Devotions (Page 39)

Ephesians 4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. God has a purpose for each of us. Purpose is the divine assignment we are given to carry heaven on earth (will look different for everyone). Each person’s purpose is different. Each is important. Each is God-given. Yet in the uniqueness of our God-given purposes, God in His wisdom helps to recognize and discern when we are on the…

Okay everyone. Day 21 of our January Church Fast is upon us… well, approximately day 21 for those of us who… had a delayed start date (like I did with social media).I can confirm from my experience so far, it is better late than never! J If you’d still like to join in for the last ten days of January, you are more than welcome to do so!! I’ve been noticing that the more I fast/the longer I fast, the…

For His Name’s Sake, when I first felt the Lord put this on my heart, I thought it was a push to step up and do things with excellence. To spur us on to good works and good actions. To do everything with the intention of glorifying God – which, please do not get me wrong, I believe is part of For His Name’s Sake. But when I dive into the Scripture, For His Name’s Sake is not used in…

Dear LifeSpring Family, A few days ago, I was revisiting this liturgy for Seasons of Uncertainty. It helped me to center myself on our true North, our Lord Jesus Christ. Praying that we are taking this one step backward in the COVID situation in order to take two steps forward. Listen to what Holy Spirit wants to say to you as you meditate on this prayer below with our heavenly Father. In the midst of whatever follows, O Lord,let me…

I started reading Adrian’s book The Power of Choice this evening and it’s already been blowing my mind so much!(Quelle surprise… Adrian says smart things. Laura’s brain explodes at learning new smart things.) The insights he has shared, throughout the Introduction and first chapter alone, are really beginning to shift around the way I think about things and it was just too good not to share! [SPOILER ALERT!!] One line/point that especially struck me was when he was working through…

It’s no stretch of the imagination to say that we’re living in a bit of a storm right now. We exited last summer with hopefulness around the pandemic, only to be faced with another variant of the coronavirus and another round of restrictions. What’s God’s heart for his people during times like these? What does it mean to have faith when the pressure is on? I think during moments like this, God’s heart is that we would have peace. When…

Everything around us is changing… again. We have entered another lockdown, winter is upon us, children are at home for school, we are back to work – there is much that draws and needs our attention. Sometimes we focus so much on what is happening around us we forget to keep our eyes on Jesus. Karyne and I were talking to our eldest children (Justus & Hope) about fasting, they asked us why we are fasting? So we asked them,…

In basketball the “step back” is a move used by basketball players to create enough space between the defender and themselves in order to get their shot off without getting blocked. The step back is not only a good basketball move but a good tool for growth. The step back I’m referring to is taking a step back from a situation/circumstance/conflict/issue/person etc. Similarly, like a step back in basketball, the step back gives you enough space between the situation/circumstance/conflict/issue/person and…

Dear LifeSpring Family, Happy New Year to 2022!!! Happy because of 1 Corinthians 11:23-26: 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this; in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This…

The other day I was chatting on the phone with a good friend of mine. They’ve been feeling a little hopeless lately and realized that one of the biggest contributors to that hopelessness was not being able to trust God. Although they know in their heart-of-hearts that God is trustworthy, because there have been so many hurts and wounds in recent years, their heart has become calloused. Which is the natural response to pain or brokenness… to toughen up and…

When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me. Jeremiah 29:13 This weekend we close the book on what has been a tumultuous 2021, and open a new chapter in 2022. In my mind, 2021 was a year full of unexpected twists and turns. Just as quickly as things settled down with the pandemic and life, things were stirred back up just as fast. There was a lot of adaptation to the…

2021 – Make Every Effort Kingdom Family – Genuine Love for God and Genuine Care of Others A warning that came in 2019 at the Family Weekend is that there is an enticing spirit that is coming against Lifespring. And although we have intentionally come up against this spirit (specifically Give in 2020 – decided to double our giving to many of our missionaries who have seen upwards of 75% drops in their donations), we recognize that the enticing spirit…