Pathways Press.com

Written by Sarah Young, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “Jesus Calling.”

Try to view each day as an adventure, carefully planned out by your Guide. Instead of staring into the day that is ahead of you, attempting to program it according to your will, be attentive to Me and to all I have prepared for you. Thank Me for this day of life, recognizing that it is a precious, unrepeatable gift. Trust that I am with you each moment, whether you sense My Presence or not. A thankful, trusting attitude helps you to see events in your life from My perspective. A life lived close to Me will never be dull or predictable. Expect each day to contain surprises! Resist your tendency to search for the easiest route through the day. Be willing to follow wherever I lead. No matter how steep or treacherous the path before you, the safest place to be is by My side.

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. [Psalm 118:24]

Read Full Post »

Written by L. B. Cowman (1870-1960), an American author.

During the Civil War, a man had an only son who enlisted in the armies of the Union. The father was a banker and, although he consented to his son’s going, it seemed as if it would break his heart to let him go. He became deeply interested in the soldier boys, and whenever he saw a uniform, his heart went out as he thought of his own dear boy. He spent his time, neglected his business, gave his money to caring for the soldiers who came home invalid. His friends remonstrated with him, saying he had no right to neglect his business and spend so much thought upon the soldiers, so he fully decided to give it all up. After he had come to this decision, there stepped into his bank one day a private soldier in a faded, worn uniform, who showed in his face and hands the marks of the hospital. The poor fellow was fumbling in his pocket to get something or other, when the banker saw him and, perceiving his purpose, said to him: “My dear fellow, I cannot do anything for you today. I am extremely busy. You will have to go to your headquarters; the officers there will look after you.” Still, the poor convalescent stood, not seeming to fully understand what was said to him. Still, he fumbled in his pockets and, by and by, drew out a scrap of dirty paper, on which there were a few lines written with a pencil, and laid this soiled sheet before the banker. On it he found these words:  “Dear Father: “This is one of my comrades who was wounded in the last fight and has been in the hospital. Please receive him as myself. –Charlie.” In a moment all the resolutions of indifference that this man made flew away. He took the boy to his palatial home, put him in Charlie’s room, gave him Charlie’s seat at the table, kept him until food and rest and love had brought him back to health, and then sent him back again to imperil his life for the flag.

Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. [John 16:24]

Read Full Post »

Written by Sergei Sosedkin, a contemporary Russian-language ministry leader.

As a teenager, I enjoyed going to a neighborhood grocery store. There, my friends and I would get a roll of bread and a few slices of cheese for a snack. An elderly lady who worked at the store would always say some kind and encouraging words to us, as she carefully sliced our cheese. A few short years later the USSR was collapsing. Because of major economic disruptions, all cheese disappeared from the grocery shelves. Most other food items became scarce too. The store was still open, but it sold only bread. My memories of a kind lady who sliced cheese for us seemed almost unreal, but they still warmed my heart in those difficult times. The Bible calls us to be thankful for and content with everything we have. Our family, health, meals we can share with loved ones, and of course life itself— all are precious gifts from the Lord. But discontent, greed, or fears don’t allow us to fully appreciate and treasure the precious gifts of life. We don’t know what the future holds. We might have to go through difficult times of having “no cheese on the shelves”—or worse. But as the children of God we are assured of his continuous love and care. The Lord himself is our helper in this perilous life.

Be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” [Hebrews 13:5]

Read Full Post »

Written by Alexis Goring, a contemporary author, editor, and journalist.

Let’s face it: Our world is in complete chaos. But we do have hope! His name is Jesus Christ, and He can help us survive this experience on Earth. It’s easy to get caught up in all that is wrong with our world today: wars and rumors of wars, division in the Christian church, turmoil in our communities in the USA and throughout the world, bad weather wreaking havoc, political upheaval, as well as personal struggles and the trials we all endure as followers of Jesus Christ. Truthfully, it’s a lot and very overwhelming if that’s our focus. But the moment we decide to turn our eyes upon Jesus, that is when our perspective begins to change…God does not expect us to ignore all the problems we have on this planet. Instead, He expects us to serve others as we serve Him. It’s our duty to make this world a better place. We can do that by focusing on our faith walk with Jesus. When we ask Him to show us what He is doing in this world, we can learn what we can do to partner with Him in driving out the darkness. William J. Thoms, a British writer, said, “Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some person ever reads.” Therefore, let’s do our best to love God and all people. Our hope is that they will be drawn to Him and learn how much God loves them. When we share the love of Jesus, it helps to ease their pain as they learn how to look to Christ.

I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven. [Psalm 123:1]

Read Full Post »

Written by Calvin Hoogendoorn, a contemporary pastor.

The great hymn “Amazing Grace” summarizes biblical faith well: “Grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” If grace reveals that joy is a gift, then prayer is the Lord’s gracious means through which he daily sustains that joy. We sometimes believe we are independent, self-sufficient people. Our tired minds, aching backs, and callous hands that produced a successful career and a comfortable home seem to affirm that myth. But what if corporate restructuring takes away the paycheck, or terminal illness robs our strength and vitality? Anxiety, worry, and fear set in, taking the place of our pride. Life comes from the Lord, and so does daily help. We come to the Lord through prayer, and the fruit of prayer is peace. Yet prayer is not a mantra, and we can’t use it to try to manipulate God. Prayer is a divine gift to strengthen the bonds of love between us and God. The act of prayer itself affirms our dependence on him for peace and joy.

In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [Philippians 4:6]

Read Full Post »

Written by Edwin Hatch (1835-1889), an English theologian and author.

Breathe on me, Breath of God;

fill me with life anew,

That I may love what thou dost love,

And do what thou wouldst do.

Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands. [Psalm 119:73]

Read Full Post »

Written by Amy Carmichael (1867-1951), an Irish missionary.

We are trusted to spread the spirit of love. Tenderness in judgment, the habit of thinking the best of one another, unwillingness to believe evil, grief if we are forced to do so, eagerness to believe good, joy over one recovered from any skip or fall, unselfish gladness in another’s joys, sorrow in another’s sorrow, readiness to do anything to help another entirely irrespective of self—all this and much more is included in that wonderful word love. If love weakens among us, if it ever becomes possible to tolerate the least shadow of an unloving thought, our fellowship will begin to perish. Unlove is deadly. It is a cancer. It may kill slowly but it always kills in the end…for we are one body—we are parts of one another. If one member suffers, all suffer loss. Not one of us lives to herself.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [1 Corinthians 13:4-7]

Read Full Post »

Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013), an American philosopher and author. This is an excerpt from his book “Hearing God.”

The ideal for hearing from God is finally determined by who God is, what kind of beings we are and what a personal relationship between ourselves and God should be like. Our failure to hear God has its deepest roots in a failure to understand, accept, and grow into a conversational relationship with God, the sort of relationship suited to friends who are mature personalities in a shared enterprise, no matter how different they may be in other respects. It is within such a relationship that our Lord surely intends us to have, and to recognize readily, his voice speaking in our hearts as occasion demands. I believe that he has made ample provision for this in order to fulfill his mission as the Good Shepherd, which is to bring us life and life more abundantly. The abundance of life comes in following him.

When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. [John 10:4]

Read Full Post »

Today’s devotion is from “The Weekly Rest Project,” published by Zondervan.

The entire world runs on cycles. Day becomes night. Night becomes day. Winter melts into spring. Spring blooms into summer. Summer fades into autumn. And autumn freezes into winter. Years pass by, and people are born and eventually die, but these cycles that God created remain the same. He set each cycle moving at creation, including the ones that govern our days. The Bible models this cycle for us. It is a rhythm of work, play, worship, and rest. Days for work, nights for rest, Sabbath each week, and everyone pausing to come together to worship and celebrate for holidays and feasts. Everything in balance to keep us healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually. The seasons have always played a role too. Work was limited by daylight and the weather until very recently. There was less outdoor work to be done in the winter and more time to rest. Now, of course, thanks to technology, we can work anytime and anywhere, even when we shouldn’t. Our modern, busy, go-go-go, I’ll-rest-when-I’m-dead mentality doesn’t truly disrupt or circumvent the cycle God provided us, even if it feels like working around the clock is some sort of cheat code to getting to the good life. It may lead to financial success, but it always comes at a cost — usually our health and overall well-being. We’ve turned away from living in community and working together to carry the load in favor of doing it all on our own, in our own ways. As a result, we’re a society of people who are sick, unhappy, burned out, lonely, and overwhelmed. And that is definitely not God’s plan for us. Prioritizing rest is about more than catching up on sleep. It’s about living our lives in sync with the rhythms God laid out for us that are designed to bring us closer to Him.

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under Heaven. [Ecclesiastes 3:1]

Read Full Post »

Written by Andrew Murray (1828-1817), a South African writer, teacher, and pastor.

Jesus’ humility was simply surrender of himself to God. He let the Father do in him whatever he wanted. It didn’t matter what people around him said of him or did to him. It is so that we will have this same spirit that we have been allowed to share in Christ. When Jesus calls us to deny ourselves and follow him, this is what he means…We are to be and do nothing by ourselves so that God may be all. In Jesus we discover what humility means. It is because we don’t understand or seek after it that our own humility is so shallow and feeble.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. [Proverbs 11:2]

Read Full Post »