A GREATER LONGING: James Williams writes about battling sin with right perspectives and motivations. "Our greatest desire guides every decision we make. When faced with options, we will choose what we want and what we perceive to provide the greatest benefit. Oftentimes, we have competing desires and we’ll make our choice based on the greatest desire in that moment.”

WHEN GOD USES SOMEONE ELSE (THE GREAT REVIVAL THAT M’CHEYNE MISSED): I love reading encouraging snippets from church history, and I love the ministry of McCheyne, so I really enjoyed this article. "Robert Murray M’Cheyne arrived at his charge in 1836 panting for revival. The Spirit moved effectively, if quietly, for a few years. But in the fall of 1839, awakening erupted in Dundee. It all happened while M’Cheyne was away — just as he’d predicted."

GOD TALK 101: Here's some more everyday discipleship encouragement: a simple but effective reminder from Ian Carmichal. “I want to suggest a simple God-talk phrase that every Christian can use in conversation with non-Christian work colleagues, friends and family…”

RUN WITH CONFIDENCE: As the Olympic memories drift away, here is a great encouragement by Patrick Ramsey to keep running. “In the middle of a long race, doubt can be a killer. Realizing how far you have to go, the present ache in your body can make finishing seem unlikely. Doubt then quickly transforms itself into certainty and you give up. Likewise, it is with the Christian life. If we doubt our ability to trust and obey the Lord until the end, then we will make it even harder to persevere and we might be tempted to quit. Therefore, when we find the race that God has set before us difficult, we need to run with confidence. How might we do that?”

STRENGTH FOR THE WEARY: This may be just the short devotion you need to read today! “As I sat with the mid-week church group, the people around me had no idea how I felt. What they saw was a man dress in business casual who had just come from a day of work, and he had a smile on his face. What they did not know was I was forcing that smile.”