JulieAnn Pratt

One woman said strength is the capacity a woman has to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with her bare hands, and then just eat one of the pieces.

–Unknown

I’ve been posting some devotions my assistant, Abigail, wrote lately. This is the 5th and final post.

Perhaps we have heard sermons on the armor of God and feel like we cannot relate it to our daily lives. Most of us are not familiar with war. This armor deals instead with being equipped as a Christian in this world that is filled with spiritual warfare. (more…)

Ephesians 4: 1 – 3 says:

1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

From Ephesians 2 we begin to understand this paradox we face: we cannot earn God’s love, and yet a true experience of the grace of Jesus Christ will produce a life filled with goodness. In the beginning of Ephesians 4, Paul highlights five specific Christian virtues that we as Christians should have growing in our lives as we follow Christ.

Travel through these five virtues together and take the time to answer the question following each one . . . (more…)

The grace of God (as discussed in the last post) is certainly related to the infinite love of Christ. Both of these attributes or actions have proved that Christ gave us – lavished upon us – that which we do not deserve. (more…)

My assistant, Abigail, has written this small devotion, and I would like to share it with you. It’s simple, but packed full of wonderful truth. Blessings! (more…)

My office is preparing to begin two and a half months of intense travel. I will have three teams of students (about 20 total) traveling all over the northeast sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. In preparation for this time of “full-on” ministry, we’ve been encouraging our students to ready themselves. In like manner, I’ve been reading Ephesians lately, as has my assistant. She is an excellent teacher, and minister in her own right and has prepared some devotions for my ministry teams. In the next few posts I will be sharing some of her thoughts. While I’ve got your attention, would you mind to pray for me and my students? This is my third year leading these groups in ministry. I’m always amazed at the depth of spirituality for their age, their understanding of ministry, and the strength within each of these students. Nevertheless, I covet your prayers. This is probably the most difficult time of year. To be traveling more than half of every week all the way until the middle of July is exhausting. My kids often travel with me, and my husband only gets to go some of the time. While there is great reward, there is a lot of sacrifice, and just plain determination that keeps us all going. Thanks in advance! Now on to Ephesians… (more…)