Tagged: Prayer Intention

“Once the trees went to anoint a king over themselves. So they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ But the olive tree answered them, ‘Must I give up my rich oil?’ ” –Judges 9:8-9 When those called to lead refuse God’s call, people get stuck with bad leaders. For every bad leader, three people may have refused God’s call to lead (see Jgs 9:9-13). For every buckthorn, an olive tree, fig tree, and vine may have refused to make the sacrifices necessary to answer God’s call. When our leaders come from the “bottom of the barrel,” it means...

“The young man went away sad, for his possessions were many.” –Matthew 19:22 American foreign missionaries customarily remark that Americans are much sadder than their Third World neighbors. Our elderly observe that people aren’t as happy as they used to be. Many American cities face an unprecedented epidemic of teen suicides. Almost half our children grow up in broken homes. In many ways, we are a sad society. Like the young rich man, our possessions are many. We refuse to help the physically poor, and thus we have become spiritually poor. We have no joy, happiness, or fulfillment. We choose...