-
My newest article in Servantsofgrace on the #miracle of #forgiveness .
-
The Challenge of #Gospel Love
Recently, my devotions have had me reading in 1 John. The truth? This book has always been a tough one for me. Tough verses such as, “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” (3:6), or how about “If anyone says, ’I love God’, and hates his brother, he is a liar” (3:20), and “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (2:15). Ouch. I’ll admit it. I prefer other verses that don’t remind me of my glaring depravity. …
-
#God’s #Promises for Barren #Seasons
While I cannot find this book- I have lent my copies and cannot by another- I recently came across a quote of hers from If stating, “Trust me to poor My love through thee, as minute succeeds minute. And if thou shouldst be conscious of anything hindering that flow, do not hurt My love by going away from Me in discouragement for nothing can hurt so much as that . . . Trust me to turn My hand upon thee and thoroughly to remove the boulder that has choked thy riverbed, and take away all the sand that has silted up the channel. I will not leave thee until I…
-
One Gift of #COVID? The Chance to #Walk by Faith
We now must do what we should have been doing all along, tread carefully and prayerfully day by day, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8) instead of plowing headlong into every expected activity, without even consulting the Lord about his agenda for us in these unprecedented times.
-
I Don’t Know About You, but I Need Some #Rest
Fortunately, God is in the business of rest. Not the kind of rest after the source of stress is already eliminated, but the rest that happens in the middle of the storm, when the waves are still crashing in, disrupting plans and lives, rest for the truly weary.
-
A #Prayer of Surrender for #2021
Lord, grant me the wisdom to “throw off everything that hinders” and “run with perseverance the race” (Hebrews 12: 1) marked out for me as I hope in you alone, the Lord of 2020, 2021, and all eternity
-
How can #God redeem my excessive nostalgia?
I don’t know about you, but we had an extraordinarily quiet Christmas this year. For the past several years, Christmas vacation was filled with cousins playing, skiing, endless noise and activity. For us, and many others, this year was different. Not only do we have less family around but less activities in general. Now, quiet isn’t all bad. I’ll admit, it is nice to breathe and actually have a vacation, but as I looked into my son’s longing eyes, not sure what to do with all of this free time after Christmas, I revisited the true grief I sometimes feel when I recall my own childhood Christmases. Now, I realize…
-
What do we need in a world that’s upside down? How about an upside down gospel?
It really is hard to believe. Who could have believed the barrage of change we have seen since last Christmas? Sure, we knew it might be a bit crazy with an unknown virus and a U.S. election. But a pandemic? Countries and states shutdown? Protests, violence and destruction?
-
Do They Know It’s Christmas?
We hear it every year. That song reminding us of those in third world countries, Africa, to be specific, who don’t have any of the material reminders of Christmas that we have. Recorded by singer Bono, with a focus on a particular famine in Ethiopia in 1984 and recorded in 2004 and 2014 for other causes, it has lines like “Where the only water flowing/Is the bitter sting of tears” and “And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas time/The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life”. While highly criticized for several reasons, the song does propose a good question: In the midst of the busy consumerism of…
-
Signs of Life
m.facebook.com/motherwellmag/photos/a.1594101277554606/2510195122611879/