I have a feeling most people who defy and deny God do so more out of fear than conviction. For all our chest pumping and braggadocio, we’re anxious folk. We can’t see a step into the future, can’t hear the One who owns us. No...
Scripture employs an artillery of terms for love, each one calibrated to reach a different target. Consider the one Moses used with his followers in Deuteronomy 10:15, “The LORD chose your ancestors as the objects of his love.” What the Hebrews heard in their language was...
George Matheson was a teenager when doctors told him he was going blind. He graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1861. By the time he finished graduate seminary studies, he was sightless. His fiancée returned his engagement ring with a note: “I cannot see my way...
Short memories harden the heart so make careful note of God’s blessings! Declare with David, “I will daily add praise to praise. I’ll write the book on your righteousness, talk up your salvation the lifelong day, and never run out of good things to write...
Life at times appears to fall to pieces. It seems irreparable. But it’s going to be okay! How can you know? Because as John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world!” Those are God’s arms you feel. Trust him. Believe him. Allow the only decision...
The Bible says, “The heavens declare the glory of God!” Our universe is God’s preeminent missionary. Doesn’t a painting suggest a painter? Don’t stars suggest a star maker? Doesn’t creation imply a creator? Now look within you. Look at your sense of right and wrong....
This is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life!” I read these words and realize they are to Scripture what the Mississippi River is...
Jesus said, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Born again? You must be kidding. Put life in reverse? We can’t be born again! Oh but wouldn’t we like to? A try-again. A reload. How can this be? Jesus answers...
You have a Bible? Read it! When anxiety termites away at your peace, read Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Or perhaps laziness is knocking on your door. Read...
Hurting people hang with hurting people. We love those who commiserate and avoid those who correct us. Yet correction and direction are what we need. I discovered the importance of healthy counsel in a half-Ironman triathlon. After the 1.2–mile swim and the 56–mile bike ride,...