Pathways Press.com

 Written by L. B. Cowman (1870-1960), an American author and missionary. This is an excerpt from her book “Streams in the Desert.”

I once thought that after I prayed that it was my duty to do everything that I could do to bring the answer to pass. He taught me a better way, and showed that my self-effort always hindered His working, and that when I prayed and definitely believed Him for anything, He wanted me to wait in the spirit of praise, and only do what He bade me. It seems so unsafe to just sit still, and do nothing but trust the Lord; and the temptation to take the battle into our own hands is often tremendous. We all know how impossible it is to rescue a drowning man who tries to help his rescuer, and it is equally impossible for the Lord to fight our battles for us when we insist upon trying to fight them ourselves. It is not that He will not, but He cannot. Our interference hinders His working.

Commit your way to the Lord;  trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. (Psalm 37:5-6).

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 Written by the K-LOVE pastor team.

Lord Jesus, today we think about the tragedies of war, remembering those we’ve lost and all it has cost. We look forward to the age to come when the nations will be completely healed and you will wipe every tear from our eyes. We set our hope on that day when death, sorrow, crying, and pain will be gone forever!

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. [Revelation 21:4]

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Written by Billy Graham (1918-2018), an American evangelist.  This is an excerpt from his book “What Happened at the Cross.”

True believers in Jesus Christ have no doubt that He lived among us, died for our sins on the cross, and after three days was resurrected to life, conquering the sting of death, and offering the human race the greatest gift — His sacrificial and saving love. Many people do not fully grasp the impact that the crucified and risen Christ makes upon the human heart. How do I know this? Because there is no change in them… If you believe that Jesus rose from the grave, achieving victory over the cross of death, and you accept that He paid your penalty, you will never be the same. The cross represents doom for sin and hope for sinners. It condemns sin and cleanses souls. The cross is where Jesus was crucified in our place and where Christ brings resurrection life to mankind.

Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind! [Psalm 66:5]

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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 His top priorities as He taught His disciples how to pray. His first priority was (and is) exalting the Father; His second Jesus’ thinking was permeated with an awareness of God’s greatness and God’s design for the world priority, seeing the world transformed as God’s kingdom is established. His God-shaped perspective shaped His prayers, priorities, and life. What shapes your life?

One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples. ”He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.” [Luke 11:1-2]

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Written by Kenneth and Karen Boa, contemporary authors and speakers. This is an excerpt from their book “Simple Prayers.”

O Lord, I am deeply grateful for Your wonderful acts, for Your abundant promises, and for the gift of my relationship with You through the merits of Christ. How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who take refuge in You Before the sons of men! (Psalm 31:19). Surely God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul. (Psalm 54:4). Amen.

Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. [Psalm 69:16]

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Written by the Reflections Ministry team.

Think back to a time when you went through a particularly trying set of circumstances…Whatever time in your life you are recalling, you probably remember that minutes seemed like hours, hours dragged like days, and days became more like months. The seemingly glacier-like movement of time only exaggerated the pain, discomfort, or evil you were experiencing. You might have wondered how you could possibly make it even one more day. Looking back now on that difficult period of your life, it’s likely that you have a completely different perspective. What amounted to the torturous passage of minutes, you now view as a single block of time…When the perspective of distance allows us to view a period of days or weeks as a single unit—as a “day” in our life rather than a series of days—we are close to seeing life as God sees it… God does not measure time as we do—He sees all of history at once. There is no past or future with God— everything is “present.” While we view experiences as a string of occurrences— usually a long, tedious string—they are a single reality to Him…Whenever you feel caught in a slough of slow-moving, sinister events, remember two things: First, the day will come when you will see it differently; second, God sees it differently already. The evil that seems to dominate our age has already been dominated by God’s design for time—and for eternity.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand  years are like a day. [2 Peter 3:8]

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Written by Eugene Peterson (1932-2018), a minister, scholar, theologian, author, and poet.

Godly hope is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom and our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do. Hope is imagination put in the harness of faith.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.  [Romans 4:18]

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Written by Dallas Willard (1935-2013) and Jan Johnson, authors.  This is an excerpt from their book “Renovation of the Heart Daily Practice.”

We often say “Nobody’s perfect.” We don’t say this just when someone fails but also when we run up against the Bible’s description of the kingdom personality of “genuine mutual love” that is free of “all malice, and guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.” Perhaps we rush to say it because we feel inadequate compared to such love. But what if we don’t make that description about us—focusing on our shortcomings—but instead linger on the beauty of God and God’s kingdom…Try picturing this hypothetical moment of dwelling on the beauty of God and the kingdom of life: Let’s say I confessed to you my disgust with someone who annoyed me and how hopeless I felt about ever loving this person. What if instead of trying to make me feel better by saying, “Nobody’s perfect,” you said you believed in God’s power to transform me into a radical person who pays loving attention to those who annoy me? What if you prayed for me about this? What if later that day you encountered an annoying person and, without thinking, treated that person with kindness and attentiveness—partly because of the transforming effect of our conversation about the kingdom personality?…Thank God for the beauty of the kingdom life and for the possibility of the transformation of your soul.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. [Romans 12:2]

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Written by John Stott (1921-2011), a British Anglican priest and theologian.

Our Christian habit is to bewail the world’s deteriorating standards with an air of rather self-righteous dismay. We criticize its violence, dishonesty, immorality, disregard for human life, and materialistic greed. “The world is going down the drain,” we say with a shrug. But whose fault is it? Who is to blame? Let me put it like this. If the house is dark when nightfall comes, there is no sense in blaming the house; that is what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is “Where is the light?” Similarly, if the meat goes bad and becomes inedible, there is no sense in blaming the meat; that is what happens when bacteria are left alone to breed. The question to ask is “Where is the salt?” Just so, if society deteriorates and its standards decline until it becomes like a dark night or a stinking fish, there is no sense in blaming society; that is what happens when fallen men and women are left to themselves, and human selfishness is unchecked. The question to ask is “Where is the Church? Why are the salt and light of Jesus Christ not permeating and changing our society?” It is sheer hypocrisy on our part to raise our eyebrows, shrug our shoulders, or wring our hands. The Lord Jesus told us to be the world’s salt and light. If, therefore, darkness and rottenness abound, it is largely our fault and we must accept the blame.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. [Matthew 5:13-14]

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Written by L.B. Cowman (1870-1960), an American writer and author of devotional books. This is an excerpt from her book “Streams of the Desert.”

“Praying through” might be defined as praying one’s way into full faith, emerging while yet praying into the assurance that one has been accepted and heard, so that one becomes actually aware of receiving, by firmest anticipation and in advance of the event, the thing for which he asks. Let us remember that no earthly circumstances can hinder the fulfillment of His Word if we look steadfastly at the immutability of that Word and not at the uncertainty of this ever-changing world. God would have us believe His Word without other confirmation, and then He is ready to give us “according to our faith.”

According to your faith be it unto you. [Matthew 9:29]

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