About 150 years before the birth of Jesus the Messiah, some of God’s people — the Essenes — established a community in the Judea Wilderness near the northern end of the Dead Sea. We know it as Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Not all scholars agree that Essenes lived at Qumran, wrote…
Jehoshaphat, Isaiah, and Job — Prayers for a Time Such As This
For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You. — 2 Chronicles 20:12 Jehoshaphat and his people were about to face a great enemy, and they were afraid. Armies were on their way to drive them out…
The LORD of the Rings
Prayer is not getting man’s will done in Heaven, but getting God’s will done on earth. It is not overcoming God’s reluctance but laying hold of God’s willingness. — Richard C. Trench Next to Star Wars, my favorite trilogy is the Lord of the Rings. Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, the all-seeing eye of Sauron trying…
Wasted Prayer: Counteract Procrastination with a Yes
When I was in college, I listened to a lot of sermons by Louie Giglio. He led a citywide Bible study in Atlanta for many years, and I also heard him speak at a few conferences. One particular thing he said has stuck with me for more than a decade. In discussing a passage of…
Fight Cleanly
No two people are alike. God created each of us different — with unique preferences, desires, values, and dreams. When we don’t know how to negotiate these differences with others, we can feel threatened and respond in immature ways, especially when under stress. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to navigate our differences and…
I Want to Know Why!
It does not help to try to quantify suffering, I have learned along the way. That the tsunami of 2004 killed far more people than the tsunami of 2011 or that more students died at Virginia Tech than at Sandy Hook Elementary School does not make one event more tragic than the other. Likewise, to…
Isaiah’s Prophecy
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel” — which means, “God with us.” — Matthew 1:22–23 Have you ever stopped for just a moment to ponder the majesty of…