Tag: prayer

For believers this is a night of grief. Jesus’ cries of anguish have been silenced by death. But by faith we still hear His voice cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)

I have wondered whether on this night 2,000 years ago the disciples might have asked God similar questions: “Why have you forsaken us? Why did you send your Son into the world to die in the world?” They had been so certain that Jesus was the Christ, who would reign as king of Israel. Instead, their Messiah had died on a Roman cross.

These men and women longed to hear Christ’s voice one last time. They yearned for a parable or teaching from Jesus. Like all who grieve, they wanted more time, one last moment together. They regretted words left unspoken. They mourned His absence. And perhaps they even wondered how they could have been so wrong about Jesus. They questioned, as Christ did, if they were forsaken by God.

In their grief and pain of loss what else could they think? Christ left them. And if He was gone, then God must also be gone.

Tonight is the closest we will ever come to imagining the world without God. Christ had come into the world to reveal God, and now with His death, any revelations of God would cease with Him. Think long and hard about these disciples’ feelings and thoughts as they contemplated an absent God.

The world is cloaked in a holy silence tonight. Jesus is dead.
Photo by Steve Halama

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

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I left the Maundy Thursday service in silence tonight. It is a somber, sobering experience to walk away from the sanctuary of God without a sound. Silence forces me to spend time alone with my thoughts.

These thoughts center on the last meal that the disciples shared with Jesus. He spoke of service, and love and the disciples worked through the tension and sorrow in the room to try to understand Jesus’ teaching.

Across town, the religious leaders and teachers of the law were meeting; theirs was not a meeting of silence, but one that was loud and boisterous, as these men created false charges and accusations, which would enable them to arrest Christ. After the Sanhedrin (comprising the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the chief priests) convened, the consensus became “it is better . . . that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” (John 11:50). They failed to recognize the truth of those words. Indeed, Jesus was going to die for all people. At that moment, however, they were simply trying to silence the man.

On that night as the world bellowed and conspired against Jesus, God stayed silent. It’s not the noise of the world we re- member from those many years ago. It’s the silence of Christ, who spent the night in prayer, calling for strength from God to accomplish salvation for all people.

This night, God let the world silence His Word, so three days later, God’s Word would rise from the dead and silence the world.
Photo by Jametlene Reskp

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

One of my gymnasts had a disappointing meet. She had done very well in the competition. Her routines were strong, and the mental and physical preparation she had worked so hard on was paying off. But, on her last event, she made a costly mistake that stopped her from advancing to the National com- petition.

As her coaches, we tried to offer solace, but the pain was too intense for her. However, time will help her cope with the disappointment.

For a brief moment I questioned my own work. Athletes and coaches spend hours and hours working together, preparing for these events. When athletes win, the recognition validates our work, but when they lose, our work sometimes appears meaningless.

However, Scripture tells us that our work is worthwhile. Ecclesiastes 2:24 says, “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work.” Work is satisfactory not because an athlete wins or loses, but because it is given to us by God. Regardless of the work we have chosen, it’s meaningful when it springs from our faith and is rooted in Christ. God gives us work, and He chooses the work we have. In this way, all work has meaning.
Photo by Bethany Legg

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

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People who work out know the importance of doing something active every day. We also know that the pitfall of exercise can be taking off two days in a row. After that second day, a person lets down mentally, gets out of the routine and often wants to stop altogether. Instead of taking a day off, it’s important to stay active on the off days.

In our spiritual lives, we should adopt a similar discipline and structure to our day. We should develop a routine of Scripture reading, prayer time, worship, and study. For many of us, we begin with the great expectation of rising early and reading a devotional before the world, particularly our families, wake up and infuse our quiet with noise and demands and needs. Per- haps, though, after a few days of success, we stay up too late trying to finish the days’ responsibilities. We sleep in the next three mornings, and suddenly, our morning devotional time is gone. We won’t return for many months.

The cure is to stay active spiritually: Do something for your spiritual life every day, no matter how small you think it may be. Spend one minute singing a praise song. Read a short Bible verse, and say a quick prayer. All these little steps will keep you from abandoning altogether your time alone with God. Eventually life will swing back around, and you will be ready to go back to more in-depth hours with God.

“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22).
Phot by Josh Applegate

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

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My house has been full of laughter tonight. The girls and I have been telling jokes and sharing funny stories and humorous situations. There is a wonderful energy created by laughter. It melts away weariness and brings a renewed enthusiasm to life. Laughter lifts a burdened heart and brings joy to the soul and harmony to a household. When we laugh pain is eased, stress is relieved and relationships strengthened.

The Psalmist wrote, “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy” (126:2). When the Lord fills us with His joy and we can no longer contain the delight and happiness He has graciously lavished on us, we laugh. It is an expression of our appreciation to Him for all the wonderful things He has done on our behalf.

Laughter is an utterance of gladness. It is an offering we bring to the Lord, because He has secured our salvation through Jesus Christ. When we laugh we articulate our great relief that sin and death have been lifted from our lives through Jesus. We are no longer oppressed by sin and a slave to death. Through His blood shed on the cross, Christ has saved us from our re- bellious ways and our disobedience toward God. When by faith we accept salvation from Jesus Christ and know that His work on the cross has brought us redemption; then God “will yet fill [y]our mouth with laughter and [y]our lips with shouts of joy” (Job 8:21).
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

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Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASB
Life Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

My neighbor and I walk together regularly. Our first few steps are important because we use them to match our strides and speed so we are walking side by side. In this way we can carry on a conversation. If our steps don’t match we can’t walk together. One of us will always be ahead of the other. Walking together keeps us motivated and builds a stronger friendship. In other words, it’s a good time.

In Galatians 5:25 Paul writes, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” As Christians we need to work closely with the Spirit and match steps with Him. He is in the world to be our companion on our faith journey. We can’t navigate the path of faith in this world without Him.

We sometimes think it is His job to match our strides, and we want to be the ones in charge of setting the pace and the course. We have neither the wisdom nor the foresight to chart our way. To keep in step with the Spirit is to walk with God. We are not to walk ahead of Him or behind Him, just with Him, conversing and growing deeper in faith. Matching the Spirit’s stride keeps us inspired and strong when the path of faith is rough. As we walk with God we know we can trust the course and pace He has set for our journey.
Photo by Tomasz Woźniak

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

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Yesterday, our dog Buddy was acting strangely. He kept moving his head as if urgently looking for something. His body trembled, and he couldn’t stand up. We got him to the vet immediately. He had an infection in his brain that caused extreme dizziness. His equilibrium improved; now he can walk short distances.

Buddy’s lack of balance made me think of the number of times the sin of this world tries to knock us off our spiritual equilibrium. The world throws us off balance by insisting that sin has more power to ruin our lives than God has to save our lives. Suddenly we stagger in doubt, questioning whether Jesus Christ’s death on the cross has the power to bring us salvation. Our sinful nature makes us question whether we need the cross at all. It deceives us into thinking that we are not sinful and have no need for a Savior.

Scripture tries to right our imbalance and speaks very clearly to our condition. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

The world tries to throw us off balance by insisting that we can by our own merits overcome our sins. In fact, the world won’t even talk about our rebellion and disobedience towards God. It will instead tell us that Jesus was just a man.

Stay in balance; hear the Scriptures speak: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

Phot by sarandy westfall

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Sirens blared tonight, warning residents about the possibilities of tornados. The gym staff evacuated all athletes from the main gym and moved them into safer areas of the building. Parents arriving to pick up children came inside the building to wait out the storm. Many people received further warnings on their phones. One man had an app that allowed him to hear the police radios. He knew the tornado was spotted over the airport. The television stations had streamed warnings across the screen, and weather maps highlighted areas that were most affected by the storm front. It was impossible to avoid the warnings tonight. The warnings were in place to help us stay safe.

God also sends us warnings about the devastating impact sin has on our lives. He warns us about the effect our disobedience has on our relationship with Him so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we can turn from our rebellion and find safety in Christ Jesus.

Warnings are not threats from God; they are words from Him that are intended to steer us away from the path of destruction onto the way of righteousness. We sometimes view His warnings as threats because we are reluctant to surrender our stubborn ways. God told the prophet Ezekiel, “But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live” (3:21).

God’s warnings are words of life.
Photo by Ash from Modern Afflatus

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

A young gymnast lied to her coach. She insisted her assign- ment had been completed when it wasn’t. Her teammates listened to her try to deceive the coach. Because she had deliberately tried to mislead the coach, she was, as a consequence, given a double assignment.

When people lie, they are willfully trying to deceive another person. Even within the church this deception can be a problem. Some church goers claim to love God and then treat people shabbily. That is what the author of 1 John addresses, “If any- one says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar” (4:20). To be a liar means a person is deliberately trying to dissuade another from knowing and following God and leading them away from faith in Jesus Christ.

In this early church the poor behavior of the liars created an obstacle to faith and hindered people from seeing the truth about God in Christ. These people lied about God through their calculated inconsistencies in word and action. People who will- fully deceive others are undoubtedly trying to deceive God as well.

The world accepts lies, and even considers some of them harmless, say, for instance, the little white lie. But for God any word that does not speak the truth about Jesus Christ is a lie; and the one who delivers this untrue word is a liar and opposed to God. “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ” (1 John 2:22).
Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!
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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD
Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASB
Life Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

When gymnasts have great success in a competition, the coaching staff comes back to practice anticipating a lull in their training. The joy of triumph creates such an intense happiness in the gymnasts that when the euphoria dies away the athletes drop into a deep low. They want to feel that elation again, but they dread the work it will take to get there. In simple English: The higher the highs, the lower the lows.

On Easter Sunday Christians around the world came into sanctuaries to experience the exhilaration of Christ’s victory over sin and death. By faith we passed through the suffering of our Lord and now by faith and through the power of the Holy Spirit we share His triumph. We hit the high.

There is a real temptation, however, to let the resurrection talk of today be silenced tomorrow. We want to keep holding on to the high of the morning but cringe at the spiritual work that will be required of us in the world. Instead, we will be tempted to tuck Jesus safely back into the tomb so life will return to normal.

But the Christian’s life isn’t normal. It is wrapped in the truth that God raised Jesus from the dead. The angel was clear, “He is not here; He is risen” (Luke 24:6). We cannot let the celebration of today fade into a low tomorrow. Jesus is alive! And His presence among us in the Holy Spirit means we have work to do.

Photo by Bruno van der Kraan

On Good Friday evening, I attended a cantata at church. Because of the somber mood of the Good Friday service the pastor asked the congregation to refrain from applause. When the cantata was over we joined in the Lord’s Prayer and left the church in silence. It was a poignant moment.

Applause can also be distracting to worship. And we must be aware of when God is calling for silence and when He is calling for celebration. When applause is appropriate it is an offering that is pleasing to God. When it is inappropriate, it comes as a profane gesture.

Last night was an evening of grief and mourning, and applause for the choir’s performance would have been inappropriate. And God through the power of the Holy Spirit was moving through the sanctuary, applying the truth of the cross into the hearts of those present through the words and music of each song. By the end of the service, a sacred silence filled the sanctuary and many felt the gentle touch of God. In His Church, God ministers in the silence opening our hearts to holy moments of intimacy with Him. If we are afraid of this holy silence, and fill it with the noise of applause, we risk missing quiet encounters with the Lord.

God is in the silence. It is His gift to us, and He uses it to draw us deeper into Him.

“It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:26).
Photo by Aaron Burden

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Photo by Ruel Calitis

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Photo by James L.W

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Soon believers will commemorate the closing hours of Jesus’ earthly life: His arrest, His trial, His beatings, His humiliation and passion on the cross.

On Good Friday, as the cross casts its shadow across the world, the sounds of Christ’s cries of anguish echo from eternity into the world. For those of us who stand in that shadow, we will face the truth: The man dying on the tree will have to be dealt with. Some people will see Jesus Christ, God’s Savior, bleeding and dying to save them from their sin. But many will think Jesus was a foolish dreamer whose crucifixion was inevitable. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God.”

The cross divides the foolish from the wise. The foolish live in the sin of unbelief and see the cross as a shameful act of a diabolical God. They are blind to their sin or need for a Savior. They have no knowledge, experience or understanding of God in Christ. The wise live a life of faith and receive from Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit knowledge, experience and understanding of God. Through Christ they are able to clearly see their corrupt nature and need for salvation.

The foolish man builds upon the sinking sand of sin. The wise man builds his house upon the rock of Christ the Lord.
Photo by Hugues de BUYER-MIMEURE

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

This weekend the scoreboard was the center of attention at the State gymnastic competition. When a gymnast finished an event performance she and her coach would fixate on the board waiting for the judges’ results to flash across the screen. Some gymnasts were exuberant about the scores they received from the judges; others were disappointed and still others expected the score they were given.

Roughly 2,000 years ago the people in Jerusalem raced into the city streets to see Jesus as He came riding into town on a donkey. The crowd was shouting praises to Him as He rode past.

Jesus was the center of attention as He rode through the crowd. All eyes were riveted on this man. Some of the onlookers were filled with excitement and awe as they looked at Jesus, anticipating His rule to be as great as King David’s. Others were disappointed when they saw this ordinary man riding slowly through the streets on a donkey, not a strong, powerful horse. They had been hoping for a king strong enough to conquer Rome.

Finally there were those for whom Jesus met their every expectation. These people looked at the face of Jesus and saw God. They put the Scriptures into the context of His words and deeds and realized He was the Savior. They knew the donkey was the right animal, and they rejoiced that their sins would soon be forgiven.

Make Christ the center of your attention, and pray the Holy Spirit will show you that He is God who meets our expectations. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13b).

Photo by Jason Weingardt

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

After the gymnastic meet this afternoon, one of my gymnasts and I sat and talked as we waited for others to finish. We shared a pleasant conversation about her life and friends. We exchanged opinions, talked about her family and had a good time just getting to know each other.

It’s difficult to have conversations with people today because so many are plugged into something electronic. So today was unique. It was a spontaneous moment free of technology. It was the way life should be: two people engaged in the fine art of communication. It was fun.

Spontaneity should also be part of our relationship with God. While having time set aside for prayer is valuable, it doesn’t have to be the only time we communicate with God. When He shows you a stunning sunset, take a moment to sit and thank Him. When a beautiful bird alights on your deck or a tree branch, stop and ponder the Creator. If the Holy Spirit reveals a new truth to you from Scripture take the time to write it down and explore its meaning further. When God gives you a spur-of-the-moment blessing, give Him a blessing back by lifting words of praise to Him.

God is waiting for us to unplug from the hectic pace and harsh noises of life to share some unexpected moments with Him.

Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
Photo by Steve Johnson

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

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Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

I would like to be asleep right now. The fatigue of a long day is hanging on my body, my eyes are heavy and my mind can think only of the sweet respite of slumber. Requiring sleep is part of our human frailty. Our bodies and minds need rest. Experts insist that people need eight hours of undisturbed sleep to be productive and healthy. I’d get bed sores if I lay in bed that long, but still I understand that an adequate amount of rest is needed for me to be functional.

God, on the other hand, is infinite and immortal and requires no sleep. In fact, Psalm 121:3 states, “He [the Lord] Who watches over you will not slumber.” There is a calm assurance that comes from knowing that God our Creator and Redeemer is always awake and keeping vigil over all of us. His eternal essence cannot retire for the night. He is always awake and always at His work of salvation.

So, even when we rest, He is still saving. He is still about His work of reconciling the world to Himself through Jesus Christ. He never rests from offering His grace, love and forgiveness to mankind.

God watches. He will NOT take His eyes off those whom He loves. Nor will He take His eyes off those still trapped in the sin of unbelief. Instead, He is always watchful, waiting to bring the hope of salvation to all who need redemption.
Photo by Albert S

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

I met an absolutely delightful and charming woman today. Her eyes sparkled as she told me about her teaching career and her accomplishments as a flutist. She learned that I had authored a book and graciously asked me about the process. We engaged in conversation for several minutes. I will see her next week, but she will not know me. She has Alzheimer’s disease, so all memory of our talk will vanish from her mind.

I see a parallel when it comes to God: We also suffer from forgetfulness. Sin has distorted or erased our memory of God. Adam’s rebellion shattered his perfect knowledge of God. His mind had once been filled with thoughts of God, but after he sinned it filled with thoughts of self. Adam’s sin gave him a sort of amnesia about God, a condition I call Godnesia. Sin has cleared our minds of the truth of God, His kingdom and the world to come.

However, One Man, Jesus Christ, did not suffer from Godnesia. He came into the world to help us remember God and all that we had lost. John the Baptist testified, “The One who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what He has seen and heard, but no one accepts His testimony” (John 3:31b, 32).

The cure for Godnesia is to accept the testimony of Jesus Christ. Through faith in Christ our minds are opened to the truth of God’s existence, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we regain the capacity to remember God.
Photo by Andrew Neel

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

This morning the Today show ran a segment on Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt, a blind woman who has run 14 marathons. She trains and competes in these grueling races with her husband, who serves as her guide runner. Using a short tether the couple stay hooked together as they race over trails and streets building trust and courage with each step. We are inspired and influenced by her story of determination and overcoming.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate overcomer. The night before His crucifixion He told His disciples, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The Son of Man went to the cross, died for our sin and then triumphed over death.

Even in the face of Christ’s triumph, spiritual blindness caused by sin stops many people from seeing the truth of Christ’s victory over the grave. They do not see God’s love in Christ, receive forgiveness or accept grace. Those people “grope in the darkness with no light” (Job 12:25).

However, by faith the blind can see. But even with sight the faithful can struggle with darkness. We fear living exclusively for God. We succumb to the temptations of the world. We want to please God but trip over our own desires.

God sent Christ into the world so we could be tethered to Him through the Holy Spirit. With guidance from the Holy Spirit we can overcome the world in Christ and remain obedient to Him as we journey through life.
Photo by Josh Calabrese

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

My elderly friend now receives around-the-clock care. Her caregiver is a Mongolian woman who obtained a visa for her- self and children to come to the States. She could neither speak nor read English. She taught herself the language by watching TV and reading subtitles. Her knowledge of America came from a friend who had emigrated earlier. But she says that many people helped her along the way. She courageously entered a strange country on the word of a friend and made a new life for herself.

When the Holy Spirit draws us from our sinful life into a life of faith, our experience is similar. We know very little about the life of faith we have just entered into with God. We believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, but we wrestle with understanding just what that means in our daily lives. We try to read the Bible, but so much of it is still a mystery. Simply, we don’t understand the language.

Yet, God does not leave us alone in our life of faith. The Holy Spirit remains steadfast to the task of “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16), so we will grow deeper in the knowledge of our Lord.

We must enter the life of faith with courage and conviction, trusting the Spirit to guide and direct us through the process until He has grown our new life to maturity.

This morning, when Lori woke up too sick to coach at the gymnastic competition, who’s she gonna call? Well, she’s not gonna call Ghostbusters. I received the call at 4:45 a.m. After a brief discussion, I left for the meet. How did she know I would go? Well, for thirteen years, day in and day out, Lori and I talk. We are always there for each other. We have developed that trust daily.

Driving to the meet, the massive orange sun rose over the horizon spilling light onto route 176. The sunrise reminded me that faithful God always answers us. Our certainty in God comes from sharing our days with Him.

When Jesus walked on earth, He was always in communion with God. In fact, before raising Lazarus from the dead He prayed, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me” (John 11:41). Through daily communication with the Father, Jesus could boldly declare those words of truth.

Martha, Lazarus’s sister, also knew Jesus trusted in God. She said, “I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask” (John 11:24).

And Jesus tells us that God always hears us and responds, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7).

If you are not convinced God hears and responds to you, increase the time you spend with Him and listen to His Word.

Image by Kylli Kittus

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

John Lennon’s song “Imagine” came to my mind. I don’t really know why a song I haven’t listened to for years suddenly comes to mind. But it did. The first line of that song is “Imagine there’s no heaven/It’s easy if you try.”

I hate to disagree with Lennon, but, as a Christian, I can’t “imagine there’s no heaven.” In fact, the opposite is true. I like to spend some time imagining heaven. Jesus told us that His Father is in heaven. The Son is seated at the Father’s right hand, and the Holy Spirit is present. God’s majesty and glory fill the eternal kingdom. And we will see the Lord in all His fullness.

The book of Revelation says that heaven is a “Holy City” (21:2). God and His people will live together and “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (21:4).

Imagine heaven and then live like a citizen of heaven on earth. Where there is sorrow in this world, be ministers of com- fort. Where there is death, offer the hope of the resurrection. Where there is pain administer prayers of healing. If a person has wronged you, forgive him as God has forgiven you in Christ Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit create a pure heart in you, so you will “see God” (Matthew 5:8).

Imagine heaven, and live it on earth.

Photo by Davide Cantelli

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

It drives me crazy when I ask an athlete a question about her gymnastics and get no response. She looks at me, but her lips remain still. She sees me standing right in front of her, but she remains silent, as though she is unaware of my presence. She ignores my questions. Even when she makes mistakes repeatedly, she seems to shun my involvement. Eventually she ends up in tears, but utters no response to my inquiry.

I have noted that many Christians behave like this toward God. They go through their days without talking with Him. Even though they believe in God, they spend little or no time developing an awareness of His presence in their lives. Then, when troubles and storms threaten, they are frustrated, stressed and anxious because they do not recognize Him. “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him” (John 1:10).

There are ways to build an awareness of God. Pray for the Spirit to illuminate your mind with the truth of Christ’s presence in the world. Read the Scriptures; what God has done in the past for His people He still does for His people today. Look at the cross of Jesus and notice that God kept His promise to send a Savior. Find a way to celebrate communion with frequency. God in Christ will meet you at His table. Embrace worship. The Holy Spirit will reveal God in Christ to all who long to abide in His presence.

The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you” (Exodus 33:15).
Photo by Sean Pollock

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

“Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:39). With this prayer, Jesus, the Son of God, willingly delivered His life to the Father. The Son puts Himself in the hands of the Father, and the Father hands Him over to His enemies. God’s enemies put His Son to death on a cross. Jesus delivers Himself to His Father; the Father delivers Jesus to His enemies; God’s enemies deliver Jesus to the Romans; the Romans crucify Him, thereby delivering Him to death. All this was God’s plan so that those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God can be delivered from sin and death. This is what the body of believers, the church, remembers at the communion table. In 1 Corinthians 11:24, Paul records the words of Jesus on the night of the Last Supper, “This is my body, which shall be delivered for you” (Douay-Rheims).

As the treasured Son of the Father, Jesus Christ surrendered His will to the Father’s by coming down to earth. Here, He was put under the authority of death to conquer it. God the Father allowed His beloved Son to be possessed by death. Jesus, the “resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), obeyed the natural law of death and became subject to death.

In dying on the cross, Christ had to be possessed by death so He could go into hell and destroy the authority and control that death had in the world. According to Philippians 2:8, Christ, “humbled himself and became obedient to death.” He surrendered His superior power so He could be overcome by death. However, God would not let His “Holy One see decay” (Psalm 16:10), and He raised Him from death to life. Because He is the “firstborn from among the dead” (Colossians 1:18), we too can be raised in Him from death to life.
Photo by Greg Ortega

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Social media is making people socially awkward. Society’s dependence on Twitter, Facebook, snap chat, and so on has many people incapable of reading their social surroundings and situations. As a result, relationships that would have formed naturally go undeveloped.

The more we fail to build personal relationships with our fellow human beings, meaning those people whom we can see, the further we fall away from building a personal relationship with God, whom we cannot see.

The habits we have for building relationships are the same habits we exercise toward God in Christ. If you expect God to answer you on Twitter or snap chat, you will be disappointed. He will, however, answer your prayers. you can’t creep on God’s Facebook page, but you can meet Him every Sunday morning in worship. He won’t call you on your cell phone, but He will invite you to His communion table and introduce you to His Son, who died to save you.

God knew the difficulty we would have building a relationship with Him, so He took on the responsibility to build the relationship with us. Truth is, our sinful nature is so hostile to God that we don’t want a relationship with Him. We can come to God only when the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to Christ’s work on the cross and transforms our lives through His enduring love.

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (1 John 4:10).
Photo by Christoph Schmid

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

The kids and I left the gym after the morning workout and walked into a clear warm day. We squinted into the bright sunshine and celebrated that gorgeous weather had arrived. We hurried to our cars, eager to embrace a spring-like weekend. After the cold and dark of the long winter months, we happily received these warm, sunny, early days of spring.

In the spring the world blossoms with new birth. Flowers dot the drab ground with color. Young animals can be seen following their mothers, while baby birds are rocked in the branches of breeze-blown trees. All around us the miracle of birth fills us with wonder and hope.

Equally miraculous is spiritual rebirth. Jesus told Nicode- mus, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). Spiritual birth is the spring time of the soul. When we receive the truth from the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ has died for our sins, the long days of sin and darkness are over.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s life is born into our hearts. Our hearts blossom with righteousness, forgiveness, and grace through faith in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are filled with the wonder of God and the hope of eternal life through His Son.

When we are born again, sin and death no longer have a claim on us, for by the Spirit and through Christ we are now children of God.
Photo by Aaron Burden

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus heals a boy “possessed by a spirit” (9:17). The father approaches Jesus for help by saying, “If you can do anything . . .  help us” (9:22). Jesus is stunned by the father’s conditional word, “if.” When the father hears the surprised tone in Jesus’ voice, he cries out, “Help me overcome my unbelief” (9:24). The father says this as though, suddenly, his own words have just caught his ear and he realizes the depth of his sin of unbelief.

Jesus filled with compassion helps the father overcome his unbelief by casting out the spirit in the boy, but not without allowing the spirit to give the boy a terrible seizure, possibly one of the worst the boy has ever had. As the boy convulses the father can only watch and trust Jesus. It is during this chaos, this terrible sight of his son lashing around in a grand mal seizure, that the father is saved from his unbelief. After the seizure the nature of God is revealed to the father as the boy finally becomes calm, and he is healed.

Like this father, we all have places in our lives in which we suffer from the sin of unbelief. When we ask to be cured of unbelief, we should expect chaos to ensue as Satan whips into a frenzy to dissuade us. But we need to stand firm in the truth that God will banish the chaos, and we will see the glory of the Son.
Photo by Quentin Dr

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Last week I bit my lip, hard. Eating has become a painful experience, and even swallowing water stings. While trying to protect that area from further discomfort, I have managed to bite other parts of my lip. It’s annoying and the healing process slow.

The heart like the mouth is a slow healer. We have all experienced wounds of the heart. Sometimes these wounds are selfinflicted like when we fail to forgive others, or we harbor anger or hatred. Other times, our heart has had pain inflicted upon it through loss or rejection or harm. When the heart is filled with pain and ache, we try to protect it from further affliction. We keep people at a distance, lash out at the innocent or hide our- selves away. These attempts at remedy don’t heal, but cause further injury. That is what Solomon discovered and wrote, “heartache crushes the spirit” (Proverbs 15:13).

When we don’t let Christ deal with the pain in our heart, we soon find that our spirit and physical body also suffer. The wounds of the heart are not limited to the heart, but find their way into our bodies through stress and anxiety and produce a restlessness in our spirit.

Jesus knew the consequences of a troubled heart, and He imparted the true remedy to His disciples on the night before their hearts would be troubled by His death. He said, “Trust in God; trust also in me” (John 14:1).

The wounds of the heart are healed through faith in God.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Tonight marks a milestone for me. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, the power of prayer and God’s impeccable timing to bring a wonderful college friend back into my life along with her husband, I have a book on Amazon. (I know, everybody does.)

But this isn’t just a story about my being a writer; this is a story about God’s revealing Himself to me day in and day out. There is no way I can even sit here tonight and write out this reflection, except for the power of the Holy Spirit, who faith- fully meets me in my office and shares His wisdom and insight with me. The Spirit has taught me more about Jesus, His incarnation, His cross and His resurrection than I ever dreamed possible. He has taught me through the Scriptures, exposed my sin and given my self a smack down when needed. He has taught me obedience, though I am a poor student.

I am a sinful human being who gets alone with God, so God will get alone with me. And the cool thing? He does this for everyone.

I have written down what He has taught me during these times, so I won’t forget it. (A real possibility at my age.) And that is why I have a book.

Our God is amazing. And after today, I know with absolute certainty that the Psalmist is right, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
Photo by Nick Morrison

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Sundays are my favorite day of the week. I get to rest from work, go to worship God in His sanctuary, visit sick and shut in friends and family. This day has a slow ease to it. This day has an unhurried, kick back feel to it. The hectic pace of the work week is quelled by the tranquility of the Sabbath.

A day of rest does not mean that we have to sit around and do nothing, though that is sometimes also helpful. It means that we enjoy a refreshing ease to our hours. By making one day a week different from the others, we gain new perspective, insight and energy to tackle the norm of the work week.

God commanded us to set this day apart to worship Him. And what better way to worship Him than to give Him one day when our priorities match those of our Savior Jesus Christ. On the Sabbath, Christ went out among the people. He didn’t hurry or rush to appointments. He tarried where He needed to so He could proclaim the Good News of God to His friends, followers and curious bystanders.

When we rest from work, we show God that He matters in our lives. When we rest from work and spend time with friends and family we show them that they matter in our lives.

Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). When we rest on the Sabbath we are renewed by God.
Photo by Micheile Henderson

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

In this digital age keeping our identity safe is an ongoing struggle. My husband and I have each had our identity stolen. Friends of mine have also been victims of identity theft. Even the best safeguards cannot prevent it.

The book of Genesis gives an account of the first identity theft: in the Garden of Eden when Satan tricked Adam into disobeying God. Adam was created in the likeness of God. His character was holy, pure and noble. But Satan stole Adam’s identity when he enticed him to sin. The image of God that Adam bore was shattered, broken and ruined by sin. His perfection was destroyed, and the purity, holiness and nobility of man collapsed under the weight of wickedness, rebellion and sin.

Of course, God had designed a plan to restore human identity. He sent His Son, who “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1:3), into the world to bring a new identity to those who believe in His name. Those who believe in Jesus Christ’s work of salvation on the cross are given a new identity. When we receive redemption, righteousness and sanctification from Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, our identity becomes one with Christ’s.

A new identity means our nature is made whole in Christ, and we are made fit to dwell in the presence of holy God. Through Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, our identity is protected and cannot be stolen. Jesus said, “[N]o one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29).
Photo by NeONBRAND

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Today the GPS on my smart phone led me astray. It took me down wrong streets and repeatedly had me doing U turns. Needless to say, the experience was frustrating. I finally arrived at my destination, but not by using the GPS. I had printed directions from MapQuest.

During this period of frustration, I figured out that there are many things in my life that try to make me take a U turn from God. The world is full of spiritual gimmicks and gadgets that it promotes as tools and devices that will give us inner peace. These tricks will leave us frustrated and far from peace.

However, there is no gimmick. If you want peace and a deeper faith and knowledge of God then you have to go to the cross of Christ. At the cross, Jesus died for our sin. Sin cancelled our peace with God, diminished our understanding of God and robbed us of faith in God.

However, on the cross Christ conquered sin and restored to those who believe all that was lost. Paul said, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

If you are tired of doing U turns in your faith journey, get to the cross of Christ and the “peace of God which transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) will be given to you along with anything else you lack.
Photo by Justin Luebke

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

At the end of the Big Bang Theory episode tonight, the screen held a picture of Leonard Nimoy, who had recently died, and the caption read, “The impact you had on our show and on our lives is everlasting.” I can appreciate the cast’s sentiment. Star Trek’s Mr. Spock was a fan favorite, and fans will miss him. But, as always, life will move on eventually, and Leonard Nimoy and Mr. Spock will be forgotten.

There is only One Person who can have an everlasting impact on our lives, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ. When He conquered death and rose from the dead, He brought eternal life to the world through the power of the Holy Spirit.

To those who believe in Christ’s work on the cross and the reality of His resurrection, Jesus says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me has everlasting life” (John 6:47 KJ 2000).

Jesus Christ can offer everlasting life to all who believe because He is the eternal Son of the infinite Father. “For as the Father has life in himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in himself” (John 5:26).

God is life. He is immortal. Before the creation of the world, God lives. God is living and active in the world today and when the world is restored and the consummation of the kingdom of God is complete when Jesus comes again, God lives. And He has given us the gift of His Son so that through Him we might live forever. “He who has the Son has life” (1 John 5:12).
Photo by Edwin Andrade

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

I find that when athletes are struggling, the first thing they do is blame someone besides themselves for their problems. The second thing they do is reject coaches’ assignments that would help them end the struggle. Only when athletes can take instruction can they overcome their struggles and solve their problems.

We are a lot like these athletes when it comes to our struggles with God.

Our biggest struggle is the alienation from God caused by sin. Like the athletes who blame others, we blame God. Our sinful human nature insists that He is the One who has abandoned us. However, Scripture states that we abandoned God by following the road of rebellion, which led to separation from God.

How does God help us to remedy that struggle? He places the cross of Christ on that road, so we can see that through faith in Jesus we can receive peace and be reconciled to God (Colossians 1:20). Since our perspective has also been warped by sin, we reject Christ’s cross, demanding, instead, that God provide a solution more palatable to our human nature. However, God is not trying to placate our human nature; He is transforming our sinful nature through His Son. Once the righteousness of Christ is shed in our hearts through the Spirit we are no longer alienated from God.

God’s solution to our problem was to send His Son into the world to die on the cross and end the estrangement. Paul makes it plain that God “reconciled us to himself through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:18). We no longer have to live alienated from God, because God has done all that is necessary to restore the world, and us, to Himself through Jesus Christ. Paul reiterates, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Struggle over. Problem solved.
Photo by Nathan McBride

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

A few years ago, I heard the expression “even a flat pancake has two sides,” meaning that every story has two sides. That thought came to mind this morning during the Gospel reading from Mark 8.

In that passage, Jesus explains the suffering He was going to endure, and Peter scolds Jesus for speaking such. Jesus then admonishes Peter with these harsh words, “Get behind me, Satan” (33)! Then He tells him, “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (Mark 8:33). In other words, Peter was looking at only one side of the pancake.

Maybe Peter’s rebuke of Jesus seems appropriate, since he did not want His friend talking about such horrible suffering and death. Peter might have witnessed criminals dying such brutal, grotesque and excruciating deaths at the hands of Rome. He couldn’t picture His Lord enduring such horror.

But even a rugged cross has two sides.

From the human view, Christ’s cross is that of a criminal. It is shameful, humiliating and agonizing. On the front of the cross is Jesus’ bleeding, dying, marred, disfigured body, writhing in pain. This picture was actually God at work redeeming the world through His Son.

However, behind the cross is the glorified Son in His resurrection body. Behind the cross is the reconciled world, the spotless church and the perfect Kingdom of God.

In front of the cross is Christ’s sacrifice for us; behind the cross is His glory and our eternal life.

Photo by Luke Pennystan

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

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Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

I learned that my cousin, after 30 years of service to a local hospital, will now have to relocate to keep her current position. Another friend has lost his job. My husband has been told there are work projects for him, but nothing crosses his desk. Jobs, careers, relationships, college degrees, happiness, love, and so on and so on; this world guarantees none of it. However, the world does lure us into long hours, stress, heartache and aggravation by promising things and then reneging on the promise.

In God, however, anything that He has promised has been fulfilled and kept through Jesus Christ. Since God has kept His promise of sending a Savior who “takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) and the Savior has kept His promise and finished God’s work through His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection, then God’s guarantee of eternal life for all who believe is full proof.

To assure the faithful, Paul says God has “anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians 1:22). The Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of believers assuring us and testifying to the truth that God’s accomplishments in Jesus Christ will bring us into everlasting life with Him.

We can continue to let the world’s broken promises and false hopes frustrate and exasperate us, or we can listen to the testimony of the Holy Spirit and know He is the deposit guaranteeing us eternal life.

Photo by Chris Liverani

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Focus is essential to gymnastics training. When athletes fail to keep their focus their minds become undisciplined and the result is, as people say these days, “a hot mess.” A loss of focus leads to stumbles and falls, and the gymnast who loses focus will become preoccupied with making excuses and obsessing about fears. Suddenly consistency exits, and confidence wanes.

As Christians, we also have difficulty when we lose our focus on Christ’s cross. The author of Hebrews knew the importance of focus. He writes, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (12:2).

When we take our eyes off the cross, our minds become filled with the fears of this world. Suddenly our faith is shaken, and we begin to doubt God’s love in our lives. We wonder if He hears us when we pray or even cares about our lives. We are, in effect, a hot spiritual mess.

However, when we keep our eyes focused on Christ’s sacrifice, the love of God grows ever larger in our hearts and minds. When we focus on the cross, Christ’s enduring love for us becomes plain, and the grace and mercy of God becomes evident. Focused on the cross we see Jesus’ righteousness, which He imparts to us through the Holy Spirit. Through His righteousness, we can boldly go where sinners dared not go before: God’s throne room.

Photo Courtesy of NASA

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

This morning as I was reading through John 14 the Lord grabbed my attention with these words “in my name” (14). After a quick word study, I inserted a different definition for the words in and name. The phrase then read “within my nature.”

This substitution changed my perspective. How many times in prayer do I make requests of God based on His nature? According to Scripture, God’s nature is “compassionate, and gracious . . . slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness . . . and forgiving” (Exodus 34:6-7; Jonah 4:2; Nehemiah 9:17 and Psalm 145:8). These attributes of God are worth praying for. When I ask God to pour His attributes into my corrupt nature, I am asking Him to transform my life into Christ’s likeness. To be formed in the image of God is to allow the Holy Spirit to shape Christ’s perfect qualities into my imperfect life and being. When I pray for others I should be asking God to make them in Christ’s likeness through the power of the Holy Spirit, what I pray Jesus will form in my life through the power of the Holy Spirit. These are the attributes of holy God that I should pray will fill the lives of those around me.

Imagine how dramatically lives will change if we are praying for people to be formed in the nature and likeness of God the Father, as demonstrated by God the Son through the power of God the Spirit? People who are unfaithful will be faithful. Those who have a quick temper will be slow to anger. Friends who are bitter and discontented will find forgiveness. Families will know how to love as Christ loves.

“You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:14). By praying in Christ’s name we are calling on the Holy Spirit to transform and regenerate the world one life at a time.

Photo by Jay Mantri

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

During the gymnastics meet season, the coaching staff is focused on the needs of each athlete. This focus can encompass a wide range of concerns, from the coaches’ insisting on adequate nutrition, to practicing the necessary number of skill repetitions, to giving extra time on events for which gymnasts show a weakness, or to taking time off from training. Coaches address an athlete’s weaknesses and deficiencies and create a course of training that addresses these needs.

We humans are always assessing the needs in our life. We are usually focused on them to the point of obsession. But most of our needs are not needs at all. They are physical desires that we pursue in an attempt to overcome our spiritual deficiencies caused by sin. We are broken people using objects or experiences to try to ease our guilt and cover our shame before God. Sin has destroyed our lives and left us lacking the righteous essentials we need to reconcile with God.

On Sundays I visit my friend in a nursing home. We chat. She asks about her friends from church and if anyone is sick. She also wonders what must change so she can go home. She is comfortable and well taken care, but she wants to go back home. Of course, I can’t change her circumstances, but I remind her that there are agencies that could help her.

Driving home I realized that my situation is similar to my friend’s. I also want to return to my lost life in the kingdom of God. However, when Adam rebelled, God locked the door, and, like all sinners, I was banned from re-entry. “After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24).

As a sinner, I can’t change my circumstances. However, someone came to give me a way home: God sent His agent of change into the world in the person of Jesus Christ. God sent His Son into the world to pay the penalty for all sin. By faith in Jesus’s work on the cross, I can one day return to the Garden. Lent is the time we remember that “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21), so that through faith in Christ my circumstance would change and the ban on the life-to-come would be lifted.

Photo: rawpixel

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

I attend a book study one morning a week at a local restaurant. This week, I arrived a little early and talked with the leader as he buttered a bagel. A few minutes later, several members of the group arrived, and one lady took a seat behind the leader. She settled into the chair. The leader kindly placed a strong hand on the slender shoulder of the woman and slid the bagel in front of her. It was from that simple touch, that gentle gesture that I was made aware that this woman was the man’s wife.

Touch is a powerful communicator. It expresses our deepest emotions when words cannot. A touch makes our thoughts tangible to another. How we touch and how we use touch reveals our character.

Consider the ministry of Jesus. He used touch. He raised a dead girl by taking her hand. He touched a man with leprosy and healed him. He touched Simon’s mother-in-law and cured her fever. And Luke records, “[The] people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying His hands on each one, He healed them” (4:40).

Jesus’s touch communicated the most powerful message in history: God was on earth. Each time Jesus touched a person and brought healing or restored life, His character was revealed. His divine nature, which was hidden in human skin, was manifest through His touch. His human frame testified to the truth of His humanity. His touch, and the signs He performed, testified to the truth that He was God.

Photo: Aaron Lee

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Occasionally we coaches have our older gymnasts demonstrate a skill or drill for our younger athletes so they can get a visual understanding of the trick. We do so on everything from basic body shapes to high-level skills. Giving the younger gymnasts a picture of what has just been explained is very beneficial for them. Once they see the skill, they are in a better position to imitate the actions they’ve seen. A young gymnast can’t attempt a skill without first seeing it done and imitating what she sees. Young gymnasts, in essence, become imitators of their older teammates.

Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us” (5:1-2). How is it possible for human beings to imitate God? God made sure He sent us an example in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ modeled a life of perfect obedience to God. He walked among us as an example to demonstrate the life God wants us to lead through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Without the picture of Christ’s perfect life, we can’t live a life pleasing to God, because our sinful life is rebellious to obedience. We need to see that it is possible to live in a manner pleasing to God. Among sinful humanity there was no one to demonstrate an obedient life. And, we couldn’t even attempt to obey God without first seeing it done. So Christ, the perfect man, walked among us, and then He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within believers so we might live the obedient life to God.

Gian Cescon

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Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.

Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108

Check Out Denise’s Books!

Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD

Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2