David is banking on his friendship with God for everything. Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
       for I am trusting you.
    Show me where to walk,
       for I give myself to you.
  9 Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;
       I run to you to hide me. Psalm 143:8-9 He acknowledges that every…

God invites honesty from his friends. We can be – must be – transparent. And God not only tolerates us shooting straight, he honors it. When we know where we stand with him – as intimate friends – we can bring all our pains, sorrows, troubles, desires and passions. Friendship welcomes truth. As God’s friends…

Prayer is based on an assumption; prayer assumptions are steps of faith. We believe God hears and is able and willing to respond to what we say. Prayer in its purest form assumes a relationship, and in its best form, a relationship of friendship. In the Bible friendship was not merely a relationship of affinity.…

Here’s another simple and simply beautiful prayer from St. Augustine. In his role as Bishop (pastor) for the church in Hippo, North Africa, Augustine became a great defender of right doctrine and right practice of true faith. But all of his theological work grew out of personal pastoral concerns that mattered to the everyday lives…

The great Dutch mystic Thomas a’ Kempis was the author of the Christian devotional classic Imitation of the Christ. In this prayer credited to Thomas we see the beauty of grace. “Forgiving as we have been forgiven.” If we can get a hold of this, agree with this, and live like this, we can be…

St. Augustine didn’t trust his physical body. Prior to his conversion to Christianity Augustine had lived to please and indulge his own appetites. For the rest of his life on earth he considered his “flesh” as the enemy of his soul. I believe Augustine overreacted a bit. After all, God created our bodies, and called…

St. Augustine didn’t trust his physical body. Prior to his conversion to Christianity Augustine had lived to please and indulge his own appetites. For the rest of his life on earth he considered his “flesh” as the enemy of his soul. I believe Augustine overreacted a bit. After all, God created our bodies, and called…

In his spiritual autobiography, Confessions Augustine tells the story of his wandering, painful quest to find true peace. He searched in philosophy and religion, in self indulgence and in self effacement. He found peace finally only when God found him. This famous prayer of Augustine expresses well what his own life proved. I think many…

Augustine was Bishop of Hippo in North Africa in the 4th-5th century. Except for the writers of the New Testament, no one has had more influence than Augustine in establishing Christian belief and practice. This prayer to the Holy Spirit invites God to work within our will to make us desire God and to empower…

Matthew 6:9-13 “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Some things to think about: Of course God’s will is done in heaven.  But on earth?  Was 9-11 “God’s will?”  Is child molestation or bankruptcy or divorce “God’s will?”  Though the Bible promises that God is sovereign and that…

Mark and Jill Herringshaw
about

Mark and Jill Herringshaw

Mark and Jill Herringshaw and their four children have been ministering in their local church since 1990. Jill is an accomplished worship leader and recording artist with several CDs in Target stores’ “Lifescapes” collection. Mark is the former pastor of the 7,000 member North Heights Lutheran Church. He holds a Ph.D. in leadership from Regent University, is the author of three books and a recognized conference speaker.

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