Pathway Weeklies

Our motivation for Christian service should be the love of Christ. Paul set this standard of living not based upon his lifestyle alone, but Christ’s. Now, that is a tall order, wouldn’t you say? The possessor of the life-changing gift of reconciliation with God will certainly find it a privilege to tell people about the gift of new life wherever we go. “Reconciliation is the removal of human enmit...

“The resurrection is the pivot on which all of Christianity turns and without which none of the other truths would much matter” (John MacArthur). Pastor MacArthur’s claim may seem to be rigid, especially in, what I call a “laissez faire age” for religious belief. You know, the mantra of this age is, “You believe what you want to believe, and I will believe what I choose to believe.” We sing about ...

We all make decisions. None of these choices, however, will be as significant as the one we make about Jesus. It shapes our entire worldview and determines our ultimate relationship with the Heavenly Father. This section of Mark’s gospel focuses on the judgment that people made for and against Jesus (14:1-15:47), and also the judgment God made for His Son (16:1-8). We dare not leave God’s judgment...

Do you pray in advance of taking a journey? Think of Psalm 121 as an early prayer for traveling mercies! My family, when I was a child, always prayed together before taking a journey. We asked God to provide His watch care over us as we traveled. It is a pattern that I have continued throughout my entire adult life. We are not alone in this regard. Pilgrims going to Jerusalem may have sung this pr...

Pastor and author, Tim Keller, once said, “Suffering is unbearable if you aren’t certain that God is for you and with you” (Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering, 58). Sometimes, we reach a breaking point when we suffer and begin to wonder if God really cares for us, and then we pour out our hot emotion. Job similarly vents his frustration over the pain and suffering he is experiencing, his ...

“Father, teach us all how to wait” (Murray, Waiting on God). Life’s most significant moments are quite often bracketed by periods of waiting before something happens, but many of us find waiting on the Lord to be our greatest challenge. Can I get a witness? One of the hardest things to do is to wait for God’s response to our question “Why?” whenever we suffer. So, what do we do “in the meantime”? ...

“A born-again person ought to possess unspeakable peace in the spirit”(Watchman Nee). However, many sincere Christians are nagged by overwhelming burdens in life, despite the call to cast all our cares upon the Lord (1 Peter 5:7). The psalmist knew how to find and hold onto the peace of the Lord. Such tranquility may be ours as well, so let’s examine closely this focal psalm today. The psalm’s gen...

The psalmist writes that we are to praise God. “Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness.” (Psalm 150:2). Sometimes we simply feel like shouting out our praise to God, and we should do so! The psalmist knew this was a normal response to the God who was worthy of praise. God used his creative might to rescue people from their current distress (HCBC). Luke sho...

When God says to build, He means for us to begin and complete the task! Funny how easily we rationalize things when it comes to fulfilling God’s will. The period of Israel’s exile was complete and about 50,000 people had returned to Judah. They had begun work on laying the foundation for the temple, but had lapsed in their commitment and soon settled back into a daily routine where their focus was...

“Christ is the desire of nations, the joy of angels, the delight of the Father. What solace then must that soul be filled with, that has the possession of Him to all eternity!” (John Bunyan). Solace and security do indeed come from one’s faith placed in Jesus. The Apostle John has reached the climax of his revelation, and he now returns to the description of the Holy City, but this time from the p...