Bursting the Bubble - Crosswalk the Devotional - April 27

Truths observed at the intersection of faith and life by Crosswalk.com editors [Crosswalk.com Logo]( Crosswalk: The Devotional [Devotionals]( [Newsletters]( [e-Cards]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Bursting the Bubble by Meghan Kleppinger “…We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”- [2 Peter 3:13]( Washington D.C. is a politically powerful city and it’s easy for young professionals working there to get carried away by all of its bells and whistles. As a recent college graduate who experienced this firsthand, I found that it doesn’t take long to adapt to the culture. It’s an exciting place to be, but the problem with becoming a full-blown Washingtonian is that too often, people forget why they are there to begin with. Most people move to Washington to support a cause or to work for a politician representing a state. I, for example, worked for a non-profit that worked to preserve family values, and many of my peers worked for their state senators or representatives. To help pop the D.C. bubble we were living in, several of us developed the discipline of reading our hometown papers online each morning. By reading the Richmond Times-Dispatch every day, I was reminded of my roots, culture, where I was from, and for whom I was really working. This practice, along with repeating our mantra, “this isn’t the real world,” enabled many of us to start each day in Washington as Virginians, Pennsylvanians, Texans, etc., representing the states we called home. Sometimes life gets tough, circumstances cause confusion and doubt, purpose becomes unclear, and [faith]( seems irrelevant and far removed from everyday struggles. It doesn’t take much for the line between the world we currently live in, and the promise of our eternal home, to become blurry – it’s those times when “home” with Christ sometimes seems so far away. For me, these bleak moments almost always coincide with periods of times that I’ve stepped away from praying and spending time in God’s Word each day. It’s not that [prayer]( and study act like a magic formula changing my circumstances, though sometimes God does change them; usually, it is simply this set-aside time that causes me to regroup and change my perspective of the circumstances. God is greater than man. He’s our creator, sustainer, and He’s in control of everything. He loves us, gives us purpose, and promises us a future with Him. This life is temporal and is nothing in comparison to spending eternity with Christ. How do I know these things? It’s all in God’s Word. [CONTINUE READING →]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( You May Also Like: [10 Ways to Amp Up Your Prayer Life]( Patricia Engler As essential as we know prayer to be, we may still struggle to pursue the vibrant prayer life which we recognize we need. Sometimes we can all use a little fresh inspiration to pray, whether we’re seasoned prayer warriors or new “spiritual cadets.” On that note, here are 10 ways to amp up your prayer life. [CONTINUE READING →]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Lotto and God: Can a Christian Buy a Lottery Ticket?]( Dr. Roger Barrier Is it a sin to purchase a lottery ticket? Dr. Roger tackles the subject of gambling. [CONTINUE READING →]( [Crosswalk.com Logo]( [Read about Salem Web Network]( | [Unsubscribe From This Email]( [Email Preference Center]( | [View in Browser]( © 2021 Salem Web Network. All rights reserved. 111 Virginia Street, Suite 500, Richmond, VA 23219. This email is never sent unsolicited. You are receiving this email because your email address, {EMAIL}, is signed up to receive newsletters, updates, and special offers from Crosswalk.com - The Devotional. [Link](