Do you consistently seek God in the word and prayer? Or have you tried again and again, become discouraged, and given up? We are deep enough into January that this is the story for many us. Resolutions have began to stall. And even if you do get time with God, is it life-giving? Or is it just going through the motions, reading an assigned passage, praying through your list, and being relieved when it’s over?

It's not too late to make some good changes. So if you are struggling to spend time with God, here are five promises that can help:

1. God Is My Exceeding Joy

Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me … Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy. (Psalm 43:…

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Maybe you have longed for healing, for a job or for a baby or for a wife. You have faithfully and earnestly prayed for weeks and months — even years. But you are still sick, still unemployed, still childless, still single.

And you are disappointed. In fact, you are disappointed by God.

I Can Relate

For many years my wife and I longed for pregnancy. We longed and prayed. And longed and prayed some more. Couples we knew got pregnant — but we did not. And we felt deep disappointment.

But God’s Word calls us to live by faith. And faith means trusting all that God promises to be for us in Christ Jesus.

So then, what does God promise when we are disappointed?

Lack No Good Thing

One promis…

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It’s puzzling. When I speak on living by faith I often ask, "How many of you know that Jesus calls us to love our enemies?" Everyone nods and says they know this.

Then I ask, "How many of you know the reason Jesus gives for why we should love our enemies?" Almost always the response is the same — very few know the reason.

Why don’t we know the reason?

Are we so good at loving our enemies that we don’t need Jesus’ reason? Um — no. I’m not so good at loving my enemies. And I’m pretty sure we all need help in this. And yet we remember only the command — but not the reason Jesus gives to help us obey the command.

What is the reason?

Here’s what Jesus taught in Luke 6:35, "But love you…

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