A Father’s Undying Love for His Son: Filmmaker Cristóbal Krusen’s “Let Me Have My Son”
One of any parent’s greatest nightmares is their beloved child developing a serious problem of body or mind. Today’s guest watched helplessly as his teenage son was diagnosed with schizophrenia and put into a mental hospital. Listen as filmmaker Cristóbal Krusen talks about the greatest challenge of his life, and the book and film that follow his inspiring and touching story of God’s faithfulness. Click here to access The Walk!
Not Going to Church Is Killing Your Faith
Have you noticed that when you feel discouraged and think that God doesn’t care about you or answer your prayers, or that your faith is meaningless, one of the first things you do is disconnect yourself from his people? Being in church is a bitter reminder of God not paying attention to you and your needs. You don’t want others’ prayers. You don’t care about their encouragement or their advice. You want to be left alone. You turn inwards, and at
Storm Rider: Drawing Closer to God
Are you going through a storm right now? Something so difficult or traumatic that you aren't sure you'll make it to tomorrow? Don't give up hope. It often takes a storm to get our minds off our own plans and ways and onto God's greater plan—to realize there's a purpose for our life that is far better than our own. Our storms help draw us closer to God than anything else. So when we're facing a storm, let's remember three things as we
Holy Week – Day 4: Aged to Perfection
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! -2 Corinthians 5:17 What is one of the main themes that keeps recurring in the faiths and literature of the world? What is that longing in the human heart that never goes away regardless of the time or place? It’s the desire that the old, the worn out, and the temporary pass away and the new, the fresh, and the lasting appear! This is what
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
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
Misperceiving God
How frequently do we either complain or get resentful, misunderstanding God’s plan and good purpose for us? Too often! We need to push reset to refocus and see what he is really accomplishing in our lives. In the Old Testament Book of Ruth, verses 1:1-5; 20-22. Briefly, what we learn is that there was a famine in the land of Judah during the time of the Judges. Elimelech, a Jew of Bethlehem, left Judah and moved his wife and two sons to
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 79 – Long and Winding Roads
by TJ Bates Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. –Proverbs 3:5-6 These are two of my favorite verses and I quote them often, but I'll have to admit there are times I feel the road is crooked and don't trust God to straighten it out. Have there been times when you felt you wanted to "lean on your own understanding"? Here
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 78 – Foundation
by TJ Bates For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. –1 Corinthians 3:11 Have you experienced the aftermath of a tornado? Not much is left standing, right? However, did you notice what was still there? The foundation! "So here's the good news: We don't have to create our own foundation. It's not up to us to support ourselves or sustain our own faith; it's not even totally up to us to remain faithful to
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 31 – Love
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. -John 13:34 I just love LOVE! Don't you? Don't you LOVE that dress or LOVE that movie or LOVE what I'm saying? In the present day, "love" is a word that is overused and often has no meaning. However, Jesus is not using the word love carelessly as we do. He wants us to truly love one another—to be a conduit of
