Our friendship with Sandy started when she was a student at the University of Illinois in 1972. She has been a gift to us ever since. Her heart for God and her love for others have continued to shine through all the chapters of her life. Jump ahead 27 years to 1999, a busy year […]
These are difficult times. And it is in difficult times that the promises of God are proven! I have been reading in Joshua recently. As he approached the end of his life, he made this amazing statement: And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your […]
In “The Gift of Fear,” I pondered whether believers today are losing the fear of God. In this article, let’s see what it means to live with a healthy fear of God: approaching Him with respect, reverent wonder, and awe. When our souls encounter the majesty and glory of God, there can be only one response: “Wow!” We are […]
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength,” was the answer Jesus gave to the question, what is the greatest commandment? But what does loving God look like? Is it simply having positive thoughts or feelings about God? Can we choose how to love God? Our love for God begins with […]
The Oldsmobile was an American automobile icon. First built in 1897, it sold more than 35 million automobiles over its 107-year history. During the 1980s Olds tried to recapture its declining market by reinventing itself. In 1988 it came out with the slogan, “It’s not your father’s Oldsmobile.” The company tried to reposition the elegant Olds […]
This article continues a series on what Jesus set as the hallmarks of discipleship. Servant love (John 13:34-35) is the one trait that gives evidence to the world that our apprenticeship is authentic. When Jesus met with His disciples for the Last Supper, He challenged them with a final measure of true discipleship: “So now I am […]
The LORD your God is with you,He is mighty to save.He will take great delight in you,He will quiet you with his love,He will rejoice over you with singing.—Zephaniah 3:17, NIV This verse speaks powerfully of God’s love for us, and shows us three life-changing aspects of that love. It’s one of my favorite verses. As […]
Do you ever feel like you’re in a wrestling match with life? Are you circling with an opponent who wants to take you down? Or, worse yet, are you in danger of being “pinned” to the mat? When I was in one of those “wrestling” times several years ago, I memorized Exodus 14:14: “The Lord will […]
I was weary . . . weariness stemming from the busyness of a fall that had been physically and emotionally taxing. Yet this gave me more opportunity than ever to apply what I’ve been learning about rest and resiliency in the past year. Living out these lessons felt like diving into deep, refreshing water. I […]
Are God’s promises unconditional? Why do we sometimes have to do something to “collect” on His promises? In my experience, the first cousin to the tension between grace and effort (see my previous blog here) is the tension between grace and conditions. Grace is usually understood as the unmerited favor of God expressed to us out […]
