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Written by Justin Whitmel Earley, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from his book “Habits of the Household.”

Said, perhaps, with a hand on your child’s face or head:

Parent: Do you see my eyes?

Child: Yes

Parent: Can you see that I see your eyes?

Child: Yes

Parent: Do you know that I love you?

Child: Yes

Parent: Do you know that I love you no matter what bad things you do?

Child: Yes

Parent: Who else loves you like that?

Child: God does.

Parent: Even more than me?

Child: Yes

Parent: Rest in that love.

This blessing may not always go smoothly at first.  But with habit, these words of God’s unconditional love for us set a pattern for spiritual formation.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. [Proverbs 22:6].

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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

We need to be careful to keep our eyes on our Master. He is unfolding His purposes and plans, and has invited us to join Him in what He is doing. The world system, other people’s demands, and our own longings can derail us if we do not consciously seek His perspective on life. This is where spending time in God’s Word makes such a difference, shaping and renewing our leadership perspective. Meditating on God’s Word brings an eternal perspective as we join God in what He is doing in the world.

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. [Psalm 119:18-19]

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Written by Thomas Tarrants, a contemporary minister, writer, mentor, and consultant.

God’s purpose for our life has two major aspects: (1) His purpose in the world to come and (2) His purpose in the present world. These are intricately intertwined, and it is important to approach our need for guidance in the present world, which seem so urgent, in the context of God’s larger purposes. Once we situate ourselves in this framework, we can more readily discern and embrace God’s purposes in the unique circumstances of our lives. Let’s begin by reminding ourselves that the God of the Bible is a God of purpose. And not just general purposes but specific ones. He is the supreme, long-term strategic planner of the universe. He does nothing in a random or haphazard manner. And His purposes extend from eternity past to eternity future, encompassing not only the ultimate destiny of His creation, but our personal lives, as well… The transformation process that shapes and prepares us for the world to come takes place in the midst of our daily lives and is multifaceted. This involves every area of personal and moral life. It also includes family, work, and ministry. Yes, God has a place of service in His kingdom for each of His children, whether they are at the top of society or the bottom or somewhere between; whether educated or illiterate. Every life is a plan of God… If we truly want to do God’s will and fulfill His plans in our lives, and if we ask Him, He will lead and empower us to do so, for He knows our hearts.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. [Ephesians 1:3–6].

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Written by Anthony O’Neal, a contemporary writer. This is an excerpt from his book “Take Your Seat at the Table.”

I don’t want to sit at a table made by people. I don’t want a life that is planned by people and powered by people — especially when I am one of those people! Instead, I want to sit at the table God built for me. I want my life to be filled with divine purpose and spiritual power. For that to happen, I have to stop trying to make everything happen in my own strength… your life was given to you by God for a spiritual purpose. Therefore, you will waste everything you’ve been given if you fail to fill your table with spiritual power. Where do you get that power? The Holy Spirit, for starters…You can invite the Holy Spirit to be part of your table. In fact, you must invite the Spirit to be part of your table! I recommend you invite Him every day. Ask Him to inform your decisions and guide your steps. Believe the truth that He is present with you and will empower you to achieve your purpose.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. [John 15:5]

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Written by Ann Voskamp, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “Sacred Prayer.”

When you are yearning to have a relationship with God, your sacred work is to still long enough to pay attention and locate your soul — so you can know where you are in relation to God. The holy work of being human is to keep paying attention to the location of our own souls: location, location, location. And then attention, attention, attention — to what is happening within our own souls. What we pay attention to is how we spend our lives. Pay attention mostly to the news — and we can end up spending our one life on headlines. Pay attention mostly to screens — and we can spend most of our days in a digital haze. Pay attention mostly to the negative — and we spend the only life we have on the very things that we wish weren’t. As it turns out — we gain more of whatever we pay attention to. Pay attention to love — and you are given more love. Pay attention to the good and the beautiful — and you spend your soul on what is good and beautiful. Pay attention to sunrises and laughter; pay attention to smiles and patches of light on the floor; pay attention to God in the everyday moments. So the question is: What do you really want more of? Attend to God — this is the best way to tend to your own soul.

If you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. [Proverbs 2:1–5]

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Written by Mark Roberts, a contemporary writer.

I’m struck by how challenging it is to have a relationship with the one true God. It would be impossible to have such a relationship if God did not choose us and enter into a covenant relationship with us through Christ. But just because God has initiated a relationship with us, and just because this relationship depends on God’s grace, that doesn’t mean it isn’t challenging to live so that God’s purposes are realized in us and God is glorified through us… By saying our relationship with God is challenging, I’m not saying it isn’t also wonderful, amazing, and greatly to be desired. I’m also not saying that there is anything wrong with God and how God relates to us. But I think anyone who has a relationship with the living God would agree that it can be a challenging one.

I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses. . . . O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!” [Nehemiah 1:5-11]

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Written by Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), an English preacher.

What is your season today? Are you experiencing a season of drought? If so then it is the season for showers. Are you going through a season of great heaviness with dark clouds? Then that too is the season for showers. “Your strength will equal your days” (Deuteronomy 33:25). “I will send… showers of blessing.” Notice that the word ‘showers’ is plural. God will send all kinds of blessings. And all His blessings go together like links in a golden chain. If He gives you saving grace, He will also give you comforting grace. God will send “showers of blessings.” Look up today, you who are dried and withered plants. Open your leaves and flowers and receive God’s heavenly watering.

I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing ([Ezekiel 34:26]

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Written by Ines Velasquez-McBryde, a contemporary chaplain, pastor, preacher, and speaker.

In a recently published children’s book, “What is GOD Like?” Rachel Held Evans and Matthew Paul Turner touched my soul with their own various interpretations of what God could be like. Utilizing biblical imagery with tender grace, artistic creativity, and joyful imagination, they show us that the Father is not just one thing, but inhabits God’s very own creation through stories, images, metaphors, and analogies. Here are some renditions of “What is God like?”: “God is like a river, constant and life-giving. When you grow near God, you’ll sprout up strong as a tree;” “God is like the flame of a candle, warm and inviting. With God close by, you can look to the light and see through the darkest of night;”  “God is like a shepherd, brave and good, a protector who loves her sheep so much that she watches over all of them and knows each of their names by heart;” “God is like three dancers, graceful and precise. They move to the same music in very different ways, showcasing all of God’s elegance and rhythm in your life;” and, God is like a best friend, faithful and true, closer to you than even your brothers or sisters. And because we know what God is like, we know that…God is kind. God is forgiving. God is slow to get angry. God is quick to be glad. God is happy when you tell the truth and sad when things are unfair. May we, with childlike curiosity, continue to ask God to show us what God is like.

Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. [John 14:8]

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Written by Clarence Haynes, Jr., a contemporary speaker, writer, and teacher.

Spiritual maturity is about having the right perspective in life, andthe way you think is evidence of your maturity in Christ. Your outlook regarding the situations in life you face speak volumes as to whether you are approaching them from a place of maturity or immaturity. However, it is not just about looking at life situations with the right mindset. You must also view yourself from the right perspective. This requires you to not just think about what you do, but who you are in Christ. Too often in life we have the tendency to define ourselves by what we do. It is very common to ask someone, especially when you first meet them, “What do you do for a living?” While this is a conversation starter, sometimes we can’t get past defining ourselves in this fashion. If you are going to have a mature perspective, you need to define yourself not simply by what you do, because that can change. You need to define yourself by who you are in Christ, because that doesn’t change. This doesn’t mean you have achieved all you are in Christ, but it does mean you are striving toward it. The more you begin to see yourself and define yourself the way God sees you, the more maturity you are developing.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. [Ephesians 4:1]

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Written by Ann Voskamp, a contemporary author.  This is an excerpt from her book “Sacred Prayer.”

The way to always begin anything is to begin to still everything. Stillness is your strength. In a wild, wearying world, this is the realest reality: The only way to still stay standing is to make time to stand still. This is what your soul needs to know in this moment: You don’t need to strive, you don’t need to strain, you simply need to still. Because your stillness says you’re trusting Him still. This art of being still is hard. Stillness may be the most difficult to learn, and it takes time and prayerful practice. As the theologian of old, F. B. Meyer, wrote, “We must cultivate the habit of stillness in our lives, if we would detect and know God.”¹ This habit, this way of life, of interior soul stillness — this will take time to learn. But we absolutely must learn the spiritual practice of stillness if we want to know God. This matters: No stillness — no God. But know stillness — know God.

Be still and know that I am God. [Psalm 46:10]

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