Tag: God

Giving Thanks in the Valley

by Jordan, posted in Christian Living, Word of God

One of the hardest times to give thanks is in the valley. It’s in those seasons when life falls apart, when loss is real, when grief hangs heavy. Those are the moments when I don’t feel like lifting my hands or opening my mouth in thanksgiving. But those are also the moments when thanksgiving becomes the most powerful offering we can bring.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

Notice that it doesn’t say every circumstance is God’s will for us. It says that in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, His will is for us to give thanks. 

That means thanksgiving isn’t about pretending everything is fine. It’s about declaring: God is still good, even here.

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Life on the Altar

by Jordan, posted in Christian Living, Word of God

Romans 12:1 says, “Brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”

If I’m honest, I want that kind of life. I want to be a living sacrifice. I want to stay on the altar and yield to the work of holiness when the fire falls, when life presses in, and when the refining hurts. But the truth is… fire burns. The trials and testing that forge us into His image? They hurt. And when the refining process gets uncomfortable, my flesh wants to jump right off that altar.

So how do we stay there? How do we cultivate a lifestyle of worship that isn’t just for Sunday mornings but can withstand a busy Tuesday, or a devastating season of loss?

I believe the answer is this: We stay on the altar through thanksgiving.

Continue reading “Life on the Altar” →

Battling in Prayer With Jesus

by Jordan, posted in Christian Living, grace, Word of God

“Tarry with Me.”

The Lord gave me that phrase during my prayer time two years ago, and I had to go look it up because I wasn’t used to Him talking to me in KJV (lol).

I found it in Matthew, when Jesus was praying in the garden before the crucifixion, and He asked the disciples: Tarry with me.

Stay with me. Be in companionship with me and battle with me in prayer.

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Fixing My Thoughts on Him

by Jordan, posted in Christian Living

I was out for a walk recently, listening to a sermon, when the following passage caught my attention:

“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” —Psalms 139:16-18

I was struck by the phrase, “How precious are your thoughts about me.” For some reason, I had never given much weight to the fact that God actually thinks about me. And not only that He thinks about me, but that His good thoughts for me outnumber the grains of sand.

Continue reading “Fixing My Thoughts on Him” →