From Our Hearts

Jesus is asking you and me to forgive as He did—to reflect Him. He wants us to respond to a higher standard, a divine standard. Like the saying goes, “To err is human, but to forgive, divine.”

You need wisdom—God’s wisdom—and there’s no need to wait even another second for it. Why? Because God has promised you wisdom.

Family time offers many opportunities to gather with people who have hurt us and whom we may otherwise avoid. Thankfully, God’s Word can help us navigate such relationships.

I’ve heard it said that you can tell the spiritual maturity of a man by looking at his bank account or his credit card statements. Well, how do yours look? What do they reveal about you and your spiritual maturity? What would another person see if they were allowed a peek at your accounts?

Contentment is almost an extinct virtue, yet it is one of the greatest blessings in the world. The Word of God calls us to be content. In fact, Paul shares with us in 1 Timothy 6 that godliness with contentment is great gain and that food and clothing are all we need to be content

True spiritual peace comes with knowing that our heav­enly Father is continually with us—and indeed He is! God is omnipresent and therefore fully aware of every detail of our life at every moment and in every place. He knows our needs at all times and in every situation

Do you have a favorite place that ministers peace to your soul? Years ago, Jim and I had a place we loved to retreat, a pleasant 45-minute drive from our home. What drew us there? Well, there was an expanse of the Pacific Ocean and its never-ceasing surf. We loved to walk along its sandy shore.

My girls are 13 months apart, which means that during their early years, I often felt like I had twins. I had to really be on my toes-there was little-or-no catching of mistakes I made on the older child so that they wouldn’t be repeated with the younger one. What I was—or wasn’t—doing to love and raise my children was being done to both of them at the same time. 

Most of us have no problem memorizing the lyrics to our favorite songs. Sometimes we know them so well, or they're so deeply ingrained in our minds, that they get stuck in our heads. The moment certain songs come on you'll see people rocking in the car or singing along.

Romans 5:5 tells us, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” If we allow Him to, the Lord will use everyday things to speak His words of wisdom to our hearts.

If today is “one is those days” that you’d rather forget, remember that God is available to you every moment of it, no matter what you are facing. Choose not to focus on your problems, but to focus on God. Begin by praising Him for the gift of your salvation.

Our behavior is heart driven. There­fore, correction, discipline and training, every aspect of parenting, must be addressed to the heart.