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Posts Tagged ‘Prayer’

Led, Tested, and OpenMatthew 4; Luke 4–5

Posted in Bible Study, Bible Study, Church, God, God Stories, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Worship, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Today, Jesus’s ministry begins in earnest. But before He preaches a single sermon or calls a single disciple, He is led by the Spirit into the wilderness (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1).

Some see those forty days of fasting as a toughening, a kind of spiritual boot camp. I see it more as a time of cleansing and focusing. Jesus sets aside everything else, and at the end of those forty days the tempter, the accuser, comes to try to divert Him.

What fascinates me is how closely the three temptations line up with the ways Israel was tested in the wilderness after God rescued them from Egypt, and failed. They grumbled about bread, and Satan tempts Jesus to make bread for Himself. They put God to the test at Massah, demanding proof He was with them, and Satan tempts Jesus to throw Himself from the temple to force God’s hand. They bowed down to a golden calf, and Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He will bow down to him. Every time, Jesus answers from Deuteronomy, the very book where Moses recounted Israel’s wilderness years (Deuteronomy 8:3; 6:16; 6:13). Where Israel failed, Jesus stands. He reverses the story.

And notice how Satan fights. In the second temptation, he quotes scripture himself, lifting Psalm 91 out of context to make it say something God never intended. Jesus doesn’t throw out the scripture. He answers it with scripture rightly understood: “It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test'” (Luke 4:12).

That is so often the way the enemy works. If he can’t keep us away from God’s Word, he’ll twist it, bending it to mean and say and do things God never meant.

We see this today in how scripture gets pulled into almost every debate. Take immigration. Some argue for open borders; that isn’t the answer. Others argue for slamming the door shut completely; that isn’t the answer either. Both sides can find a verse to wave around. What matters is looking for people who are receptive to what is true, good, and right, people who will come, honor our laws, and become part of the community.

In a far deeper way, that’s what Jesus was looking for: hearts open and receptive not only to God’s love, grace, and mercy, but also to God’s way of living. “Repent,” He preached, “for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). The invitation was wide open, and it called for a response.

That’s exactly what stirred up His hometown. In the Nazareth synagogue, Jesus read from Isaiah that He had come to proclaim good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, and freedom for the oppressed (Luke 4:18). The people spoke well of Him, at first. Then He reminded them that in Elijah’s day God sent the prophet to a widow in Sidon, and in Elisha’s day God healed Naaman the Syrian (Luke 4:25–27). Both were outsiders. The Messiah had come not only for Israel, but for anyone, Jew or Gentile, whose heart was open to God’s mercy and grace. The same crowd that had admired Him tried to throw Him off a cliff.

And the rest of today’s reading shows Him doing exactly what He announced: healing the sick, touching a leper no one else would touch (Luke 5:13), forgiving a paralyzed man lowered through a roof (Luke 5:20), and calling a tax collector to follow Him (Luke 5:27). The downtrodden, the oppressed, the outsiders—these were the people who received Him.

So here is my takeaway today: a heart that is open. Open to God’s Word as He actually meant it, not as it can be twisted. Open to His grace, and open to His way of living. And open to love others and share God’s goodness with them, especially the ones others might overlook.

Is your heart open to God’s Word as He meant it, and to the people He is reaching for, even the ones you might not expect?

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At the River: Obedience, Fire, and the Spirit’s EmpoweringReadings: Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3

Posted in Beautiful Places, Bible Study, Bible Study, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Responsibility, The Father, worldview, Worship, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Today’s three readings tell the same story from three angles: Jesus coming to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. It’s where His public ministry begins, and it raises questions that have shaped my own walk with God for more than four decades.

The one who prepared the way

John the Baptist had a clear assignment. He preached repentance and baptized those who responded, and the Gospel writers saw him as the fulfillment of what the prophets had foretold. Mark opens his Gospel by joining Malachi and Isaiah together:

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'” (Mark 1:2–3, ESV)

John also fit the mold of Elijah. Malachi had promised, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes” (Mal. 4:5), and John’s camel’s hair clothing and leather belt (Mark 1:6) echo Elijah’s own appearance.

So many people wondered whether John himself might be the Messiah. Luke tells us, “As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ…” (Luke 3:15). John was clear: he was not. Someone mightier was coming.

When Jesus showed up

Here’s what strikes me. John had spent his ministry pointing toward Jesus, yet when Jesus actually came to the river, John was surprised:

“John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented.” (Matt. 3:14–15)

Jesus had no sin to repent of. His baptism was not a confession. It was obedience, and the Father’s response was immediate: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).

My own story of baptism

Christians have long understood baptism in different ways. In infant baptism (paedobaptism), a child is baptized or christened, committed to God with the trust that He will work in that child’s life. In believer’s baptism (credobaptism), a person who has come to recognize their need for God, repented, and received Jesus as Lord and Savior is baptized as an outward sign of that inward change.

I’ve experienced both. I was baptized as a child. But at age 23, I came to see that I’d been living with one foot in the kingdom of God and the other foot stuck out whenever it suited me. In reality, I was living outside of God’s will for my life. So I surrendered. I told the Lord I would follow Him with all that I was, and I meant everything.

Not immediately, but some time after that, I felt a prompting to be baptized by full immersion at my local church. And I obeyed.

That was 43 years ago. I’m still not sure I can fully describe what happened when I surrendered my life to Jesus. The Holy Spirit entered in a way I had never given Him control before. What I do know is this: baptism was a step of obedience I was called to take, and it was a step of obedience Jesus Himself took.

With the Holy Spirit and fire

John told the crowds what Jesus would come to do:

“I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16)

Half of that verse always grabs me: fire. Fire cleanses and purifies, burning away what doesn’t belong. Luke goes on to describe the chaff being burned (Luke 3:17).

The other half, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, is something I have experienced personally. I know that’s somewhat controversial in some circles. For me it has meant the Spirit’s empowerment to lead and direct me as I’ve submitted my mind, my will, and even my tongue to the Lord.

There are times when I pray in languages I do not know. It’s still within my control whether I do so, but when I do, I don’t understand the words. I simply know God is moving and that He is praying through me. Paul wrote, “We do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8:26). When God pours His Spirit into us, He works in the spiritual realm in ways that have real impact in the natural one.

Different gifts, one Spirit

I want to be careful not to be misunderstood. Not everyone receives the same gifting. Paul said, “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Cor. 12:11). Not everyone will pray in other languages.

Some people carry a gift and calling for evangelism that I simply don’t have. I’ve tried! But as I understand it, my calling is to be first and foremost a man of prayer, and the gifting I’ve received lines up with that calling.

What is true for all of us is this: as God’s children, we are connected to Him by His Spirit. He equips us, prepares us, and gives us assignments, carried out through both the natural abilities He has given us and the supernatural gifts of His Spirit. Those gifts are part of the package of belonging to Him.

A question to consider

At the Jordan, Jesus chose obedience, and the heavens opened. So let me ask: What step of obedience is God calling you to take today, and are you willing to let His Spirit, and His fire, have full control?

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Consistency, Not Perfection

Posted in Beautiful Places, Bible Study, Prayer, Priorities, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , on September 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Areliablefaith Reflection

A few days ago, on a beach in Marina di Ragusa, Sicily, I found myself staring at a McDonald’s. Not because I wanted a hamburger, but because of where it was sitting — right on the water, in about as prime a location as you could ask for, surrounded by genuine, family-run trattorias that had clearly been there for generations. It struck me as strange. How does an American fast-food chain end up on a stretch of coastline like this? And more than that — would it even survive next to businesses built on real family history and craft?

That question sat with me for a couple of days, and it pulled up a memory from a book I read a long time ago: Tom Peters’ In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies. McDonald’s was one of the companies Peters studied, and one line from it has stuck with me for years. He observed that McDonald’s never set out to make the single best-tasting hamburger in the world. What they pursued instead was consistency — a hamburger that tasted the same whether you bought it in the U.S., in Canada, in Japan, or, apparently, on a beach in Sicily.

Lisa and I ended up going back to that same McDonald’s — not for the burgers, but for a cappuccino and, of all things, a croissant, which is not exactly a McDonald’s staple back home. And as I drank that cappuccino, I realized it tasted exactly like the one I’d had in Michigan a few months earlier, and the one I’d had in South Carolina before that. Different continent, different culture, same cup. That’s not an accident. That’s the entire business model.

It got me thinking about my own walk with God.

God isn’t asking me to be the spiritual equivalent of the “best-tasting hamburger” — spectacular, polished, impressive from day one. What He seems to be after isn’t perfection out of the gate. It’s surrender, and it’s consistency — showing up again and again, letting Him shape the heart a little more each time.

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 1:6

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” — Philippians 3:12

But here’s where I have to be honest with myself, because I’ve recently caught myself twisting that very idea. I’ve been using YouVersion to read the Bible daily, and somewhere along the way, “consistency” quietly turned into “streak.” I started feeling real stress about keeping a number going, rather than about actually meeting God in the text. The goal was never a badge or a counter. The goal was to see Him in His Word and let it inform my heart. Somewhere along the way, the tracking became the target.

It’s not a new problem. It’s the same thing Jesus called out in Matthew 23 — people who were relentlessly consistent in the letter of practice while neglecting “the weightier matters.” Or Isaiah 29:13 — a people whose lips were near God while their hearts stayed far away. Discipline is not the same thing as devotion. It’s possible to be perfectly consistent and still miss the point entirely.

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” — Isaiah 29:13

The consistency worth pursuing isn’t the visible, countable kind — the streak, the box checked, the record kept. It’s the invisible kind: returning to Him, again and again, not because a number depends on it, but because that’s where life actually is.

A Question to Sit With

Where in your walk with God has faithfulness quietly turned into a performance metric — and what would it look like this week to return to the relationship instead of the record?

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Downward Spiral

Posted in Bible Study, God, Holy Spirit, Holy Week, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Spiritual Growth, The Father, tagged , , , , , , , on March 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Judges 1-2. Having read through the Bible multiple years now, when we hit Judges, the life of the nation of Israel becomes one or two steps forward and two or three steps backwards. The Bible is one unified story that points to Jesus. But to do that, it also has to describe the reason for Jesus’ coming which is our absolute need for a savior. This is true of us as a society. It is true of me and everyone else individually. As Paul says in the seventh chapter of his letter to the church at Rome – “Woe is me… the good I would do, I don’t do; and that which I know not to do, that is what I do… who will save me from this wretched condition?” The answer is Jesus. What Paul cries out about is demonstrated through Israel in the book of Judges. Israel demonstrates this up and down nature of our humanity through a series of slides into depravity followed by subjugation leading to crying out to God for help. God raises up a leader to rescue them, followed by relative peace that eventually descends into depravity again and the whole process starts over.

There is another layer to the stories in Judges that we might easily miss. In these first two chapters, the narrator gives us a list of all the areas where the Israelites did not drive out the Canaanites who were living there. The people living in the land worshipped other gods. They sacrificed their children. They included various immoral practices into their “worship” such as cult prostitutes. The Lord had clearly said the existing inhabitants must be removed from the land or they would become a snare and trap for the Israelites. We will see this play out in ever-increasing ways through Judges.

There is a direct correlation to the life of a person when they come to Christ. We are to consistently drive out the sin habits that we have developed over our life prior to entering into the saving relationship with Jesus. It is not clean your act up to be saved. It is totally the fact that we are a new creation, and we are to live like it. Through the forgiveness we receive in Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit living in us, we can live a different life. We are to crucify the flesh or the ways of the old nature.  Every area that we do not deal with will become a foothold for the enemy. Left unaddressed, the foothold becomes a stronghold. Before long, our life will be one of domination by God’s (and ours) enemy because we didn’t deal with the sin habit when the Holy Spirit first revealed it to us.

The solution is simple. Paul shouts it out in Romans 8… Thanks be to God for Jesus! Jesus broke the power of Satan, of sin, as well as the fear of death. Starting with this reality which Jesus purchased for all humanity at the cross, we look to Him and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we reject and pull down every thought, every sin habit that we might once have embraced. We do not let them live and have dominion over us.

As we live into Holy Week this year, we see and we model Jesus’ focus on the Father and the Father’s good plan. Painful though it was, Jesus knew it was God’s way, it was the only way to save us… to save me… to save you. And as His children, He has a good plan beyond our salvation, as good as that is. He wants to sanctify us. He wants us to live in peace. He wants our lives to point to Him. So, we will set our face towards the Father, and we will drive out anything and everything in our life that would turn us away from following Him faithfully.

Help us LORD to crucify everything that is not of you. We desire to live lives surrendered. And we say yes to the active part of surrender… laying down our lives and all lesser loves to embrace you and your ways. To you be the glory faithful Lord, you who entered into Jerusalem knowing what lie before you, knowing that you did not deserve to die such an ignominious death. But you did it for us. You did it for me. Thank you Jesus.

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Promises, Promises – God the Promise Keeper

Posted in Bible Study, Bible Study, God, Holy Spirit, Holy Week, Jesus Christ, Prayers, The Father, Worship, tagged , , , , , , , on March 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Joshua 19-21. It was drilled into me at a young age that a person’s word was their bond. A promise was sacred and could not be broken. As I grew and experienced the world I came to realize that such a belief was not all that widely held. Lawyers proliferate partly to try and hold people to their promises and partly to try and get people out of their promises. Joshua 21:45 says, “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” God is a promise maker. God is a promise keeper!

We are about a quarter of the way into reading the Bible in a year. It was way back in the early part of Genesis that God made the promise to Abram that He would give to his descendants the land of Canaan. That was about 600 or so years prior to today’s reading. Needless to say, some of God’s promises have a long timeline. Fortunately, they also do not have an expiration date. We most often think in terms of days, weeks, and years. The LORD, who exists outside of time, but created time for our sake, moves on a grander and more spectacular scale when time is concerned. There is a term used for Jesus’ birth that captures God’s use of time… “in the fullness of time”. When all the conditions had been met, it was time for God’s ultimate promise to be met.  Jesus… God in the flesh… God walking among humanity… God demonstrating how to live… and how to die… Jesus our redeemer kinsman… Jesus, our Lord and our God! Jesus, the ultimate promise keeper. The ultimate promise kept.

As we enter Holy Week, I will deviate from posting about the daily reading through the Bible to look at Jesus and Holy Week. This week is the annual remembrance of the penultimate week in all of history. From Genesis 3:15 through the last verses of Malachi in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was inspiring the writers to point to Jesus and this week that occurred some 2000 years ago. And since that time, all of history has been shifted because of the resurrection and the reality that death has been conquered, the Holy Spirit has been given to the Church, and Satan’s domination of humanity has been broken. Many of the LORD’s great promises have been fulfilled. And we rest in the sure and certain knowledge that those that remain are coming. For it is true… not one word of all the good promises that the LORD has made will fail to come to pass. God is a promise maker. God is a promise keeper.

Come Lord Jesus. Use us to keep your promises. Inspire our words and actions to perfectly align with you and your good work in the world. Transform hearts, minds, and lives through your Holy Spirit and your people walking in a living faith. Jesus, it is in your Name that we pray!  

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The LORD Was With Him

Posted in Bible Study, Genesis, God, Prayer, Responsibility, The Father, Trials, tagged , , , , , on February 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Genesis 38-40, The LORD Was With Him. It would have been easy for Joseph to give up and throw the towel in at numerous points along the way. In yesterday’s reading his brothers first sought to kill him but were turned away at the last minute by the oldest brother, Reuben, and they sold him into slavery instead. Today we see him serving as a slave for a decade before he is lied about and thrown into prison. He had taken the high moral ground with his master’s wife only to have her turn on him when he wouldn’t have sex with her. Talk about being punished for doing the right thing. And then in prison, he interprets the dreams of two of the king’s servants only to have them forget him when they have a chance to put in a good word for him. (I guess we can give the baker a pass since the interpretation he got coming true wasn’t exactly memorable in a positive way!)

Jacob / Israel, Joseph’s father, had a number of occasions through the years where the LORD spoke to him to direct his steps. We don’t get that kind of insight into Joseph. Scripture doesn’t describe God speaking to him in the same way. What we do see is the phrase “the LORD was with him” four times in today’s reading and then we see both natural and supernatural gifting that sets Joseph apart from others. Joseph’s actions are primarily on the up and up. We don’t see the deception and manipulation that characterized his father’s life as a young man. Instead, he is the recipient of “harm” because of deception and manipulation. What is beautiful to see, and a character trait to emulate, is that he did not stop trusting in the LORD who was with him. Even in the “unfair” situations he kept finding himself, he continued to rely on the LORD who was with him. And in the readings thus far, God has already used him to bless others. I can’t wait to see what the LORD does next with this kind of faith.

LORD, Joseph’s faith is impressive. I can only imagine the times he was mistreated and the temptation to despair. Yet you remained with him and he continued to put his trust in you. I can picture the head jailer remembering Joseph’s comments about you leading him to bring the cupbearer and baker to Joseph so that you could provide the interpretation of their dreams. LORD, help us to have such faith. A faith that endures adversity.  A faith that paints a picture of you because of how we live and the words we speak. And may others be blessed in coming to know you because we freely shared the LORD who is with us.

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Wisdom to Stay Silent

Posted in Genesis, Holy Spirit, Prayer, tagged , , , , , , on February 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Genesis 35-37, The Wisdom to Stay Silent. I have come to realize, through painful lessons of opening my mouth when it would have been best left shut, that there is great wisdom to staying silent and only speaking when it is appropriate. Mark Twain is credited with the saying, “best to be quiet and thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.” There are a few times when this might have applied for me, but I am speaking of something a bit different. Having walked with the LORD for many years now and having experienced His grace and gifts in some pretty amazing ways, I have not always been as wise in talking and sharing about those gifts as I should. In fact, God’s blessings are wonderful to receive, but they do not all fall on us equally or at the same time. There is common grace which is available to every living being. But God will bless us beyond common grace, and it is often gifting to support our calling. The problem is that God’s gifts are received by us while we are still in the process of being sanctified. I don’t know about everyone else, but I know that I still have areas where pride, impatience, and greed have somewhat of a hold. And like Joseph, sometimes we can talk about things in a way or at a time that is not the wisest choice.

God gives Joseph two prophetic dreams. As the next to youngest son, he is very low in the pecking order of a house full of boys. Yet his dreams suggest superiority over his brothers (and even his parents!) Right there is when the alarm bells of pride should go off, and silence and contemplative prayer would be a good response. Instead, Joseph blurts out his dreams in the middle of the family meal (okay, I added the family meal part, but he makes sure everyone knows how special he is). His dad had already made Joseph a bit of a pariah among the boys by treating him with special affection. By bragging about his dream, Joseph unwittingly sets the stage for a being kidnapped and trafficked by his brothers. God, being sovereign and outside of time, knows all this is going down and He will work through it to bring those prophetic dreams to pass. I can’t help but think that silence and waiting on God’s timing would have resulted in a much less painful ascension for Joseph.

Father, our prayer is simple today. Help us to be silent when that is called for. Help us to speak when that is appropriate. And LORD, give us the wisdom to know the difference between the two.

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Mis-taking God’s Promise

Posted in Bible Study, Genesis, God Stories, Marriage, Prayer, tagged , , , , on February 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Genesis 16-18, Today’s reading is full of God showing up and making promises. When God shows up in visible form it’s called a theophany. God had Abraham and Sarah in the center of His grand plan. Changing their names was a major event that creates a bonding and a sense of ownership that demonstrates God’s Lordship in their lives.

My conscience was pricked as I read Sarai’s attempt to fulfill God’s promise on her own. How many times have I taken a clear promise or prompting of the Lord and ran with it without waiting upon the Lord. Too many. But this is the beautiful thing, God still fulfilled His promise to Sarai, in His timing. While it would be better to obey perfectly, the Lord still works with us through our mistakes to bring about a maturing of our faith and obedience. Which is just another reason He is worthy of our worship.

Father, thank you that you play the long game in training us in faith. That you continue to work with us through our mistakes and impatience is so wonderful. Your grace is truly amazing. We submit to your loving correction anew today. We desire to live faithful and we know you are bringing this about day by day. To you be the glory.

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Restoration

Posted in Bible Study, God, job, Prayer, tagged , , , , , , on February 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Job 40-42, Job’s long requested interview with God ends today and to say it went differently than Job had in mind would be a significant understatement. The LORD’s response to Job is exactly what Job needed to hear. God lovingly puts Job in his place by articulating His place. Job “the Righteous” is properly humbled. There was nothing wrong with Job’s actions before calamity befell him. The only area where Job needed correction was in his heart where pride had taken root. Like an undiagnosed disease, Job’s pride had to be brought to the surface and dealt with. And God did.

Look at the amazing ripple effect of Job’s calamity. Job had a personal encounter with the LORD and it changed him. Job had his pride brought into view and he was humbled and repented. Job’s friends were rebuked by God, they were humbled, and they repented and apologized to Job. Job forgave and then Job interceded for them. If we stopped right there with right relations between God, Job, and Job’s friends restored, it would be a win, win, win. But God, in His overflowing generosity, restores Job’s family line and restores material blessings upon him. The author emphasizes how over the top this is by pointing out the blessings upon Job’s daughters. Within the intensely patriarchal society of the day, this shouts of God’s goodness and generosity. God sees the big picture. And in His wise and loving way, He always draws those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose, into closer fellowship with Himself and with His family.

LORD, I thank you for Job and the picture you give us of this man and his journey into deeper fellowship with you. I can’t help but marvel at the transformation in Job through these 42 chapters. It seems Job knew about you and tried hard to honor you at first, but by the end, Job came to truly know you and that made all the difference. LORD, help us to know you, to learn from you, to grow to be like you, following the leading of your Holy Spirit more and more. Do what you need to do to crush pride and whatever else might be present in our heart that hinders our relationship with you and others. We love you LORD and we give ourselves to you this day.

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God Whispers

Posted in Bible Study, God, Holy Spirit, Prayer, Priorities, Spiritual Growth, Worship, tagged , , , on January 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

1 Kings 19:9-13, God Whispers. Interestingly, after writing this morning’s devotional, I joined our church’s 21 Days of Prayer online. I am traveling for work so I can’t be there in person. Jason, one of our pastors, did the lead in and used these verses to encourage us to be quiet and ask the LORD to speak to us as we meditated on Psalm 122. I was arrested by these verses, particularly the fact that there was a wind, an earthquake, and a fire that came before the whisper.

So many times, I can’t hear the LORD because of the wind, earthquake, and fire. The social media feeds, the never-ending news cycle, how my favorite sports team is doing, even the emotionally charged conversations I have in my head trying to figure out how to resolve a conflict, these are wind, earthquake, and fire. I cannot necessarily shut out all of these, but I can choose to place myself where I am ready to hear. I can choose to shut the doors where many of these enter in to steal my attention.

Like the psalmist said, “I quiet my soul like a weaned child”. I think this imagery is intentional. As we mature, we no longer have the same needs of an infant in the faith, yet we will never lose the need to sit quietly with our heavenly Father and receive from Him what we truly need. And many times, it comes as a gentle whisper…

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