Surrender

Teach Us to Pray

Teach Us to Pray

We read, “Now it came to pass, as [Jesus] was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples’” (Luke 11:1). Jesus’s response has come to be known as “the Lord’s prayer.” A beautiful declaration that begins with the joy of our heavenly Father, praying for God’s soon-coming Kingdom, asking Him for our daily provision and protection, and closing with an acknowledgment of God’s sovereign Kingdom, His power, and glory. Matthew gives a more extended version of this prayer that Jesus gave as part of the Sermon on the Mount, traditionally believed to be a hill (called the Mount of Beatitudes) near Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Resisting God's Will

Resisting God's Will

It is written, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35 & 38-39). “For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

The Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God

“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12 & 16:25, NKJV). Yeshua affirmed this when He said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Out of Nothing—Ex Nihilo

Out of Nothing—Ex Nihilo

The Latin word “Ex Nihilo” (yesh me-ayin in Hebrew), means out of nothing, and is used to describe God’s creation of the universe and His forming of life from nothingness. Let us therefore ask this question: Can something actually be created out of nothing? Rationally, our minds would tell us no. But if we believe—by faith—that God created the universe ex nihilo, which is both irrational and seemingly impossible to comprehend, then we can also conclude that the universe cannot continue to exist apart from the One who created it.