Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible was an art exhibition that displayed 197 works from the Renaissance period to present day. The exhibit addressed the question of when a work of art is finished. On display were art pieces in various stages of completion leaving behind traces of the artistic process. The “artwork in progress” reminds us of these three attributes of a masterpiece: A masterpiece takes time. Alice Neel met James Hunter by chance and asked him to sit for a portrait. The young man had just been drafted for the Vietnam War and was scheduled to leave within a week.…
The greatest obstacle preventing the Israelites from escaping Egypt and entering the Promised Land wasn’t Pharaoh and his vast army. It wasn’t the daunting Red Sea or the fortified Canaanite cities. The greatest obstacle to the fulfillment of God’s promise was the grumbling of God’s people. Grumbling gives voice to our distrust of God’s sovereignty in our lives. God said, “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me” (Numbers 14:27, ESV). Like a parent who has reached the end of their patience, God had heard enough complaining, criticizing, and resisting. His response to that generation was forty years of wandering in the wilderness and denied entrance into the Promised Land. God takes grumbling seriously. If entitled thoughts like “It’s not fair,” “I deserve better,” or “Is that all?” have begun to take root in your heart, the cure is closer than you might think. Scripture offers us a better way—one that leads to freedom, contentment, and trust. Here are six practices to help us begin: 1. Surrender Desires. Jesus is the only one who has ever truly been entitled—yet He laid down His rights…
Gratitude is the gateway to the miraculous. We can learn to give thanks before our miracle by applying the lessons in thanksgiving modeled by Jesus. Thank God for Providing “He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds” (Matthew 15:36, ESV). Jesus and the disciples were confronted with an overwhelming need. Both Matthew and Mark describe two different feedings of the multitude who had followed them for an extended length of time with no access to food. Jesus was conscious of the need and already had a supernatural solution in mind, but He called his disciples to action. Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.” Needs reveal the true object of our trust. Where do we turn for help in a crisis? Do we cry out to the Lord, or do we look for our own solutions? Jesus was testing His disciples to see where they would go when confronted with a need so great that no human plan would work. Acknowledging The Provider is a seed for a miracle. When we realize “What I can do is insufficient and…
Conflict, fighting, division, harsh words—reveal something deeper than personality differences or circumstances. Scripture reminds us that unrest is evidence of a heart out of step with God. A broken world is watching closely, longing to see a different way of living. God calls His people to be that witness to embody harmony, humility, and peace in a divided age. Peacemaking does not come naturally. It is a spiritual discipline, formed as we walk daily with Christ. As we submit our hearts to Him, He trains us to reflect His peace in our homes, churches, workplaces, and communities. Consider these four…
“Be the light,” a young mother said as she sent her children off to school. “Be what you are! You are light—now walk that way!” It’s a simple charge, yet it reaches into every corner of life. In an age where relative truth and moral confusion pull the world deeper into spiritual darkness, the call to live as children of light has never been more urgent. In Ephesians 5, the apostle Paul shows us what it looks like to walk in a way that reflects who we are in Christ. Walk in Love Read: Ephesians 5:1–2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” The Greek word for imitators is mimētēs, where we get the word mime. A mime communicates without words, drawing attention not to themselves, but to the story being told. In the same way, our lives are meant to silently—but powerfully—tell the story of Christ. Jesus said the world would recognize His followers by their love for one another (John 13:34–35). Walking in love means choosing self-sacrifice over self-indulgence. While the world promotes lust and self-gratification,…
God invites us to participate in the process of discovering and developing the dreams He has placed within our hearts. If you sense God stirring holy desires in you, consider walking through these four phases on the path to possibility. Seek “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV). God gave you His capacity to dream. When He created you in His image, He placed within you a reflection of His own ability to imagine, create, and bring life from possibility. The inspiration, ability, and power to accomplish your unique purpose all originate with Him. Take time to intentionally awaken the divine DNA God has placed inside you. Cultivate honest conversations with Him about your desires and longings. Bring those dreams into the light of Scripture and wise counsel, allowing God to confirm, refine, or redirect your steps. Speak truth over yourself daily: “I am becoming who God has created me to be.” Shape “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1, ESV).…