.’ (If I had an hour for every time that’s been said to me concerning my duties I’d have time to do them all and bake bread from scratch.) But increasingly I’ve had the question what does that mean?
Read MoreI am a stay-at-home mom. There are days when I am at home in my job, rocking the comfortable clothes and cuddles and cookies in the oven. But there are days (or perhaps times in each day) when it’s sheer hard work. It’s constant interruptions (even the interruptions are interrupted). Sometimes it can seem like an endless round of thankless menial tasks. A precious friend of mine, a wiser woman than I, once described motherhood in a comment on this blog as a series of deaths to self. (My Self wants to write this right now. My Self has been interrupted by my Duty (and his big sisters and his baby brother) seventeen times since I started this paragraph.)
Read MoreIn the same way, when I do my duty, I am helped to go on doing it. Why is it easier to obey once we begin? Is it that we are made creatures of habit—and this is turned to good account when the habits we build into our lives are faithful ones? Is it that we somehow actualize or demonstrate our faith by acts of obedience, however small, and God (the one who rewards those who seek him) then comes to our aid?
Read MoreJust a question: When did “duty” become a dirty word?
We laugh, admitting that sometimes we tell our children to obey “because I said so” as though it is a silly and unreasonable response—when surely shouldn’t it be considered, coming from parent to child, as a full answer? Whenever the word “ought” was struck from our working vocabulary (for struck it has been) we lost something precious: a big, basic building block from the foundations of faithfulness.
Read MoreThis modern hymn by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Graham Kendrick speaks biblical truths that we can sing to instruct our souls.
Read MoreFather, we come to you this morning like expectant little children, our noses pressed against the glass, shouting joy to the world, the Lord has come! And yet we wait and watch for your great and awesome return when you will descend in glory and power, and you will whistle and your servants will be gathered safely in from the four winds. And like children, Father, we itch and scratch against the ‘now and not yet’ nature of our ultimate salvation. Father, we want to be faithful to the end, through suffering, through pain, through lonliness, through sudden unexpected trauma and also long term, exhausting seasons of grief. And we confess that we are not strong enough, or brave enough or clean enough to remain faithful till the end. So Father we ask for courage and comfort, so that we can stand in all things, and strangely and ironically, we know this as well, that it is in this holiday season that many among us struggle the most. … So, Father, for them especially we ask for courage and comfort.
Read MoreThe lyrics from Andrew Peterson’s ”the Reckoning” and then, thoughts from Chelsea Patterson that likely resonate with each one of us in some way…..
Read MoreOr maybe you are like me, seemingly righteous and virtuous on the outside and yet dead on the inside, full of pride and self-righteousness because of your attempts at virtue. Christ’s righteousness and sacrifice is enough for you. It covers everything and gives you a new start. You can become a new creation, a new woman THROUGH HIM. And you don’t have to wait until you get yourself all together or until you get older, or until you reach some point of moral standard that qualifies you for God’s grace. God’s saving grace meets you where you are, which is where you sit tonight, and He offers you new life. Jesus says in the book of John, “I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Read MoreHelpful devotional material from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.
Read MoreAs difficult as it can be, waiting builds spiritual muscles in a unique manner. My sinful impatience notwithstanding, Isaiah makes this truth clear: “But they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount with wings as eagles, they shall run and grow weary, they shall walk and not faint.” What a glorious promise! And yet our discontented hearts find it difficult to wait.
Read MoreIn this interview, we hear from Elisabeth Elliot as she talks about obeying the Lord in one specific area, forgiveness.
Elisabeth Elliot is a woman who knows what it means to be a forgiver. In 1956, after she had been married for just twenty-seven months, her husband, Jim Elliot, was martyred by the Auca Indians along with four other missionaries. Months later, Elisabeth returned to that tribe with her baby daughter and continued to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those very people who had been responsible for the death of her husband.
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