On one occasion, Jesus asked, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth?” (Luke 12:51). Ask that question about Jesus to the average person today, and they will respond, “Well, yeah, of course!” Many people rightly understand that Jesus is a champion of love, forgiveness, and harmony. That’s why His own answer to the question is so surprising: “No, I tell you, but rather division.”

For all the challenges we face in life, nothing is more difficult than losing someone we love. And when the loss is unexpected or tragic, our faith can surely be put to the test. In Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God, pastor and Christian blogger Tim Challies tells a story of unthinkable loss— the sudden death of his twenty-year-old son—and how he kept the Gospel in view as he grieved.  

In life’s everyday, not-so-exciting moments, it can be easy to forget that all of our time is a gift from God—even hours we may consider routine and mundane. Alternatively, those exciting high points also come to us through God’s goodness. But whether our days are marked by the normalcy of our comings or goings or are standout highlights, we’re to punctuate all of them by expressing our gratitude to God. The book Every Moment Holy will encourage you to pray when experiencing the thrilling, the joyful, the sorrowful, the challenging, and even the easily forgettable!