Too often we look for God in the extraordinary when all the while, He makes His home in the ordinary. God is not that hard to find, especially if we’re looking for Him. Maybe we can get our lives back by inviting Jesus into our everyday routine of life. Pay close...
God has a plan to show love to the world. That man was Abram—later called Abraham. We’ll discover Abram’s story as we jump ahead to Genesis 12:1-9, 15:1-6. God promised Abram that his descendants would become a great nation that would show love to the world. God told...
Hope Deferred You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 (NKJV) At first we were annoyed at the four cowbirds bullying the little sparrow—all puffed up, chasing and...
Does it ever feel like you’re just going through the motions in your faith? You go to church, pray, read the Bible, but you don’t feel a deep connection with God. Instead, you feel a nagging absence as if He’s hiding away somewhere. The good news is God is closer than...
God loves us no matter what. We explore this idea in week three, as we head to Genesis 3. Here, we see that although Adam and Eve had an unbroken, loving relationship with God, ultimately they decided not to trust God’s plan.God gave them one simple rule to obey:...
Wasting Time Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 (NIV) I started reading fiction again after a conversation with one of the elders from our church. I had been neglecting novels for years in favor of more...
All For One: Celebrating BaptismThose who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. Acts 2:41 (ESV)aiting in the holding room before the baptism ceremony, I turned to my husband. “We could...
Faith is far more than a feeling. Just because we don’t feel the presence of God doesn’t mean He isn’t there. We are often misled by our emotions, feelings, and circumstances. But choosing to believe in the power and presence of God is a choice. We must make that...
God made us to take care of eachother. As we travel back to the creation narrative in Genesis 1-2, we read how God created the world . . . and it was good. God created people—Adam and Eve—to live in the world, enjoy it, and cultivate it. Adam and Eve had a close,...
The Risk in Rushing But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 (ESV) "H ow’s your summer?” one mom asked another a few feet away from me on the sidewalk. “Or rather, how was your summer? I guess...
Time for us travels in only one direction, such that once a moment is past it’s gone forever. While this helps us deal with life’s challenges (“time heals all wounds”) we can also experience a strong sense of loss and even grief as we pass through the joyous times of...
Love God by loving others. Jesus explained this idea perfectly in Matthew 22:34- 40, which is where we begin this month. The religious leaders asked Jesus: out of the hundreds of laws the Jewish people were to follow, which were the most important? Jesus said that...
Vacation Bible Saved Yet faith comes from listening to this Good News—the Good News about Christ. Romans 10:17 (TLB) W ith Vacation Bible School season in full swing, and my young grandchildren currently living with us, lately my mind drifts easily to my own childhood...
One of the age old practices in our culture is that of presenting who we are as our vocation. We present our occupation title as a means to inform our new acquaintance of our function. In essence, we unknowingly begin to associate our vocations or contribution to...
God gives you the power to have self- control. We finish up our Make Waves series discovering more about James 3:1-6. Our words have power. James uses practical images like a horse bit, a ship’s rudder, and a flame to show us just how powerful they are. They can hurt,...
Over time, almost imperceptibly, we can get stuck in the trance of constructing our role in the world, building our identity, and completely miss what God is doing around us. We can spend a lot of time and energy protecting this Self we’ve created at all costs. As...
God can give you the strength to be gentle. For week four, we get a glimpse into the heart of Jesus in Mark 10:13-16. Mark records a time when Jesus welcomed children, gave them his attention, and blessed them. Back then, no one thought very highly of children, and...
Weight of Grief, Strength of HeartMy flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26 (NIV)"Thank you for your patience concerning your application. All candidates interviewed were stronger than we had dared to hope....
The twists and turns of life can sometimes feel like an assault on our confidence that God is good. Doubts can begin to surface, directing our attention away from God and negatively impacting our relationships with Jesus Christ and others. In these instances, we must...
Be faithful so others can count on you. In week three, we jump back to 1 Samuel 18-20 and 2 Samuel 9. We dive deeper into the amazing friendship between David and Jonathan. Jonathan was a faithful friend to David when King Saul chased David and tried to kill him....
I Run To YouThe name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10 (ESV)It was a typical day. My son Arliss and his six year-old sister were watching a sing-along show while I prepared supper. Arliss had protested my choice of...