Bible stories are instructive on a lot of levels. They reach across time and culture, telling us what happened in the past on the one hand and teaching us lessons we can apply to our own lives on the other. This week, the Lord brought the lesson of Ishmael to life in my very own… Continue reading God’s Timing: The Lesson of Ishmael
While the two seem similar on the surface, there is a big difference between faith vs. expectation. One leads to disappointment, and the other to perseverance during the darkest times. But how do you tell the difference? How do you avoid falling into the trap of one while you’re striving for the other? There are… Continue reading Faith vs. Expectation: 3 Lessons from Exodus
As a Christian, I don’t generally make a practice of sinning. On the other hand, I haven't exactly “arrived” at perfection either, so it still happens sometimes. Lately, I have started to feel a bit of shock at myself when it does. I mean, twelve years into the born-again life, shouldn’t I be matured to… Continue reading The Lord Grants Forgiveness to Those Who Ask
“Talk to him about Jesus.” The words popped into my mind as I came out of the grocery store and saw a teenage boy unhooking his bike from the rack outside. I was in motion, so I continued to my car, put the groceries inside, and dug in my purse for a Bible tract. All… Continue reading God Tests and Retests His Children
When the Lord started bringing some things to my attention this week, I knew they could be part of a blog. At first, though, I just saw a bunch of pieces. It was like I had the inside of the puzzle but needed the frame to understand what I was looking at. I asked the… Continue reading The Sneaky Sin of Self-Righteousness
There is a popular fable that goes something like this. Both vultures and hummingbirds live in the deserts of North America. The vulture searches for death and decay to find sustenance. The hummingbird searches for life in the nectar of flowers. In the very same environment with all other elements the same, each bird finds… Continue reading Luck Versus Blessings: Where Do Good Things Come From?
The bookstore near my church has always been a great place to buy Bible bookmarks and journals. There was a big selection of Christian fiction, too, and it was displayed prominently on a wide-open shelf. Usually there were Bibles or other devotionals on a feature display right in front of the area, so it made… Continue reading Redeem the Time Because the Days are Evil
There is an old saying that goes, “The devil is in the details.” It's an idiom that means that when something seems simple, often the specifics reveal more problems than one might expect. Recently, though, I experienced a first-hand lesson that taught me that the opposite is literally true. The Lord is in the details.… Continue reading The Lord Is in the Details
Romans 12:1 is one of those scriptures that makes mature Christians nod our heads. Yes, our lives are a living sacrifice. Yes, it’s our reasonable service. We nod and we know that it’s good and right. But this week the Lord showed me that while I knew it with my mind, there was some part… Continue reading Romans 12:1: Our Reasonable Service
In Isaiah 6:8, the Lord asked the prophet two questions. “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” He was looking for someone who was willing to surrender his own will and desire to do the work that God had for him to do. Isaiah’s answer? “Here I am. Send me.” That response… Continue reading 3 Signs That You Are Being Sent by God
