Tag: deniselarsoncooper

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

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 Ruel Calitis

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

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

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 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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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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

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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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).
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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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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

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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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

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 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.
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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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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

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 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

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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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.

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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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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.

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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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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.

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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 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

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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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

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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As children, many of us were, at one time or another, afraid of the dark. Our parents would remedy the situation with a night light. Though the wattage of these bulbs was low, it cast enough light into the room to chase away the monsters.

As adults we still sometimes find ourselves afraid of the dark in this world. Hostilities in the world, political uncertainty, marital problems, and family hardships can all cast shadows of darkness across our days. Trouble, anxiety, confusion and skepticism have us reaching to turn on the night light. We need something to chase away the uneasiness in our hearts.

Psalm 27:1 reminds us that God gives us His light: “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” The everlasting light of God shines in this world. When we look at God all the shadows, grays and darkness of this world are dispelled. Our worries about the day, our angst about life and even our dread of tomorrow are swallowed by the inextinguishable Light of God in Christ. light casts away the darkness of this world and opens our eyes to the reality of God’s glorious kingdom. There- fore, “Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you . . . Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light” (John 12:35, 36).

The Light of Christ shines in this world, so we do not have to be afraid of the dark.

Photo: Rohan Makhecha

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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John 4:32 and 34 have intrigued me for a long time, and I am using one period of Lent to study and ask the Holy Spirit to show me what Jesus means in these verses. “I have food to eat that you know nothing about,” and, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.”

Food is any nourishing substance that sustains life. Substance is the essential part or element of anything and it belongs intrinsically to a thing by its very nature. Jesus is saying that His substance sustains life. That is, His nature sustains life and His nature is divine. He is God. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).

However, Jesus also has a human nature and experienced all that we do as humans. God incarnate felt the necessities of life as the Son of Man. Think about this, Jesus needed to eat to sur- vive, yet He is the Lord, the giver of Life. Jesus came to die for sinners, but He had no sin. Jesus died on the cross and was buried but He rose again from the dead. The immortal becomes mortal; God becomes man; and the Crucified becomes the

Risen. Within One Person, Jesus Christ, all the fullness of human nature and the fullness of divine nature exist.

God the Father gave the Son a human existence to accomplish what must be done on the cross so the world would be saved through Him.

Let Jesus, the Son of Man and the Son of God, be your Lenten focus.

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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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Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to watch the sun rise over Chicago. Its rays shimmered across the icy waters of Lake Michigan and bounced off the windows of the high rises and towers reflecting columns of light across the frozen waters. While splashing light across the awakening city, the sun also painted soft hues of pink across the heavens.

I like watching the sun’s glory mingle with man’s magnificent buildings and structures. It reminds me that God and man belong together. Each daybreak is an opportunity to recall that God is exalted over all the earth. Man, as a creature, is to walk with God, the giver of Light, in a posture of humble adoration. As the sun continues to rise higher in the morning sky, God’s abundant light pours into the world, casting out the darkness.

God’s Son mingled on earth a man with men. He said, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). While Jesus was in the world He sent the light of God into the shadows of sin and death, casting out the darkness. He shines brightest on the cross, where the piercing light of Holy God could not be vanquished by the charging forces of darkness. “Light has come into the world” (John 3:19) “and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).

Brighter than any sun, Christ’s light still shines in the world through the power of the Holy Spirit, who brings the truth to mankind that God and man belong together.

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 spend a great many hours reminding gymnasts that they must expect to make their routines at a meet. This past weekend, I could tell easily by a gymnast’s body language and facial expressions whether she had expected to perform well at the competition. I could tell who hadn’t, too.

Gymnasts with an attitude of expectation exhibit certain traits at the meet that the others do not display. There is a confidence and calmness about them. I can sense that they trust their coaches and believe that the hours they have spent practicing in the gym have made them ready for the competition.

As Christians we should be living with an expectation: that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will return. Jesus said, “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Luke 12:40).

Like athletes who expect the expected, Christians should be prepared for the arrival of our Lord. We should also be training for His return. In this way, we will live as an example to the world that Christ will indeed come again. We must be diligent in prayer, asking for Christ to come. We should be invested in the study of Scripture and committed to attending worship.

When we are persistent in our training, our lives will be full of confidence in Christ’s promises, particularly His promise to come again. And we will have the calm assurance of knowing that His return will create a new world and we will be transformed in His likeness. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

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/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

There is a comfort in knowing what to expect each year. Every year I can predict my day at the Chicago-Style Gymnastic Meet, in Chicago, Illinois. This event is one of my favorite meets of the season. I look forward to it every year. I have an opportunity to see old friends and encounter new ones.

But this year the meet presented something unexpected. I got to experience something new, thanks to a very good friend who invited me to her favorite vegetarian restaurant in Chicago. I ordered a buffalo chicken wrap, made with meatless chicken. (Yes, I know that seems to be an oxymoron.) However, this vegan meatless chicken tasted very similar to chicken. After all these years of not tasting meat, my taste buds were shocked by the taste, and I began to question whether this might actually be meat. It was shocking to taste meat. It was also a delicious surprise.

See, I thought that today was going to be the same. I thought I knew what to expect. But today was very different and new and a blast.

Sometimes we think we know what to expect from God each day, but He very often surprises us. But we must be open to His surprises. He likes to bring the unexpected into our lives. We have to be open to receiving it.

God makes all things new in our lives.

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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Several years ago, I chose a vegetarian lifestyle that has helped me keep my body healthy. I supplemented my new lifestyle with additional rules to help me monitor and guard my health. Of course there are times when I break the rules, but my commitment to health is greater than my desire to break the rules.

Becoming a Christian means that we undergo a lifestyle change. We can no longer live according to our “old self with its practices” (Colossians 3:9b), but “have to put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:10).

To help maintain the health of our “new self,” Paul gives us some practical rules to incorporate into our daily lives. In 2 Timothy 2:16 he writes, “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” He also wrote, “but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). And he cautions Timothy to “watch your life and doctrine closely” (1Timothy 4:16). All these rules can be kept only through the power of the Holy Spirit, and we stay close to the Holy Spirit through diligent reading of the Scriptures.

These rules simply offer a means of monitoring the health of our “new self,” and when we keep the rules, we are testifying to our pledge to live in a manner pleasing to Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Certainly, we will err; however, we should want our commitment to the Lord to be greater than our desire to break the rules.

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/2mFGASBLife Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday – http://amzn.to/2De1rU2

Going into fourth grade, I heard all sorts of horror stories about the teacher. The playground buzzed with upper-level students telling us lowly third graders about the terror of fourth grade and the tyrannical teacher.

I was not looking forward to fourth grade. On the first day, I entered the classroom with great fear and trepidation. My dreams had produced a picture of a Herculean-sized woman standing at the classroom door wielding a paddle in each hand smacking students about like ping pong balls.

As it turned out, the rumors were wrong, and my dreams were even further from the truth. She turned out to be the best teacher I have ever had. Some things you must find out for yourself.

We spend many hours listening to the world tell us about God. It yammers on about how frightful the Lord is. It points to the cross and tells us how unloving the Creator can be. It smears the name of Jesus and ridicules anyone foolish enough to believe in Him. There are many, many rumors about God, and sadly, we listen to them instead of the Holy Spirit.

The truth about God is found in Scripture, not the world. When it comes to finding out who God really is we must find out for ourselves through the help of the Holy Spirit.

“I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go” (Isaiah 48:17). Does this sound like a frightful tyrant?

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 gym clothes are comfortable and appropriate for work. It is clothing that is useful and functional for the job that I have as a gymnastics coach. I would guess that most of us have work, casual and dress clothes. The malls, lined with retail clothing stores, confirm that we have clothes in our closets for all occasions. We should wear clothing appropriate to specific functions. Depending upon the social engagement, certain types of clothing are expected. A person should not wear beach party attire to a funeral. Nor should anyone wear a muscle shirt and spandex to a wedding.

In Scripture, Jesus tells a parable about a man attending a king’s wedding. The king arrives, and as he greets his guests, he notices one guest has not worn wedding clothes. Without hesitation, the king removes him from the celebration.

God has a dress code. Our carnal human nature is not appropriate dress before the Almighty. Our sinful nature is an affront to God, so it is not welcome in His presence. God Himself sent His Son to die on the cross so that through Him our sinful wardrobe could be changed into a wardrobe of holiness. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we receive apparel fitting to wear in the presence of God.

Isaiah 61:10 says, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.”

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 have many reasons for not attending church on Sunday or participating in spiritual activities during the week. In fact, excuses are abundant. For instance, I have heard people say, “I’d like to go to church, but I was up late.” And, “I really should join a Bible study, but I’m just so busy.” Or, “My children would like to attend youth group, but I just can’t add one more thing to my schedule.” These might all seem to be legiti- mate reasons for not observing the Sabbath, but they are, ultimately, excuses. People are not easily roused to action, but they are quick to defend why they don’t act.

These are just typical examples. However, our proficiency in making excuse spills over into other areas of our spiritual lives. Instead of facing and confessing our sin, we make excuses for the sin in our lives. Making an excuse for our sin does not remedy sin. We know the solution is faith in Jesus Christ, but we do not heed the call to come to Christ for salvation, through the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit. Instead, we let sin fester in our hearts, minds and souls. An excuse does not change the condition of sin.

Christ is the change agent. Christ did not come into the world to listen to our excuses for sin. Nor did He come to excuse our sin. Christ came into the world to endure our sin on the cross and take the punishment we deserved for our transgressions against God.

Jesus bled and died for our sin. His atoning sacrifice set us free from sin and its consequence, death. Therefore, we no longer have an excuse for our sin; the cross is God’s divine remedy for sin.

Jesus said, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin” (John 15:22).

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

Gymnasts frequently struggle with Yurchenko vaults. This skill is very difficult to execute properly because the athlete must run as fast as she can toward the vault table, round off onto the vault board, do a back handspring onto the table, use her hands and shoulders to block (a very quick push) off the table, do a full twist in the air and land. In order for this skill to be powerful, the gymnast must focus on the approach to the table. If they run too slowly and do not get the round off turned over quickly they will have problems blocking off the vault. The approach determines the strength or weakness of the vault.

Likewise, if our prayer lives seem dull and weak, and we think God is not listening, perhaps we should consider our approach to Him. The Lord said to Moses, “Among those who approach me I will show myself holy” (Leviticus 10:3).

When we pray we are entering the presence of Holy God. Still, we tend to ignore the holiness and purity of His essence. We race into His throne room spouting requests, usually without even pausing to appreciate His wonder and majesty. We hasten from His presence without offering Him the respect and homage He deserves. Then we’re baffled when we don’t hear Him answer.

We need to demonstrate adoration of and admiration for God. Part of prayer is learning to sit in awe of God and wait for the Spirit to usher us into His presence. God is eager to grant us audience, but we must approach Him offering the honor due His name.

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

It’s strange for me to be tired. However, the schedule over the last few days has finally taken its toll, and both my mind and body are fatigued. I don’t appreciate the vulnerability that accompanies this state of weariness. I prefer the feelings of power and strength that energy produces. My energy level usu- ally runs on high, so this low is uncharacteristic. But I know that a little rest will recharge my system, and I will be full throttle again tomorrow.

As strange as this feeling is to me, I am reminded of how unusual it had to be to Jesus. In John 4:6, Jesus’ ministry schedule had caught up with Him. He had traveled between Judah and Galilee at least twice and on this day, the trip wore Him out. John says, “Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well.” How strange is it to think that the eternal Son of God sat down because He was tired?

How uncharacteristic for the everlasting God, the immortal, omnipotent God to feel fatigue. He who was infinite in power and might was tired from walking. Perhaps His feet were sore, His legs were weak and His body ached from walking. “Very God of very God” (Nicene Creed) was exhausted.

My own fatigue reminds me of just how much God sacrificed for me. Jesus chose to live the human life, within the limitations of a body. He labored, He tired and He died. God sat down so we could rise up.

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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As I write this, I’ve just watched Super Bowl XLIX. It will occupy our conversations for the next several weeks. We saw spectacular plays and a stunning conclusion. It was a Super Bowl like no other. And whether your team won or lost the last thing any of us could say was WOW!

The final 30 seconds changed the game. It looked as though Seattle would finish the game as the victors. But that never happened. And the victory went, once again, to the Patriots.

More than 2,000 years ago, history records six hours that changed the world. During those six hours, a Jewish man, Jesus Christ, hung on a Roman cross to die as a felon. It looked as though His death would put an end to His message, purpose and will. Crowds lined the streets to watch this man die. Once the last breath escaped from Christ, the spectators were certain that would be the end of this insurrectionist.

But His death changed everything. When Jesus died on the cross, sin and death appeared victorious. However, His death was the vehicle to His conquest and when the six hours passed, and three days went by, the game changed. Sin and death were conquered by the Savior and everlasting life was the prize of the victor.

For those of us who believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ all we can say is WOW. Through His resurrection we to are raised to life. “Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1).

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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After the meet this weekend, I realized that a gymnastic competition is just a trial and test to evaluate the training habits of the gymnasts. As I looked at this test, one thing became clear: gymnasts who had been impatient and worried during practice exhibited greater frustration, anxiety and disappoint- ment at the competition than those gymnasts who had submitted to coaches’ directions, assignments and corrections.

Every day we face many trials. The world accosts us with evil, sorrow comes our way, friends are burdened or we are suffering with heartache. If we respond to our trials with impatience and worry, that will lead to greater frustration, anxiety and suffering. Our hearts become heavy with burdens and restlessness. We have no peace; our minds fill with thoughts of hopelessness and our soul despairs. We crumble under the pressure of the trial.

However, if we respond to the trials with patience and prayer, God empowers us with His Holy Spirit to endure the trails we face. With the aid of the Spirit our minds calm and fill with the hope of Christ. As Christ dominates our thoughts our hearts find His peace, and our souls rest in the assurance that Jesus walks through our trials with us. Through our trial and testing, Jesus guides us, sustains us and strengthens our faith through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christ will “strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials” (1 Thessalonians 3:2-3).

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 have always loved the ocean. Walking on the beach fills my mind with wonder and my soul with joy. All that water sparks my imagination as I consider the wonders and mystery within that vast body of water. Ocean beaches captivate me. There is always something new to discover because the waters wash ashore remnants from the deep, or draw ripple patterns in the sand, or bring forth the sounds of the underwater caverns to the surface.

This wonder and fascination with the ocean makes me ap- preciate the Creator. In Isaiah 51:15, God says, “For I am the Lord your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar.”

The ocean reflects God’s nature: deep and mysterious. And, yet, He willingly sent His Son into the world to reveal those mysteries and draw us down into His depths. From the shore, He gives us a view of His greatness and invites us to swim deeper and deeper into life with Him. He does not remain a mystery, but through His Son brings us into more knowledge and understanding about who He is and what He has done on behalf of humankind.

God’s creation displays His glory and the glory of His Son. Walk the beach with God.

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

The way things are going, writing my Evening Reflection and my For the Weekend devotionals are going to bump into each other in the night. I am numb from traveling from Columbus, Ohio, to Phoenix Arizona, to Houston, Texas, for gymnastic competitions.

My weariness reminds me of a spiritual dilemma I face. Some days, I don’t feel like a sinner. I can keep myself so busy during the day that I don’t think about it. I can keep my mind occupied with other things. This forgetting my sin is denial, but it doesn’t change the fact that I am a sinner.

Sometimes, I get into a state I call sin numb. This numbness means my heart is hard and calloused toward God. When I am in sin numb I am also Savior numb. “If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him (Christ) out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives” (1 John 1:10). If I deny my sin, I deny my need for the Savior who came into this world to take away my sin.

While my essential nature is sin, Jesus Christ’s essential na- ture is salvific. It is as natural for Christ to save as it is for me to sin. Just because I don’t feel like a sinner doesn’t change the fact that my nature is sinful. I know it because Scripture con- firms it, the Holy Spirit exposes it and Jesus Christ died to save me from it.

“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature” (Romans 7:18).

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

Recently I lined up our young gymnasts to give them instructions. They listened as I explained the drills and the order in which they were to be done. Most of the girls heard and fol- lowed the directions. However, one athlete moved randomly about doing her own thing. She failed to listen well. As a result, she was in the way of the others, causing a few of her team- mates to stumble, and she almost hurt herself. It took only a few moments to recognize that a bad listener destroys order.

Easy lesson here: God created a world of perfect order for Adam and before him set the instructions for maintaining it.

Unfortunately, Adam was a bad listener. He failed to follow God’s instructions, so God’s created order was destroyed.

Desiring to restore order, God sent Jesus Christ into the chaos of this fallen creation. He was a good listener. He was so attuned to God that He spoke only what He heard His Father say “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me” (John 8:28). By listening to the Father, the Son was perfectly obedient to the Father. And through the Son’s obedience, He reconciled the world to the Father.

We have two choices. We, like Adam, can continue, to run through this world without listening to the Word of God. Or we can by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit listen to God and live as His obedient children.

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