I have always struggled with the idea of loving myself. As someone who was at church every time the doors were open … I was taught a lot about the importance of loving others but not so much about loving myself. But if you look around today … talk about “self-love” is everywhere. For example,… Read More
I want to stop and celebrate the blessing of friends today. Not our list of Facebook friends with whom we share the edited versions of our stories but the close group of people who know our real stories … those stories we keep hidden away from most of the world. I want to celebrate the… Read More
I found several definitions for gossip: Casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true. A rumor or report of an intimate nature. Conversations or reports about other people’s private lives that might be unkind, disapproving, or not true. And it’s everywhere, isn’t it? We… Read More
Terrorism, politics, illness, heartbreak, loss, and pandemics… Sometimes this broken world feels like it’s too much … too painful. Too hard. Then I stop and remember Solomon’s words: History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Ecclesiastes 1:9 Nothing’s new. It’s all happened before. No, I’m… Read More
I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. Jeremiah 32:40 It sounds perfect, doesn’t it? David Jeremiah wrote the following about worship… “Since the days of our first parents in… Read More
I wish I’d read this quote years ago… “Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” Anne Frank She certainly shared a lot of wisdom for her young age … and for someone who never lived long… Read More
There’s a saying out there that the average person has about 50,000 thoughts per day. Some say that number is too high. But many neuroscientists who have investigated the issue believe that most people have about 35 thoughts per minute, or one thought every other second. So assuming you take time for sleep … most… Read More
Do you trust God’s goodness? We say God is good, but do we really believe it? I recently shared this on social media… After you have suffered a little while, [God] will restore, support, and strengthen you. 1 Peter 5:10 And an individual responded by saying … “a load of nonsense.” I don’t think you… Read More
How humble are you? It sounds like a trick question doesn’t it? The truth is … the measure of our humility will always be in direct proportion to what we believe to be the truths about God. Simply put – greater God equals lesser me and that translates into humility. So, to inspire myself toward… Read More
Do you ever feel frustrated with yourself when you read… Jesus said, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” Mark 12:29–30 I don’t know about you, but… Read More
I had an AHA moment not too long ago … I realized Christians often get something wrong. At least, I know I occasionally get it wrong. What’s it? Obedience. We get obedience wrong when our motives are wrong. (Wait, don’t leave now. I promise, it’s a good thing to obey anyway but we’ll talk about… Read More
I tend to think of praise and worship as synonyms … which can too often mean that I hear the sounds of music when I imagine doing either one. But… Praise is simply defined as: an expression of warm approval or admiration. Worship is defined as: the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for… Read More
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. James 1:2 This is how Jesus’ half brother, James, began his letter to Christian Jews who had scattered to other parts of the Mediterranean world because of persecution. Can you imagine? Other translations say… Consider it nothing… Read More
Even if you are not personally suffering at the moment … you can’t turn on the news or scroll through social media without seeing it all around you. So many of us are feeling the heaviness of suffering … either our own or the empathetic burden we carry for one another. But God… Oh, how… Read More
The other night, I realized how badly I need some good news … whisperings of hope. My heart is heavy from all the sadness and the constant drip drip drip of gloom and doom forecasts of the future. Martin Luther wrote.. “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” It’s funny. I… Read More