Tag: gospel
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What Are You Waiting For?
You are waiting for something right now. Dinner? An apology? A call from a loved one? Treatment to start working? All four of these things? We are always waiting both for trivial things and for the stuff that makes life meaningful. This is hard. Waiting can be lonely, worrying, and exhausting. We don’t like it….
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Take It Personally
I’d been reading through John 11 slowly each morning, following the story of Lazarus’ sickness, Jesus’ delay, and then His encounters with Martha and with Mary after Lazarus lay dead. It’s a story I’ve read many times, mostly just noting quickly that Jesus is incredible and death is awful before moving along. But this time,…
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The Secret to Glorifying God
Looking at others around me, it’s easy for me to assume they’re God-glorifying because of what great people they are. Sometimes I want to ask, “what’s you’re secret?” As for me, I don’t feel like I’m good at glorifying God. “This has me so ugghhh,” I complain to a friend. What I wish I said…
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Wasn’t Always
I’ve never met a happily married person who’s always been happily married. I’ve never met an adult who wasn’t once a child. I’ve never known a Christian who hasn’t been without Christ. When Jesus said He came to call the sick, not the healthy, His point was this. None of us has always been righteous….
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Why We Should Forgive the Know-Nots
Some of Jesus’ dying words have befuddled me for a long time. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” –Lk 23:34 Umm, Lord? They did know. They knew Jesus didn’t deserve death- even the thief on the cross and Pilate knew that. All the righteousness they might have used as an excuse…
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Self-Love: Biblical Fact or Fiction?
Ever wondered why loving ourselves well is so hard? The answer is simpler than all the “10 keys” and “tip sheets” let on. We seem to get the idea of self-love from the second greatest commandment: “love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Mt 19:19). Reasonably, we complete the logic puzzle: if we only love…
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The Gift That Satisfies
We have an unfortunate tendency of focusing on gaining satisfaction, especially during the Christmas season. From gift-giving to maintaining traditions “just so,” we seem to think we’ll feel full if we treat ourselves to “enough.” Yet the gifts Jesus gives focus on our fulfillment or completion in Him, not on a temporal feeling or fleeting…
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Connecting God’s Power to Our Anchor in Christ
To me, Jesus walking on water isn’t the craziest part of the story recorded in Matthew 14. Peter’s response is. What would inspire a man to say “IF it’s you, Jesus, command me to walk on water too?” If I was skeptical that the guy defying physics was actually Jesus, I still would’ve settled for…
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Where Love and Freedom Meet
Love and freedom are inextricably connected. That’s the way God designed it, and the implications are many: Because He loved us, we are free “The truth will set you free.” But what is the truth? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall…
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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,…