Jesus Is Lord
No matter where we go or what we do, we need to remember that we don’t exist for ourselves, but for a higher will and greater purpose than our own. For this reason, God never intended us to set off on our life journey by ourselves. He is very aware of the powerful forces surrounding us and how inadequately prepared we are to stave them off. So he promises to be our Helper and our Guide. In short, then, the
Losing Our Religion
I like a lot of rock music. Do you remember R.E.M.'s classic song Losing My Religion? The group never intended it to say anything about religion or even about Christian faith—the title comes from a Southern expression meaning to "lose one's temper or civility" or "feeling frustrated and desperate." But the song set me on another track of thinking: When we blow away all the cobwebs that surround our thinking on what Christianity is, we will realize that the best
Don’t Take Your Eyes Off God
Have you been abandoned or recently divorced and left with children, bills, unemployment, and all the worst of it? Are you faced with bankruptcy, a long hospital stay, or your worst nightmare in one form or another?
Through the Lens of Scripture: When God Says No
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. –2 Corinthians 12:8–10 Anyone
Why Would God Allow This to Happen to Me?
If God is righteous and just, why has he left my life in shambles? Often, we find ourselves facing situations that challenge our trust in God. We’ve said our daily prayers, read our Bible, have gone to church every Sunday, and even tithed our ten percent, yet, we find ourselves faced with financial difficulties, uncertainty about life direction, and turmoil over our relationships. This juncture is the fork in the road where believers struggle to find answers to justify their wavering faith
The Importance of Doubt
The curate's search had already greatly widened the sphere of his doubts. But if there be such a thing as truth, every fresh doubt is yet another fingerpost pointing toward its dwelling. -George Macdonald, The Curate's Awakening A few days ago, I was in conversation with someone who, although raised Christian, had too many doubts and had walked away from the faith. He felt that since he had so many doubts, he couldn't be considered Christian. For most, faith and doubt are
Be A Peacemaker: Take a good look around you—even at your own behavior!
When God directs us to do or be something, our obedience is the very thing that invokes happiness for us. As believers, we are called to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) and blessed when we are. Take a good look around you—even take a look at your behavior. How do you react to your family members when you think no one else can see your actions? When has cordiality been more desperately needed than today? I don’t remember a time when there has
A State of Being: Guilt and Shame
From the Bible’s point of view, guilt, real guilt, is first and foremost not a feeling. It’s a state of being. It's the position of being out of line with our God by virtue of our sin. It can be fixed only by being placed into a right relationship with him, a solution that’s brought about only by God himself, not by us. It is his specialty to fix this problem. Resorting to our own measures only makes things worse. In
Call Me Papa: How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”-Romans 8:15 We’re spoiled and don’t know it. Those of us raised in the Christian faith take for granted the idea that God is “Our Father.” Taught from childhood to pray The Lord’s Prayer, and being accustomed to most Christian prayers beginning with the word “Father,” we are little aware of how shocking
Aligning with God
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." -1 Peter 1:13-17 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right
