The world can be a dangerous place. But as Jesus prays for His people, He wants us to know that we're always safe in Him because: (1) He guards us in God's will; (2) He gives us God's word; & (3) He sends us into God's world.

There is no such thing as an independent Christian. That's why the only way for us to experience eternal life with Jesus is for us to die to our independence and embrace God's grace as a gift we could never deserve, through good works we could never accomplish, so that we can share in a glory we could never have imagined.

When God does something we don't understand, we all tend to focus more on what we don't understand than we do on God Himself. When that happens, Jesus invites us to find our peace in Him (instead of our circumstances), trusting Him to give us joy that lasts forever, access to the Father & freedom to not be defined by our failures.

As followers of Jesus, we are outsiders in a world that hates Him. However, He's given us His Spirit so that we can still live with joy as He leads us home through hardship.

While we all want to make ourselves the standard of what's true and good, only Jesus has the right to actually do it. When He does, He's clear that the world isn't going to like it. In fact, they're going to hate Him...and everybody who loves Him...because they: (1) Reject His word; (2) Deny His works; & (3) Ignore His witnesses.

Would you pray more if you knew God would give you everything you asked for? If so, it's going to require a change in: (1) What you pray for; (2) Why you pray; & (3) How you pray. Still interested?

No matter how long we've been children of God, it seems we never outgrow the temptation to live like we're still orphans. In those moments, we need to hold onto the promise and power of the Holy Spirit, trusting that He lives in us & will always give us grace to love Jesus as He loves us.

We all battle anxiety (whether from sin, distractions or self-centeredness). When we do, Jesus calls us to declare war on worry. He never sends us into battle, though, without giving us the weapons we need to win!

Words without action are nothing but self-deception. Since we tend to make commitments we don't keep, we need to be constantly reminded that the love of Jesus isn't based on our faithfulness, but His.

We always resist what we don't understand. When that happens with Jesus, the best way forward is to act on what we already know: trusting His wisdom, following His ways & believing His word. In the process, we learn that true joy can only be found in obedience to the Lord.