So my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty it will accomplish what I please. Isaiah 55:11

Yesterday, I wrote the devotion on trust. At the end I encouraged you, the reader, to remember that who you trust determines your destiny. It was David's trust in God when Saul was trying to kill him that preserved his life and allowed him to fulfill what God had for him. In the same way, it is your trust in God that will preserve your life and allow you to fulfill all God has for you. 

I have spent several years working with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and college students. A lot of changes happen from twelve to twenty, and many of the questions that are important to a middle school student are completely irrelevant to a college student. However, there is one question that pops up in lives of sixth graders and seniors alike. It also seems to be a question that can drive a young person (and many adults too) crazier than almost any other (read more about that here). That question is: What is God’s will for my life?

“But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfectly and fully developed, lacking in nothing.” -James 1:4

A Biblical Response to knowing God's will for my life.

If you are an American like I am  the question are you free sounds quite absurd. The natural response is of course I am free. I’m an American.

When you are sitting in a coffee shop and I walk in I see you.  I know the color of the chair you are in, whether or not you are having something to drink, and can observe all that is going on around you.  However that does not mean that I know you.

Paul described the Philippian believers as being filled with an abundance of joy in spite of suffering from a “great ordeal of affliction” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2). Christian joy transcends the sorrows of this present age.

Christmas: “it’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Songs fill the radio, ads fill the television, people fill the stores, and lights and Christmas trees fill the window displays across the town. Approximately every year there are 25-30 million real Christmas trees sold in the U.S.! However, a large percentage of Americans choose to buy artificial trees.

The Incarnation of the Eternal Word – Jesus Christ – is the great redemptive miracle of the Christian faith.  The union of humanity and divinity in the person of Jesus means that his crucifixion and resurrection have defeated the power of sin and death and brings the promise of eternal life to all who believe. This redemptive event is most often associated with the celebration of Christmas.