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In Case You Thought There Wasn’t Enough
A massive crowd gathers and listens to lectures for hours. As the hour gets later and later, they begin to get hungry. You have just a small amount of food to offer. Would you organize them by neediest? By the most vulnerable, feeding children and the elderly first? Maybe, because they should have brought food,…
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The Promise of Presence
A promise. Several generations passed. 400 years of captivity. 40 years wandering the desert. The Promised Land in sight, then out of sight, then in it again. Amazing victories. Devastating losses. Seasons of sin. Periods of rejoicing and serving the Lord. Finally, the death of Moses. It wouldn’t be long. All they’d waited for was…
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Treating God Like a Fair-Weather Friend
“God, I need this!” You’ve heard that one before –you’ve probably even said it. You have probably also been warned against relying on God as if He is a giant vending machine. That’s a fair point. God doesn’t exist at the whim of your happiness, and His will does not revolve around giving you what you want….
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The Instrument’s Purpose
Whew. What a flute. What a paintbrush. What a keyboard! …Said no one awed in a concert, enjoying an art show, or mesmerized by a book. The plate, my goodness, it’s spectacular. What a fork! Said no satisfied diner. Ever. Those Christians. So good and righteous and flawless. What a bunch! Said too many people….
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Watch for the Bait and Switch
Pauls’ words in Romans 7:15 about struggling with sin nature echo in our ears: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” What gets us to do what we hate? Why do we sin when we know sin stinks? One…
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Making Molehills Out of Mountains
We build our molehills into mountains. We heap on worry and doubt. Carefully balancing the worst case scenarios we conjure up, we suspend them on high ominously. Our manmade foothills are comprised of carefully devised backup plans. But God. God takes our man-made mountains and returns them to their molehill size. He dissolves our backup…
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Don’t Spoil the Surprise!
A few weeks ago, two boxes arrived in the mail with my husband’s name stamped on top. He hasn’t opened them. They are in the closet. If they could speak, they’d be whispering temptation to me. I’m going a little crazy wondering what’s up with them. Our hearts don’t tend to need much help with…
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3 Biblical Responses to Others’ Struggles
Jesus’ words are clear: “in this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). Often, harder than facing our own troubles is watching those we love struggle. We don’t always know how to help. 1. “Weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15 NLT) When Lazarus died and his sisters mourned, Jesus wept. Standing with His friends,…
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The Treasure of Finished
What happens when your fears come true before your dreams do? I faced this question recently when the very reason I’d avoided obeying the Lord in pursuit of my dreams became a reality. Spread out before me, my big scary reason for reluctance made the truth plain. There is no way around hurt and hardship…
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View from a Mountaintop
What is it about mountains? Moses met with God there. The Samaritans and Jews argued over which one people should worship on. People have called them holy. Jesus went up them to pray. We marvel at photos of them, take vacations to climb them, and even use them in reference to the best points of…