Back to the uncomfortable zone. For a few weeks now, I’ve been prompted to write about my experience with PTSD. I’ve put it off, prayed about it, discussed it, and tested it. By tested it, I mean that I, in Christian terminology, put down a fleece. For the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about … Read more
We put a lot of faith in this thing called “willpower,” and we wonder why it lets us down. Perhaps that’s because there is no power in our will. More specifically, the Bible tells us that even if our spirit has a strong will to resist temptation, our flesh is weak. Matthew 26: 41 “Watch and … Read more
How long would the Israelite people have to wander in the dessert if they had just looked immediately before them on the path? So much of their time was spent looking at the obstacles that lay far ahead and at the things that lay behind. Proverbs 4:25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before … Read more
The heartbeat courses through nature deafening all other noises, palpable, alive. God examines his creation, sees His handiwork, and declares that creation is good. Creator and His created connect and together cycle through day and night, night and day, day and night, night and day, thu-thump, thu-thump, thu-thump. His joy, His perfection, and His holiness … Read more
In the past week, at least three of my friends have asked me whether or not I really believe that all sins are equal. It’s not that I don’t understand the question; I do. Which is worse — overeating at dinner or inflicting mortal harm on another? From an earthly perspective, the question makes sense. … Read more
Numbers 14:1-4 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt!Or in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lordbringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and … Read more
Matthew 18:21-35 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[g] 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.24 As he began the … Read more
James 5:14-16 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to … Read more
Luke 12: 27 -28 27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much … Read more