Pathways Press.com

Written by Grace Pouch, a contemporary writer and content manager.

As a young girl, Corrie ten Boom found it curious that her father, a clock and watch repairman, treated his workbench like holy ground. His vocation seemed rather utilitarian, certainly not overtly Christian. Yet he approached it as sacred work. One day Corrie observed her father struggling with a project. He laid the watch aside, and prayed, “Lord, you turn the wheels of the galaxies. You know what makes the planets spin and You know what makes this watch run….” The next morning Corrie found the clock perfectly restored—her father having received divine insight during the night to solve the problem. By inviting God to be his helper in the work, both his craft and his spirit were sustained.  Experiences like this are not meant to be a rarity we only read about. Kingdom apprentices are people who are learning to live every aspect of our lives in unbroken communion and partnership with our Maker…The fact that God became one of us, lived a normal blue-collar life, and endured faithfully in struggles proves that there are no unsacred parts of human life; only sacred parts and desecrated parts.  Those parts we seem so eager to be free of—the tiresome routines and “grunt work”? They’re actually what poet and pastor Joshua Luke Smith calls “the main event.” To wish them away would be a desecration. Whenever they feel the walls closing in on them during painful or mundane moments, Joshua and his wife have a habit of saying This is the main event. It’s a phrase that re-sanctifies. And it carries God’s invitations: Don’t run away! Stay in your life. Take off your shoes; this is holy ground! … We need to take off our shoes and sink into the holy humus of answering emails or waiting in the carpool line. We need to lean into our limitations and embrace interdependence with coworkers, churchmates, and family members. The difficulties are the main event!  Grace waits for us in the humble workbenches and pews and kitchen tables of our lives, if we can see them as sacred.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. [1 Corinthians 10:31]

Written by the Lead Like Jesus team, an organization founded by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges that promotes a transformational leadership model based on following Jesus.

Jesus revealed God’s love in countless ways. He not only talked about God’s love, He allowed it to flow through Him. As God transforms us, we grow in our capacity to care about others. He enlarges our hearts, and stirs a spirit of generosity and compassion that isn’t content to stand by while others struggle. How does God want to use you in the lives of other people?

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.  [1 John 3:17-18]

Written by Henri Nouwen (1932-1996), a Dutch priest, professor, writer, and theologian.  This is an excerpt from his book “Making All Things New.”

Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life. Solitude begins with a time and a place for God, and him alone. If we really believe not only that God exists but also that he is actively present in our lives — healing, teaching, and guiding — we need to set aside a time and a space to give him our undivided attention. 

Go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to the Father who is in that secret place.  [Matthew 6:6]

Written by Mark Roberts, a contemporary writer.

Gracious God, thank you for creating and redeeming me according to your purpose. Thank you for calling me to participate in your purposeful work in the world. Help me, I pray, to learn to pay attention to what matters most when it comes to purpose in life. Give me eyes to see. Give me wisdom to discern. May I know my purpose so that I might flourish in this life for your purpose and glory. Amen.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. [Proverbs 19:21

Written by Pierre-Alain Giffard, a contemporary Canadian theologian and author.

Imagine a love so vast and powerful that it created everything we see and beyond, a love so personal it knows every beat of our hearts, and so unwavering it never gives up on us. For many, the idea of God’s love can feel distant or even unfamiliar. Perhaps life’s struggles have made it hard for us to believe. But at the very core of what it means to be human, there’s an aching for connection, a longing for purpose, and a desire to be truly seen, loved and understood. And that’s exactly where Jesus comes in. He’s not just a historical figure; He is a living invitation to encounter a love capable of transforming everything. When we begin to grasp just a glimpse of this immense love, it naturally awakens a desire in us to respond to it, to follow the path He laid out, and to share the incredible peace and joy that come from Him… In a world that often feels confusing and uncertain, Jesus offers us a clear path, a profound truth, and a vibrant life…When we open ourselves to this profound love and begin to walk with Jesus, we discover a richness and purpose we might not have known existed. It’s a journey that naturally overflows into a desire to share this incredible blessing with others, inviting them to experience the transformative power of God’s love for themselves.

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. [Psalm 103:8]

Written by Alex Chediak, a contemporary professor and author.

We are called to love God with the totality of our being…Sin begins in the mind with the belief that our greatest good lies outside the bounds of God’s commands. Sexual sin begins with lust. Murder flows from anger. Gossip arises from pride. We indulge in practice what we first nurture in our minds. Conversely, we mortify sin and grow in grace by dwelling on what is true and pushing out the lies that tempt us toward things that can’t satisfy…It is not enough to reject evil thoughts. We must cultivate godly thoughts….When intrusive thoughts of self-pity or anger wash over us due to some slight, it’s easier to push them out by recalling how good it is to be clothed in Christ’s righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21), to know that vengeance is the Lord’s (Rom. 12:19), and that all things must work together for our good (Rom. 8:28). It puts the affairs of our life into perspective. We must require that our thoughts submit to Christ’s lordship. To this end, Scripture intake and prayer are excellent protection for daily battle. Ask the Lord to continually renew your mind so that you’re bringing a distinctly God-centered orientation to your responsibilities and circumstances. You will thereby grow in resilience to deal with the setbacks of life, which can feel all-consuming in the moment…We need not grieve as those without hope, if we take every thought captive.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind [Matthew 22:37]

Written by Billy Graham (1918-2018), an American evangelist.

Have you ever asked yourself how many times you act on faith every day? The truth is, we live by faith all the time, and without faith it would be impossible to live. For example, right now you are probably sitting in a chair as you read this. But did you inspect the chair before you sat down, or did you first send it away to a laboratory to be tested? No, of course not. You believed it would hold you, probably because it’s done so many times before, and you’ve seen it hold other people also. And yet you acted by faith when you sat in the chair. At the same time, it wasn’t unreasonable for you to do so. Faith in God is something like this. Faith in God isn’t blind or unreasonable, because God has left His “footprints” all around us. … It’s far more reasonable to believe in God than to believe this incredibly intricate universe just happened… If the universe was created by some random accident, then there is no reason why it operates in an orderly manner and adheres to multiple laws. Yet, our world has structure—so much so the solar system was named accordingly. The reason why the universe obeys the laws of gravity, physics, energy and many others is because it was designed by a logical and orderly God. But God went even further to reveal Himself when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Christ was human but also divine. Jesus declared He is God and then backed up His claim in many ways. He shared Himself with thousands of people during His ministry, and again to hundreds more after His death and resurrection. In your search for truth, focus more of your effort on Jesus. You’ll discover He loves you. The clearest proof God is real is in Jesus’ prediction He would be killed and then come back to life a few days later. Not only did it prove He was God to everyone, but it clearly displayed His love for all of us. His death was the sacrifice that makes it possible for you to spend eternity with the living God who loves you and wants a relationship with you.

Since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. [Romans 1:20]

Written by Megan Conner, a contemporary author, editor, and speaker.

It can be so easy to feel lost, isolated, or even abandoned in today’s world. The pressures of life, the unrealistic expectations we place upon ourselves, the burdens placed upon us by others, and the challenges and brokenness often present in our relationships can cause us to retreat inward, feeling like the only way forward is to go it alone. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. While all relationships will be imperfect as they are composed of fallible human beings, the need for companionship and belonging in a family unit is part of God’s divine design. From the very beginning, God saw that it was not good for man to be alone. God intentionally placed us in relationships with others for our good. However, He didn’t stop there. He intended for us to be His children. The Creator of the universe desired to be our Heavenly Father. However, similar to our human relationships, which can often be filled with distance or turmoil, intimacy with our Heavenly Father was separated by sin. This occurred originally in the Garden of Eden through Adam and Eve, but remains present in each one of our tainted hearts. Again, unwilling to settle for separation from those He loves, God lavished love upon us by sending His one and only Son to pay the penalty for our transgressions so that we might be reconciled to God. Taking it even one step further, our Good Father didn’t just want reconnection with us, He invites us into His affections and inheritance as children of God. We will inherit His Kingdom just like a prince or princess would through their royal lineage. That is how valuable you personally are to Him.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!  [1 John 3:1]

Written by Deidre Braley, a contemporary author.

As my professor, Dr. Dan Lowery, often says, “Remember—the Scriptures were written for you, but they were not written to you.” In other words, it is not always helpful to read a passage from the Bible and think, “Oh, this is about me.” Perhaps a better approach is to ask the question, “What does this reveal about God?” Since learning to ask this question, I haven’t been able to read the Bible in the same way again. It has helped me to notice how God’s actions consistently reveal the essence of his character to be Love…Once we learn to approach Scripture through the lens of this question,  we can then ask another good and important question: “How does this understanding about God impact how I relate with him?”  We see that even after humans royally mess up, God is good, and loving, and faithful. Even when their sins have consequences (all actions do!), God makes sure to cover them with his provision. Knowing this, we can begin to work this understanding into the fabric of our own faith, because God never changes. Who he was then, he still is today. That means that when we mess up—even when we are consumed with shame—God still loves us, and wants to cover us in that love. We can be confident as we approach him in repentance, knowing that he cares for us, even now. 

if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.  [2 Timothy 2:13]

Written by Ken Boa, a contemporary author and founder of Reflections Ministry.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reveals that life in His kingdom is not about external religion but about inner transformation.  The Christian life begins not with our effort but with the indwelling presence of Christ.   As I often say, Christ gave His life for us, so He could give His life to us, and live His life through us.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. [Matthew 5:14-16]