In my Bible in a Year plan, I recently came across one of the first verses I ever memorized in Isaiah - one that is probably pretty familiar to you: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3 (NLT) The CSB version says it this way: “You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you.” Actually, most translations use the word “mind” - KJV, ESV, NIV - to name a few. As much of an encouragement this perfect peace is, I found myself wondering what exactly is meant here by “mind.” In his commentary, David Guzik does a great job explaining...
Have you ever felt so weary and weak that you find yourself unable to do anything? Have you ever been so oppressed and attacked spiritually that you can barely utter a prayer? You’re not alone. As I write this blog, I can honestly say that I’m working through this right now. This past Saturday, I was so filled with the Spirit that I wanted to talk to everyone and anyone because I was overwhelmed with the grace and goodness of our Lord! Fast forward to earlier this morning (I'm writing this on Monday, just two days later), and I found myself unable to do anything but go to my room and cry out to our Father. Any focus and motivation and...
About a month ago I found myself smack-dab in the middle of an altercation between two people I know. It was one of those big blow up arguments that happen and escalate so quickly that you find yourself at a loss of words. To make things more interesting, one person borderlines on being an atheist but is searching and wondering if there is a God, while the other professes to be a Christian. After things cooled down, I reflected on the heated exchange and saw that something totally unrelated to the initial argument came to the surface. The one who is questioning God’s existence essentially called out the Christian for not living what he claims to believe; there’s a gap...
The Daily Kairos Journal was born out of a deep acknowledgment that without carving out and cultivating a deep and intimate set-aside time with God, everything else in life not only would not last but would undoubtedly fall apart. We realized that we longed for intimacy and closeness with God, but rarely had the time to seek His face. Like many of you, we saw how easy it is to get caught up in the current of life. A thousand things demand our attention from sun-up to sun-down and every moment in between. Finally, we decided enough was enough. And so, we set out to create a daily habit of meeting with God. And in that process, we created the...
Sabbath, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is “a day of religious observance and abstinence from work, kept by Jewish people from Friday evening to Saturday evening, and by most Christians on Sunday.” So, why is it so important that we keep, honor, and practice Sabbath? In order to properly answer and address this question, we must go back to the Old Testament. 1. God set the precedent for Sabbath rest One of the very first things we read when we open up the Hebrew Bible is God resting from his work after Creation. “On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he...
